This book tells the story of the thousands of "health seekers" who journeyed to New Mexico from 1870 to 1940 seeking a cure for tuberculosis (TB), the leading killer in the United States at the time -- and is today the leading infectious killer worldwide. By 1920, 10% of all New Mexico residents were TB sufferers who had come to the state for the fresh air, the high, dry climate, and the endless sunshine thought beneficial to the illness. Writers, painters, architects, doctors, lawyers, business leaders -- all of these came for the cure and many stayed to form influential salons or play a critical role in the state's struggle for statehood. The story of art, health and financial growth has a seedy underside, however, when it was discovered the native Hispanos and American Indians were being infected by the influx of "lungers". Many of these people were neglected and died. Then, when the prosperous era of health seekers moving to New Mexico ended, it ended quickly -- antibiotics became available and were a reliable cure. The sanatoriums closed; a legacy with many points of light remains.

Nancy Owen Lewis served as director of scholar programs at the School for Advanced Research (SAR) from 1998-2011 and is currently a scholar-in-residence at SAR. She received her PhD in cultural anthropology from the University of Massachusetts and subsequently taught anthropology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and the University of Arkansas. Her publications include A Peculiar Alchemy: A Centennial History of SAR, coauthored with Kay Hagan (SAR Press).