Scan barcode
A review by rafdee13
Pandemic 1918: Eyewitness Accounts from the Greatest Medical Holocaust in Modern History by Catharine Arnold
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
This book shares primary sources from individuals experiencing the 1918 influenza pandemic. They are mostly everyday people from the US, Canada, and Britain, with some smattering of celebrities and famous persons. The perspectives outside these countries are mostly from British colonial holdings, and many from soldiers and nurses abroad for the Great War.
It was very informative and was a clear mirror in the response of covid 19 to influenza. There were even some entries about people complaining about masking, having to avoid community and public events, and governments refusing health protocols for the war. Of course followed by figures, writings, and estimates of deaths resulting from said departures from public health. This came out before covid 19 BTW, so fascinating to chew on in relation.
The inclusion of current theories and concerns about influenza and global pandemics in general was very welcome. Bird flu as the potential source of the virus, and its worrying new variant right at this moment is extremely concerning.
Criticisms I have of the books if they while it includes perspectives and witnesses ON indigenous peoples dealing with the pandemic across the globe, it doesn't have perspectives FROM them. I know that the author was probably limited to what they could read, ie sources written in English. But for a worldwide plague, I'd like to know how everyday people outside of the core nations and their favored peoples were dealing with it. I picked up this book because I was trying to find resources on Puerto rican and caribbean experiences with influenza, and it had absolutely nothing.
It was very informative and was a clear mirror in the response of covid 19 to influenza. There were even some entries about people complaining about masking, having to avoid community and public events, and governments refusing health protocols for the war. Of course followed by figures, writings, and estimates of deaths resulting from said departures from public health. This came out before covid 19 BTW, so fascinating to chew on in relation.
The inclusion of current theories and concerns about influenza and global pandemics in general was very welcome. Bird flu as the potential source of the virus, and its worrying new variant right at this moment is extremely concerning.
Criticisms I have of the books if they while it includes perspectives and witnesses ON indigenous peoples dealing with the pandemic across the globe, it doesn't have perspectives FROM them. I know that the author was probably limited to what they could read, ie sources written in English. But for a worldwide plague, I'd like to know how everyday people outside of the core nations and their favored peoples were dealing with it. I picked up this book because I was trying to find resources on Puerto rican and caribbean experiences with influenza, and it had absolutely nothing.