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A Constant State of Emergency

鈥淎t long last, we now have a full biography of Paul de Kruif, a larger-than-life figure of immense influence in the middle decades of the 20th century. This carefully researched account of his life and work 鈥� warts and all 鈥� illuminates this explainer of medicine from a period that set the stage for much of our modern era.鈥�
鈥擶illiam C. Summers, MD, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Therapeutic Radiology, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, and History of Medicine, Yale University

鈥淰erhave has meticulously reconstructed the life and work of De Kruif, who fought for the reform of the American health care system, the prevention and treatment of diseases, and affordable health care, especially for the poor.鈥�
鈥擣rederick Betz, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of German, Southern Illinois University

From the Foreword

Why does the biography of a hard-drinking womanizer with a blasphemous tongue appear in the Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America, published by the Van Raalte Press?

Paul de Kruif was a native of Zeeland, Michigan. His grandfather came to America on the same ship as Albertus C. Van Raalte, founder of sister city Holland, Michigan. These tightly knit, hard-working communities were settled in the mid-nineteenth century by Dutch immigrants who were predominately very conservative Calvinists. Following ministerial leaders, they came for economic as well as religious reasons. Young De Kruif grew up in a community of strict Sabbatarians, where neither swimming, playing ball nor bicycling on Sunday were condoned.

A close reading of his biography hints at more serious causes of his rebellion 鈥� religious and social. Although his father was an elder of Second Reformed Church of Zeeland, his role in the church did not necessarily translate into an idyllic home life 鈥� rigid Calvinist morality notwithstanding.

But why a definitive biography of this religious and social rebel? Although De Kruif鈥檚 rebellion defied most of the personal mores of the community, his life left intact the basic Christian tenet of service to others, biblically expressed: love thy neighbor. His heavy drinking led him to AA and, from there, back to religion and prayer. De Kruif鈥檚 vocation as publicist on behalf of public health was in the forefront of the science of medicine. His professional understanding as a microbiologist, combined with his gift for lucid, compelling prose, made him one whose impact on the health of America could be argued as unparalleled.

The hard evidence for this claim is found in 318 published articles, thirty-two of which appeared in the Ladies Home Journal, fifty-one in Country Gentleman, both of which were dwarfed by 112 articles in the Reader鈥檚 Digest, with a subscription list that peaked at sixteen million. Additionally, De Kruif published thirteen books, the most well-known of which, Microbe Hunters, published in 1926, has gone through multiple editions and translations and is still available in paperback, as well as current digital formats.

De Kruif鈥檚 biography deserves to be widely read in terms of his incredible service to the health and wellbeing of the nation. This most famous son of Zeeland is worthy to be remembered and honored.