William Crawford Gorgas His Life and Work

[William Gorgas's work is] "the greatest sanitary achievement the world has seen...I doubt if we shall ever see as great again... It is perfect work and its organization is the only kind that would have succeeded under the circumstances.'' -Dr. Malcolm Watson, Report to Royal Colonial Institute, (1914) William Crawford Gorgas (1924) is a collaboration between the highly regarded historian Burton Hendrick and Marie Gorgas, the widow of William Gorgas. It extols the life story of Gorgas, who, as head of the Panama Canal Zone Sanitation Commission, blocked the spread of yellow fever and malaria by requiring practices which controlled the mosquitoes that carry these diseases. Because of his pioneering policies, Gorgas was credited with saving thousands of lives and enabling the construction of the Panama Canal.