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Building the Worlds That Kill Us: Disease, Death, and Inequality in American History
Across American history, the question of whose lives are long and healthy and whose lives are short and sick has always been shaped by the social and economic order. From the dispossession of Indigenous people and the horrors of slavery to infectious diseases spreading in overcrowded tenements and the vast environmental contamination caused by industrialization, and through climate change and pandemics in the twenty-first century, those in power have left others behind.Through the lens of death and disease, Building the Worlds That Kill Us provides a new way of understanding the history of the United States from the colonial era to the present. David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz demonstrate that the changing rates and kinds of illnesses reflect social, political, and economic structures and inequalities of race, class, and gender. These deep inequities determine the disparate health experiences of rich and poor, Black and white, men and women, immigrant and native-born, boss and worker, Indigenous and settler. This book underscores that powerful people and institutions have always seen some lives as more valuable than others, and it emphasizes how those who have been most affected by the disparities in rates of disease and death have challenged and changed these systems. Ultimately, this history shows that unequal outcomes are a choice—and we can instead collectively make decisions that foster life and health.
408 pages, Hardcover
First published October 22, 2024
8 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 25, 2024
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.
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.
June 3, 2024
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.
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.
February 21, 2025
I've often heard the argument that the American project systematically fails its people "by design," particularly by neglecting the most vulnerable populations to poverty and associated adverse health outcomes. Building the Worlds That Kill Us offers a history of American social planning with a focus on health outcomes, particularly how colonization, urbanization, and industrialization necessarily created illness and death. This book is compellingly argued, if dense, given the academic historical approach. Even so, I appreciated the focuses on how social structures harm vulnerable populations. I was especially drawn to the focuses on the colonial era and frontier expansion, the slave trade and formalization of enslavement, the rise of the factory system, and 19th/20th century immigration and subsequent rapid urbanization.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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December 1, 2024This was one of the toughest reads of the year. Partly because of the depressing subject matter, and partly because the sense of hopelessness it indirectly leaves with the reader.
The country's 250 year history of compressed advancement with associated human cost doesn't seem to be abating, only accelerating. And though much blame is attributed to the business owners, there is blame to be shared by those who suffered - from factory workers and farm laborers of the past to the parents and children now consuming vast quantities of social media while knowing the side effects.
The words of the professionals were ignored then as they are now. The professionals themselves engaging in the behaviors as they warn the populace. It's one of the few books I'll have to leave without a star rating because I hate the subject material even though it was thoughtfully presented in great detail.
The country's 250 year history of compressed advancement with associated human cost doesn't seem to be abating, only accelerating. And though much blame is attributed to the business owners, there is blame to be shared by those who suffered - from factory workers and farm laborers of the past to the parents and children now consuming vast quantities of social media while knowing the side effects.
The words of the professionals were ignored then as they are now. The professionals themselves engaging in the behaviors as they warn the populace. It's one of the few books I'll have to leave without a star rating because I hate the subject material even though it was thoughtfully presented in great detail.
August 11, 2024
This book was written by two historians, so they do take a very historical view of the subject matter and start their examination of the topic before the country was even founded. It shouldn't surprise me given the fact that is written by historians, but the description made me think there was going to be a bit more examination of more modern day stuff as well, but it's pretty well history based. It's not a criticism of the book, but perhaps more of the description. It does delve into a lot of topics that I either didn't know much about previously or hadn't thought of in the way they look at them.
February 1, 2025
Extremely redundant and biased. Not at all what I expected.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews