A powerful, disturbing read, that for my mental health, I could not finish, but I would highly recommend for anyone who wants to learn more about public health and the impact capitalism/imperialism has had on the peoples of the world.

The thesis of this book, that civil society and health, especially contagious and chronic diseases, caught my eye, and although it took me a while to get into, get back into and finish this book, I highly recommend it. The best audiences would be policy makers, academics in health, politics, sociology, medicine, and public health professionals. Though, thanks to its detailed exploration, arguments supported by evidence as expected in such a book, and the eye-opening perspectives, this book is for all adults interested in diseases and colonialism, the history of public health in the US (but the book is insightful about health crises overall), and the impacts of inequality (rather a major aspect of inequality?).

The prose is not always easy-to-follow, coming from an academic here, but persevere.

I am glad this book exists.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Colombia University Press for this ARC of Building the Worlds That Kill Us. I always appreciate and respect those looking for feedback on their works.

Although at times difficult to start my mornings off with the heavy history and present day consequences of the subject, I found myself flipping pages to learn more and more about the unexposed truths behind death and disease for the disenfranchised. “Building the Worlds That Kill Us” is a dense and diligent dive into the decisions made to place prosperity above people.

The authors illustrate historical events in our nation’s economic development that created widespread displacement and thus disease for the poor masses, while the greed driven, capitalist minority ignored matters of morality and health for their own benefit. It’s a tale we know all too well, yet the book’s chronological pattern allows for a deep dive into events and moments that truly catapulted and normalized the inequities between the health of those that have means and those that don’t.

I found myself putting the book down with a sense of discovery, but a macro-sense of hopelessness. For the elite, so few decision making practices have changed in regard to those that suffer. You’ll learn a lot from this book.

I was so looking forward to reading this book.
However, I can't evaluate this book when all of the numbers are in a different language. Even the years are in a different languages.
I understand that this is for placeholding, but this is not making for a good read.

We read for a lot of reasons.

We read to escape. We read to be entertained. We read to connect. We read for support. We read to laugh and to cry and to be scared and to feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

And yeah, sometimes we read to learn.

David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz's "Building the Worlds That Kill Us: Disease, Death, and Inequality in American History" is the kind of book you read to learn and to become a better human being.

"Building the Worlds That Kill Us" is a book I can see being used in public health courses and social work courses and any course where we're tasked with learning about the problems facing society, how they were created, and what we can do about them.

The basic concept behind "Building the Worlds That Kill Us" is simple - In the United States, the changing rates and kinds of illnesses reflect social, political, and economic structures and inequalities of race, class, and gender.

Honestly, I can't imagine anyone believing this is not true though we certainly do try to deny it. Yet, as a person growing up with serious disabilities I've long been aware that those whose lives are long and healthy and those whose lives are short and sick has always been shaped by the social and economic order.

The haves and the have nots doesn't just apply to economics - it also applies to health and well-being.

"Building the Worlds That Kill Us" explores U.S. history from the dispossession of Indigenous people and the horrors of slavery to infectious diseases spreading in overcrowded tenements and industrialization-caused environmental contamination, Rosner and Markowitz provide a well-researched and engagingly presented dive into the world of health inequity. The book also journeys through climate change, of course, and 21st century pandemics, both of which also explore how those in power have left others behind.

"Building the Worlds That Kill Us" isn't a book that entertains. It's not particularly upbeat, though certainly the authors do ultimately lean into some sense of hopefulness that there is a better way. However, for the most part, this is a book written through the lens of death and disease from the American colonial era to the present. The authors show, undeniably, how deep inequities determine the disparate health experiences of rich and poor, Black and white, men and women, immigrants and native-born, boss and worker, Indigenous and settler, and to a lesser degree disabled and non-disabled. We all know that powerful people and institutions have always seen some lives as more valuable than others - as a person with a disability, I still live in a world where certain forms of eugenics are widely accepted.

However, and it must be noted, "Building the Worlds That Kill Us" also paints an undeniable picture that these are all choices and we can choose differently. We can, if we choose, collectively make decisions that foster life and health.

As someone who was in the very first class after the Rehab Act mandated a fair and equal education for kids with disabilities, I've seen evidence that we can do better and I've seen evidence it improves outcomes for all.

"Building the Worlds That Kill Us" is a powerful read, a disturbing read, and yet also a vital and important read for future health professionals and world changers.