Product Description
A scientific history of the Great Flu Epidemic of 1918, which killed at least 40 million people. The author details the science and latest understanding of flu, examines the chances of a great epidemic recurring and explores what can be done to prevent it.Amazon.com Review
Feeling tired, achy, and congested? You’ll hope not after reading science writer Gina Kolata’s engrossing Flu, a fascinating look at the 1918 epidemic that wiped out around 40 million… More >>
Flu : The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic
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5 Comments
Pandemics make fascinating reading and cause great loss of life. The most famous one was the black plague of the fourteenth century. There is a wonderful narration of this in the delightful book THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO EINSTEIN. The pandemic of 1917 is less dramatic but is still interesting.
Rating: 4 / 5
This was unavailable from the seller but Amazon still demands that I submit a rating!!!!
Rating: 1 / 5
The author most have been compensated based on the number of pages written. Sadly she had to wonder so far of course just to reach 300 pages. At least 100 good pages were mixed in with 200 bad ones. But the good aren’t good enough. Don’t waste your time.
Rating: 1 / 5
A marginally interesting tome that would be better as a 10 page article. The work is in dire need of a good editor (eg pg 38 “it was not until 1900-the first time since cities came into existence five thousand years earlier-that large cities could maintain their populations without constant influxes of immegrants” vs pg47 “By the dawn of the twentieth centery, for the first time since cities had come into existence 5,000 years before, infectious diseases were staunched to such an extend that cities were able to remain stable, and even grow, without depending on a constant stream of migrants…”) The book also wrestles with contradictory premises: that the great pandemic is all but forgotten, however its searing memory spawned knee-jerk rections in the US during the 70′s Swine Flu debacle and Hong Kong’s recent chicken massacre? The story _is_ interesting, but the ‘filer’ (long tangential discussions) and the constant appearance of ‘august’ scientists made for a dull read.
Rating: 3 / 5
I’m amused by the one reviewer who gave this book 5 stars, and who starts out by citing Gina Kolata’s article in the The New Yorker. That was indeed an excellent article. But Gina Kolata didn’t write it. The reviewer’s judgment is about as reliable as his or her facts. 5 stars? What are you smoking? the other reviewers are generally correct: the book is superficial, does not spend sufficient time on the 1918 pandemic itself (for example, here in Memphis I believe– don’t quote me– it led to the founding of St. Jude’s Hospital, now a major research center), and does do a fairly good job on current science. By no means is this a superb book, but it’s… ok.
Rating: 3 / 5
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