"History, Sex and Syphilis: Famous Syphilitics and their Private Lives," by Tomasz F. Mroczkowski, MD, is a fascinating and iconoclastic read. Written by a well-qualified physician and specialist, the author incorporates his extensive knowledge of the history of the disease with the private lives of the great writers, musicians, and artists who shaped Western Civilization, and who suffered from a disease that still too little is known about.