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By the dawn of the nineteenth century, tuberculosis had killed one in seven of all the people who had ever lived. The disease struck America with a vengeance, ravaging communities and touching the lives of almost every family. The battle against the deadly bacteria had a profound and lasting impact on the country, It shaped medical and scientific pursuits, social habits, economic development, western expansion, and government policy. The story is told through the remembrances of those who lived - and were cured - at tuberculosis sanatoriums, along with historians and scientists.