A review by joshmccormack
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry

5.0

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.