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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
A fascinating overview of the 1918 pandemic, especially in light of our current state of affairs with the Covid pandemic. Barry does a good job illuminating the history of medicine in America (for me it was the most interesting part of the book). The pitiful reputation of American medicine in the 19th and early 20th century is shocking considering how far we have come. The establishment of both the Johns Hopkins and Rockefeller Institutes was a godsend for the field. Frankly, this element of the book would have been well served by more in-depth investigation. It is certainly something this reader will explore more fully.
Barry also does an excellent job describing the sheer horror of the rapid onset of the disease. One of the points that he gets across well is that while the movement of thousands of soldiers due to World War I helped the spread of the disease, it was by no means the sole mechanism for its rapid expansion. Similar to today's pandemic, mistakes made by humans (either willful or accidental) contributed mightily to the onset of the disease. Had our political leaders read this book at the beginning of the Covid nightmare we might have save thousands of lives by avoiding previous mistakes.
One problem that I have with the book is Barry's segment on Woodrow Wilson's contraction of a disease during the peace negotiations with the Germans at the end of WWI. He suggests that the unfavorable terms given to the Germans by the allies would have been mitigated had Wilson not been suffering from sequelae of what might have been the flu. This seems a facile and somewhat unconvincing argument. Certainly massive worldwide calamities have terrible unforeseen consequences, but making the claim that if only Wilson had been of sounder mind the Treaty of Versailles would have been less punitive and saved us the consequences of the rise of German fascism seems a bit of a stretch.
Another issue I had with Barry's book was his rhetorical style. He has an irritating habit of reiterating a phrase immediately after stating it once. While a useful technique for oratory, in the written word it makes the writing clumsy. This is a detraction only for style points, however. As a work of scholarship, there is much to recommend it.
Barry also does an excellent job describing the sheer horror of the rapid onset of the disease. One of the points that he gets across well is that while the movement of thousands of soldiers due to World War I helped the spread of the disease, it was by no means the sole mechanism for its rapid expansion. Similar to today's pandemic, mistakes made by humans (either willful or accidental) contributed mightily to the onset of the disease. Had our political leaders read this book at the beginning of the Covid nightmare we might have save thousands of lives by avoiding previous mistakes.
One problem that I have with the book is Barry's segment on Woodrow Wilson's contraction of a disease during the peace negotiations with the Germans at the end of WWI. He suggests that the unfavorable terms given to the Germans by the allies would have been mitigated had Wilson not been suffering from sequelae of what might have been the flu. This seems a facile and somewhat unconvincing argument. Certainly massive worldwide calamities have terrible unforeseen consequences, but making the claim that if only Wilson had been of sounder mind the Treaty of Versailles would have been less punitive and saved us the consequences of the rise of German fascism seems a bit of a stretch.
Another issue I had with Barry's book was his rhetorical style. He has an irritating habit of reiterating a phrase immediately after stating it once. While a useful technique for oratory, in the written word it makes the writing clumsy. This is a detraction only for style points, however. As a work of scholarship, there is much to recommend it.
Made it halfway. I really wanted to like this book but I was halfway and the author was still building up the history of modern medicine. I was expecting a book more about the economic and cultural impacts of the flu. Perhaps I’ll pick it up again later in the year.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Warning: Reading this after the COVID-19 pandemic brought up some less than pleasant feelings. Please be aware.
This is a fascinatin book about the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Dark and unrelenting, the author doesn't dumb the science down for the reader/listener. The story starts way back before 1918 to paint a full picture of how medical practice operated during the pandemic. It also weaves WWI and the politics of the time into the story seamlessly.
The book ends with talk of when the next pandemic will hit and how bad it will likely be. Incredibly sobering and slightly awkward to listen to after being infected with and living through the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an absolutely memorable read for sure.
Through conversation with family, I learned that an ancestor of mine was married to someone who died of the 1918 Flu. To think that my ancestor lived through the horror of a virus that showed such ferocity and gore is sobering. A wonderful read to help one connect with the lives their ancestors lived. 15/10.
This is a fascinatin book about the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Dark and unrelenting, the author doesn't dumb the science down for the reader/listener. The story starts way back before 1918 to paint a full picture of how medical practice operated during the pandemic. It also weaves WWI and the politics of the time into the story seamlessly.
The book ends with talk of when the next pandemic will hit and how bad it will likely be. Incredibly sobering and slightly awkward to listen to after being infected with and living through the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an absolutely memorable read for sure.
Through conversation with family, I learned that an ancestor of mine was married to someone who died of the 1918 Flu. To think that my ancestor lived through the horror of a virus that showed such ferocity and gore is sobering. A wonderful read to help one connect with the lives their ancestors lived. 15/10.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Gore, Blood, War
Scary. It's amazing how hard these scientists worked to find a vaccine and treatments and very little worked. Even 10 years after the pandemic they still weren't sure what the causative agent was. His advice in the afterword: Response to a pandemic depends mostly on leadership from the top, which we are sorely lacking right now.
This man needed an editor so damn bad but I appreciate the new (to me) knowledge that also seems to portend the coming years for us. I have a laundry list of things to look up. Can’t believe how much history repeats itself…also can’t believe how much horrible shit came from World War I when there seemed to be no good reason for it to take place at all??
informative
reflective
medium-paced
The basic story is really interesting, but the book got into too much detail in many places for my taste and I struggled to finish it.
Decent book, easy to get lost in all the names and dates, but painted a pretty vivid picture of life during the Spanish Flu. Honestly, the parts that interested me the most were the parts that discussed the politics of the time, and how WWI contributed to the spread.
I don’t think influenza is the reason for Wilson’s failings, but sure…let’s blame that. This was not the only time I side-eyed some parts of the book. There were several times that it seemed to be more opinion presented as facts rather than and objective take.
On the positive, it was well written and kept my attention despite the topic and page length.
On the positive, it was well written and kept my attention despite the topic and page length.
informative
medium-paced