At the height of WWI, history's most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision of science and epidemic disease. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research and now revised to reflect the growing danger of the avian flu, The Great Influenza is ultimately a tale of triumph amid tragedy, which provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Great history of medicine and the early 20th Century:
Although I purchased this book a couple of years ago, I hadn't gotten to it until just now. I moved it to the top of my To Read list after finishing The Last Town on Earth, which is a fictionalized account of the 1918 flu. I wasn't expecting the detailed history of how our medical profession modernized, and the history of the origins of Johns Hopkins, although I was pleasantly surprised to find it here. I also found the general policies instituted by the Wilson administration, utterly suppressing free... more info
A Hot Read:
A detailed look at the horrible influenza epidemic that decimated not only the United States but most of the world in 1918, killing tens of millions and sickening many more. An excellent job of explaining the biological and medical complexities of the disease, detailing the history of often shoddy medical education in the United States, and relating the Spanish flu's human and emotional toll through vivid anecdotes of personal hardship and horror. The book reads well as a medical detective story and... more info
The Great Influenza:
I liked this book it is a big thick book that takes a long time to read. If you enjoy history and you know it repeats itself. It is an interesting book to buy.
informative but "wordy":
This book contains some excellent information, but i would recommend the abridged version. I don't feel the personal lives & quirks of all of the scientists involved in the story added any insight to this pandemic.
