Radical Prescription

“Well-researched . . . This focus on Cuban public health policy and the interaction between the governments and citizens, and not just on tuberculosis, makes Radical Prescription of interest both to historians of medicine and generalists interested in Latin American history.”—H-Sci-Med-Tech

“Radical Prescription contributes to a broader body of scholarship challenging the presumption that 1959 represented a watershed in Cuban history. . . . Urban’s message is significant and timely—frank and determined assessments of state effectiveness and an awareness of the ways poverty and inequality affect health outcomes remain a critical cornerstone for moving toward a more equitable health system, especially in the wake of a global pandemic.”—Hispanic American Historical Review

“A nuanced picture of the Cuban state itself, one that is mindful of its limits and achievements. . . . [E]stablishes interpretive parameters that many will be eager to build on and challenge going forward.”—Isis

“An insightful and engaging examination of popular and patient pressures on the state and medical establishment over the long history of tuberculosis treatment in Cuba. I learned a great deal from this judicious and imaginatively researched study. Excellent, accessibly written work and a pleasure to read.”—Jennifer L. Lambe, Brown University

“In this compelling sociocultural history of tuberculosis in modern Cuba, Kelly Urban provides a renovated perspective on the importance of public health in the broader process of state formation. The attention to the role of patients in shaping state answers to tuberculosis is particularly notable, and the discussion of hygienic citizenship is provocative and innovative. An engaging and convincing contribution to the history of disease in modern Latin America.”—Diego Armus, Swarthmore College