Chlorination of Water

This is a primary document from the birth of one of public health's greatest victories. Written when water chlorination was still a novel and contested practice, Joseph Race's 1918 text captures a pivotal moment when scientists and engineers were first learning to neutralize the invisible killers in municipal water supplies. The book lays out the chemistry of chlorine, the practical mechanics of dosing and application, and the painstaking research demonstrating chlorine's lethal efficiency against typhoid, cholera, and dysentery pathogens. Race documents the pioneering figures who risked their reputations on this radical approach, the municipalities that pioneered its use, and the gradual, hard-won acceptance of chlorination as an essential public health measure. Reading this now feels like witnessing a miracle in slow motion: every page represents a world where drinking tap water was an act of faith, and where a few dedicated scientists were about to change that forever. For anyone curious about how modern civilization tamed its deadliest enemy, this compact volume offers an intimate window into that transformation.