The Great Influenza
2004 • 546 pages
Ratings20
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings20
Average rating3.8
At the height of WWI, history's most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision of science and epidemic disease. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research and now revised to reflect the growing danger of the avian flu, The Great Influenza is ultimately a tale of triumph amid tragedy, which provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon.
Reviews with the most likes.
a really interesting encapsulation of scientific / medical progress from medieval times to the 1930s
Very interesting look at early 20th century medical practices (scaaaaary...). Fascinating to consider that this flu outbreak caused the rise of Nazism - Wilson very likely was suffering from the flu while negotiating the Versailles Treaty. Hm.
Do not read this book and “The Stand” at the same time. Just don't.
(more notes found on Google Drive)
Highlights: Holy Toledo Woodrow Wilson was a nutjob * This is a very good book.
What I Took Away:
Wilson out-McCarthied McCarthy
Total focus of gov't on war war war
Bizarre non-education required for doctors in this country at turn of century. Johns Hopkins Univ set up modeled on German universities where medical students actually saw live patients, studied chemistry and biology, worked with cadavers. Most of the people who worked on figuring out what the flu was came through the Johns Hopkins system.
H#N# refer to design of virus - hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. The “H” binds tightly to the cells in the respiratory tract, and worms its way into the cell itself, allowing it to hide from the immune system. The “N” acts like little knives, cutting off any sialic acid that could grab onto the virus as it explodes away to infect other cells. 15 basic shapes of “H” and 9 of “N”
This version of the flu was so deadly for the young (20-40 yo) because it overstimulated the immune system. “cytokine storm”
Death toll in this country wasn't as high as in other places (e.g. India) but it was still pretty awful. Philadelphia was the worst hit. Mass graves, bodies still in houses for days after death. Civilization teetering on the brink. (do NOT read this book and “The Stand” at the same time!)
Gov't inaction, denial made people more fearful and paranoid. People wouldn't help because they didn't understand the way the infection worked (who did?) didn't want to catch it. Families starved because no one would bring them food.
Wilson probably had flu in Europe, affected the way he negotiated the settlement at the end of the war. Flu responsible for Nazis/WWII?
[Dave Garner pointed out that this is a major part of US history that NO ONE TALKS ABOUT]
Abandoned. There's a ton of backstop here about the history of medical science in the US, and I don't have time for it right now. Just wanted to see enough for a comparison between pandemics.
Got bogged down a bit in the medical/science history, but really interesting! Not at all terrifying... /sarcasm
