John M. Barry: Great Influenza (2005, Penguin Publishing Group)
English language
Published Nov. 20, 2005 by Penguin Publishing Group.
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.
The pandemic is the vehicle for this book's exploration of the creation of modern medicine. It is a brilliant book, gripping as a thriller and filled with fascinating detail. Highly recommended.
I wanted to understand the spanish flu better, so I picked this up. What a surprise! This book greatly surpassed my expectations. The author covered the epidemic from numerous perspectives. I also think that he did a good job of explaining things in layman's terms. It was a fascinating and enlightening read.
