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A review by asteroidbuckle
Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic Of 1918 And The Search For The Virus That Caused It by Gina Kolata
3.0
The so called "Spanish flu" pandemic of late 1918/early 1919 is one that has seemingly fallen off the face of the earth. Out of all the American and World History classes I have taken in my life, I can't recall ever studying the 1918 flu. Not in any great detail, at any rate. Which, after having read this book, seems strange considering the massive impact the outbreak had on the entire world.
The number of people killed by the flu - conservative estimates have the number at 20 million, though some experts say the number is as high as 100 million - was staggering. Entire families and in some cases, entire towns, were nearly wiped out by a virus more deadly than anything ever encountered before. There were more fatalities from the 1918 flu than from the Black Death. More soldiers died from the flu than from battle in World War I.
And just as quickly as it began, sweeping through the world's population at an alarming pace, killing people within mere days, it ended. There were subsequent influenza pandemics, but never one as severe. And after the devastation the disease wreaked, it seemed like once it was gone, everyone just wanted to pretend it never happened. No one wanted to talk about it. Out of sight, out of mind.
Only, if it happened once, it could happen again, and a few scientists set out to capture the virus that caused the massively deadly pandemic so they could create a vaccine to stop it in its tracks if it ever reappeared.
Part history book, part mystery story, part science textbook, Flu offers an interesting, at times riveting, story of how modern science techniques can be used to solve a (then) 80-year-old cold case. It's also a tale of hubris and over-caution and personal tragedy. And while I was hoping for a big reveal at the end - the name and details of the deadly virus - I understand that it's never that easy in the real world. And the fact that they were even able to pull fragments of the deadly virus from the frozen lungs of long-dead victims buried in Alaskan permafrost is an amazing feat.
Kolata does a great job of writing a book that balances technical science with poignant history. A very interesting read.
The number of people killed by the flu - conservative estimates have the number at 20 million, though some experts say the number is as high as 100 million - was staggering. Entire families and in some cases, entire towns, were nearly wiped out by a virus more deadly than anything ever encountered before. There were more fatalities from the 1918 flu than from the Black Death. More soldiers died from the flu than from battle in World War I.
And just as quickly as it began, sweeping through the world's population at an alarming pace, killing people within mere days, it ended. There were subsequent influenza pandemics, but never one as severe. And after the devastation the disease wreaked, it seemed like once it was gone, everyone just wanted to pretend it never happened. No one wanted to talk about it. Out of sight, out of mind.
Only, if it happened once, it could happen again, and a few scientists set out to capture the virus that caused the massively deadly pandemic so they could create a vaccine to stop it in its tracks if it ever reappeared.
Part history book, part mystery story, part science textbook, Flu offers an interesting, at times riveting, story of how modern science techniques can be used to solve a (then) 80-year-old cold case. It's also a tale of hubris and over-caution and personal tragedy. And while I was hoping for a big reveal at the end - the name and details of the deadly virus - I understand that it's never that easy in the real world. And the fact that they were even able to pull fragments of the deadly virus from the frozen lungs of long-dead victims buried in Alaskan permafrost is an amazing feat.
Kolata does a great job of writing a book that balances technical science with poignant history. A very interesting read.