The history of tuberculosis has been a popular area of historical investigation since the 1980s. Given that national case studies have been the choice of most authors, Building Resistance proves to be unusual. Burke uses the exceptional archive of the Toronto Sanatorium for children, which opened in 1904, to ground her case study. The main focus is on those who write about children; the children themselves are usually silent in the sources. Overall, this book is a welcome addition to an existing body of literature about the history of tuberculosis in that it extends the well-known sanatorium narrative to pediatrics. The unprecedented richness of the material has much to say about the families of these children and their interactions and negotiations with medical personnel. The various chapters clearly link to the wider history of the disease, but through the lens of this particular institution.
Although the topic is a staple...