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90 reviews for:
Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic Of 1918 And The Search For The Virus That Caused It
Gina Kolata
3.71 AVERAGE
90 reviews for:
Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic Of 1918 And The Search For The Virus That Caused It
Gina Kolata
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Figured it would be suitable reading during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Good book for those who are interested in medical history. I enjoyed most of it, though some bits drug along more than others.
As others have commented, this book would benefit with an update.
Good book for those who are interested in medical history. I enjoyed most of it, though some bits drug along more than others.
As others have commented, this book would benefit with an update.
A book about the flu. Sounds boring, right? But it is great. I could not put this one down. And Kolata is one of my favorite NY Times writers.
A lot of people asked me why I was reading this book, right now, with Covid-19 being a thing right now. Wasn't I scared? For me, it was to help me create a basis in understanding what we may or may not be dealing with, how it affects the world, and what we've learned from the past. I was also sick of seeing/reading news about Covid-19 that misinterprets facts or blatantly just spews out false information.
For the first few chapters, I honestly felt like I would not get into this book. I realize how terrible the 1918 flu was, but it seemed like the author was just saying the same thing over and over again, just with different words.
However, starting with the Swedish Adventurer chapter, it turned into a scientific journey in discovering why the virus was so deadly. That is when the book became incredibly interesting and worth that extra star! Gina did an amazing job introducing each scientist, explaining their history and how they became involved with solving the puzzle of the 1918 flu. Which is sadly, still a puzzle. Scientists still shed light on their insightful theories which was definitely intriguing and in the end, I have a fresher perspective on current events today.
For the first few chapters, I honestly felt like I would not get into this book. I realize how terrible the 1918 flu was, but it seemed like the author was just saying the same thing over and over again, just with different words.
However, starting with the Swedish Adventurer chapter, it turned into a scientific journey in discovering why the virus was so deadly. That is when the book became incredibly interesting and worth that extra star! Gina did an amazing job introducing each scientist, explaining their history and how they became involved with solving the puzzle of the 1918 flu. Which is sadly, still a puzzle. Scientists still shed light on their insightful theories which was definitely intriguing and in the end, I have a fresher perspective on current events today.
Luckily my husband and I have been creating a nice little library of our own. In Jan when Covid 19 was first discussed it was said to be similar to influenza. I pulled all the books we had on the flu and viruses. This is the first book I dived into from the stack. It was a great book to start with. The writing style was easy to read and made the science accessible. I found the story of the 1918 Flu horrifying. That something we can't see, can't smell and have minimal warning infastructure to warn us of an outbreak screams out how vulnerable we are. The fact that we were not able sequence the genome until 2005 surprised me. On the 100 year anniversary experts from around the globe came together to discuss the risk of future pandemics and preparedness. We now know how unprepared we were despite knowing this was on the precipice. We are in the process of losing a lot of the scientists and doctors who first performed all the field work as the ways we research outbreaks is taught through depence on labs and science in a time where people do not trust science and do not invest in preventative infastructure. The scariest part is as we have become more numerous, our disruption of stable habitats and environments increases and our ability to travel having gone into hyperspeed makes us even more vulnerable. We have lived in relative security and as we are seeing the volume of viruses is accelerating and we are losing tools to fight them since viruses are becoming more resistent to antibiotics and can mutate to respond quickly for their survival. This book got me hooked. If you are looking fro more in depth reads I recommend The Deadliest Enemy, The Coming Plague, Spillover and The Great Influenza.
A book about the 1918 global pandemic was inevitably going to hit differently in the midst of 2020’s own global pandemic, and it does. All that emotional fraught aside, this is an engrossing and well-researched account of our scientific understanding of the influenza.
Interesting but overall fairly mediocre, the science is so outdated that it hard to read now, and the writing is not clear or particularly detailed. Interested parties are recommended to read a few recent academic reviews that cover the answers to all the questions about the 1918 pandemic that seemed inscrutable before the genomics revolution of the 21st century. This book just adds some of the human element which is always nice.
informative
mysterious
medium-paced