Frederick L. Hoffman

This book is the dramatic, inspiring story of a remarkable man, born in Germany, who achieved greatness and fame in the United States, but who, like many other distinguished persons, undeservedly faded from history.

Torn from a happy childhood, and desperate to leave Germany, he finally arrived here, speaking no English, with $4.76 in his pocket. He found love and success. Before he died, he authored 28 books and nearly 1200 published articles.

This book tells of his struggles and how he reached his goals, and was a pioneer in calling attention to new public health issues:

calling attention to the deadliness of asbestos (1918)

linking cancer and smoking (1915)

proving that silicosis was a real disease that was killing thousands of American workers (1922)

presenting preventive methods for malaria control (1917)

predicting from his thousands of air miles in the 1920s that airplanes would replace trains for long-distance passenger travel, and also the danger that airplanes would become major war machines

founding the American Cancer Society (1913)

helping found the American Lung Association (1904)