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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
It's hard to grasp just how tremendous the 1918 epidemic of Spanish Influenza was, or how WWI dovetailed into it's spread so perfectly. This book approaches this epic moment in history from several angles. We see the epidemiology - the detective work into how a disease spreads. There's a running narrative of the development of medicine from untrained and unscientific to a field with a tremendous amount of research and standards. We see the personal stories of the researchers who worked so hard to understand and fight the flu. And we see the murderous results of the corruption that was so typical in American cities of the time. You'll come away with a feeling of awe at the flu and all the people who suffered and who fought it. A great read that goes quickly. Some points with some pretty intense descriptions of the suffering and dying that might not be great for the more sensitive.
I love these types of books - fact-based, historical and full of interesting people. While detailing the United States experience of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, Barry gives us a lesson on virology, research processes and US medical education in the late 19th & early 20th century - all crucial to understanding how the pandemic unfolded and why different scientists and government official acted the way they did. Even though a cure was never found, the research fueled by the fear of the disease laid the groundwork for some of the 20th century's most important medical discoveries. The stories of the pandemic itself are horrifying and made me thankful to be living in a time with better knowledge of how to manage the symptoms of infuenza - even if a vaccine & cure are still elusive. There are many parallels to our current experience with the COVID-19 Pandemic. No vaccine or cure - still managing symptoms rather than treating the disease itself. And the same basic non-medical interventions are being used - quarantine, social distancing & masks. Don't let the scientific portions of the book scare you away - I am NOT a science nerd at all - Barry uses layman language and explains any scientific terms.
So. This book is well researched, EXHAUSTIVELY researched, to the point of sheer and utter boredom. This text is more about the scientists involved in researching the 1918 flu than about the flu itself. For example:
"[A] certain mystery clung to Welch. ...Younger colleagues gave him a nickname, a nickname that spread from Hopkins to younger scientists everywhere. They called him, never to his face, 'Popsy.'...The students had a chant: 'Nobody knows where Popsy eats / Nobody knows where Popsy sleeps / Nobody knows whom Popsy keeps / But Popsy.'" (p. 63)
I'm sure the author was THRILLED when he came across this odd little nugget, but I DO NOT CARE WHERE POPSY SLEEPS. Or even that William Welch was nicknamed Popsy (and how does the author know that no one ever called Welch Popsy to his face?). I did not find the scientists that interesting.
The author also has a very melodramatic sense about him. For example, he likes to end his chapters on cliffhangers. "It remained violent enough to do one more thing." (p. 377) "All this added kindling to the tinderbox. Still more kindling would come." (p. 143) "For the virus had not disappeared. It had only gone underground, like a forest fire left burning in the roots, swarming and mutating, adapting, honing itself, watching and waiting, waiting to burst into flame." (p. 175) Dun dun dunnn!! He also likes to repeat phrases in a dramatic way: "This was influenza, only influenza." (p. 231 but also over and over throughout the book).
It was all too much for me. While I'm sure it is a well researched and well written book in many ways, it was a three star read for me.
Really, there was just way too much information in this book for my liking. It's also repetitive, with some facts being mentioned multiple times. I'd like to read the 100 page abridged version focused just on the influenza. The main thing I learned from this book is that the U.S. was governed by incompetent leadership in 1918 as well.
"[A] certain mystery clung to Welch. ...Younger colleagues gave him a nickname, a nickname that spread from Hopkins to younger scientists everywhere. They called him, never to his face, 'Popsy.'...The students had a chant: 'Nobody knows where Popsy eats / Nobody knows where Popsy sleeps / Nobody knows whom Popsy keeps / But Popsy.'" (p. 63)
I'm sure the author was THRILLED when he came across this odd little nugget, but I DO NOT CARE WHERE POPSY SLEEPS. Or even that William Welch was nicknamed Popsy (and how does the author know that no one ever called Welch Popsy to his face?). I did not find the scientists that interesting.
The author also has a very melodramatic sense about him. For example, he likes to end his chapters on cliffhangers. "It remained violent enough to do one more thing." (p. 377) "All this added kindling to the tinderbox. Still more kindling would come." (p. 143) "For the virus had not disappeared. It had only gone underground, like a forest fire left burning in the roots, swarming and mutating, adapting, honing itself, watching and waiting, waiting to burst into flame." (p. 175) Dun dun dunnn!! He also likes to repeat phrases in a dramatic way: "This was influenza, only influenza." (p. 231 but also over and over throughout the book).
It was all too much for me. While I'm sure it is a well researched and well written book in many ways, it was a three star read for me.
Really, there was just way too much information in this book for my liking. It's also repetitive, with some facts being mentioned multiple times. I'd like to read the 100 page abridged version focused just on the influenza. The main thing I learned from this book is that the U.S. was governed by incompetent leadership in 1918 as well.
Science has progressed significantly. Human behavior, on the other hand, not so much.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/29036.The_Great_Influenza# Really interesting history of the most famous pandemic before our current one. If only they knew then what we know now!!
dark
informative
medium-paced
An entertaining, powerful, and clearly-written look at the world's last mega-pandemic, this book should be required reading for, well, everyone I suppose. Barry's prose is engaging, he has clearly done exhaustive research, and he utilizes repetitive lists of death counts, social breakdowns, and other horrors to hammer home the impact of the 1918-19 flu. For me, the only drawback to this book is that Barry focuses heavily on the people, primarily doctors and medical researchers, who were involved in the response to the pandemic, for better or for worse. I wanted to know more about the social impacts of the pandemic as a way to understand what is happening today, and I felt he sometimes gave sociology short shrift in service to biography. That said, it's a great book and certainly worth your time.
I mostly read this book to give myself a pat on the back and point out that the idiots risking everyone's lives are making the same mistake we made in 1918. Shockingly, since I've started reading this book, the coronavirus is no longer the biggest issue facing the country (although a terrifying second wave might be coming.) I know I have several random followers from Tik Tok whom I don't know. If the phrase Black Lives Matter offends any of y'all, leave a comment and I'll try to help you out with it.
Anyway, most of this book was super boring. A lot of it was about the history of medical science in the country and individuals and the precise lab techniques they did while trying to figure out the source of the influenza, and it was not an easy read. However, the human impact stories were profound and I guess it's worth a read. Coronavirus is thankfully not as bad as this thing was, but also it might mutate or something. Fuck 12
Anyway, most of this book was super boring. A lot of it was about the history of medical science in the country and individuals and the precise lab techniques they did while trying to figure out the source of the influenza, and it was not an easy read. However, the human impact stories were profound and I guess it's worth a read. Coronavirus is thankfully not as bad as this thing was, but also it might mutate or something. Fuck 12
A fascinating account of the remarkable progress in the advancement of the quality of medical research practices in the US at the end of the 19th century sets the stage for how the country and the world would so desperately need skilled researchers once the worst pandemic of the 20th century wreaked death around the world. The political and cultural response to the pandemic has terrifying parallels to the response we are seeing in 2020 to the Covid19 pandemic.
informative
slow-paced
Extremely dense. Took a long time to read, but extremely informative. Interesting read after COVID pandemic and everything the author urged not to do happened. We’re in the bad place.