"On par with Rachel Carson'sSilent Spring... This chilling exploration of the decline of public health should be taken seriously by leaders and policymakers around the world."--Publishers Weekly,Starred Review

In this meticulously researched and ultimately explosive new book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of theNew York TimesbestsellerThe Coming Plague, Laurie Garrett takes on perhaps the most crucial global issue of our time. She asks: is our collective health in a state of decline? If so, how dire is this crisis and has the public health system itself contributed to it? Using riveting detail and finely-honed storytelling, Garrett exposes the underbelly of the world's globalization to find out if it can still be assumed that government can and will protect the people's health, or if that trust has been irrevocably broken.