The Great Influenza : The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

It will take me a 100 posts if I have to talk about Bill Gates Rec and my guilty pleasure book in this pandemic lockdown, which like my current sidekick reading of Kafka went on and on... I always review a new book only when I have another read on the side which I know is already GREAT and recommended by my trustworthy authorities. In books. 🥰 . Urged using facts only, this book had no particular affection for truth per se, only for effectiveness: . “Truth and falsehood are arbitrary terms…. There is nothing in experience to tell us that one is always preferable to the other…. There are lifeless truths and vital lies. The force of an idea lies in its inspirational value. It matters very little if its true or false. Man might be defined as “modern” largely to the extent that he attempts to control, as opposed to adjust himself to, nature. Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions,"Crow says . 1918 INFLUENZA PANDEMIC, like many other influenza pandemics,came in waves. The first spring wave killed few, but the second wave was lethal. Three hypotheses explain this phenomenon. You need to read it to understand what's happening now. How we can reconnect! Avery, one of the scientists said, Persistent and tenacious to find a cure, “Disappointment is my daily bread. I thrive on it.” Welch asked him to find the cause of influenza. His work on influenza and pneumonia would ultimately lead him to one of the most important scientific discoveries of the twentieth century. . And Barry writing this book would bestow me with a pool of knowledge which I am so thankful for ✊🙏 If my tab was a book, every sentence would have been highlighted. That good. A story inside a story. A movie book. By World War I, those trained directly or indirectly by the Hopkins already did lead the world in investigating pneumonia, a disease referred to as “the captain of the men of death.” They could in some instances prevent it and cure it. And their story begins with one man." . "In the same way that precipitates fall out of solution and coalesce around a crystal, individuals with extraordinary abilities and a shared vision had now coalesced about Welch at the Hopkins. Together, with a handful of others around the country, they intended to precipitate a revolution." I am a visionary. I believe in the future. I believe the future can be studied through the past. History repeats itself. This book made my head spin in anticipation. Just after reading the blurb I knew this was meant for me. Nothing I can say which will make you read this except you wanting to. Do read this. Come discuss in powerful captions and visions when you do. I loved this book absolutely. ... This book is pandemics gift to us.!

Must read to understand how the world witnessed and coped and fought the pandemic and how certain mavericks in US health sector helped find an end to the pandemic and what parallels are we seeing in Covid. However the author could have been more precise. The books has too much details, some not required and hence makes the reading uninteresting in the second half

Good book, was hoping to draw some comparison between today's pandemic and last great pandemic, and it helped me to understand it a little better.

Some chapters i mean very few chapters are interesting, crisp. Majority of the chapters are boring,repetitive ,dull,monotonous. I advice readers to simply skip the entire chapters. Author discusses a lot on american medical history which i absolutely not want to know he takes too many names of doctors and researchers. Author wrote the story of the disease from purely american perspective, sometimes his intention seems if a person is ready to listen he might say moon,solar system,sun,galaxies are created by people born in usa and not nature,that his height of ludicrosity plz stop overstating how usa prepared for ww1 and how it contributed to medical research. Sorry for giving negative im going to delete this book from libraray

Too much information about scientists of that time. Too much digressions

This book by John Barry is excellent. I must confess that, when I started the book, I was not sure why he spoke about the history of the John Hopkins Institute or the Rockefeller Institute. However, as the book progressed, this became quite clear. The book then traces you through the possible origin of “The Spanish Flu”, and how it spread. John Barry also then speaks of the race for a cure, and the race to discover the origin of the disease. During the course of the book, he makes some excellent points on how leaders should act, and the lessons we could have drawn from the pandemic. It is indeed strange that the Spanish Flu, and the deadly lessons that the pandemic gave us, have been forgotten. Indeed, very few of us were aware of the pandemic that killed more people than World War I did. This is a very readable book. It had me hooked from start to finish.

This book is chalked full of the facts and figures about the great pandemic of 1918. It covers everything from the very first outbreak which was in a small town in the US to the end which was in 1922 - 1923. The book also covers alot about future outbreaks of other influenza like the one in 1997 and 2003 which is all related to the one in 1918. What I found really interesting is that the flu didn't start in Europe and come over here (which is what I had been taught) and I found that how the American government - Especially Wilson's action during the war and the pandemic crisis to be less then heroic. He made fear and ignorance rule and that just breeds death.

Libro in inglese. Stupendo! Ci ricorda la storia della scienza medica in ogni singola pagina ed approfondisce gli aspetti sociali della pandemia piu` devastante della storia. Insegna molto

I bought this one based on Gates Notes recommendations. The book is a great, very detailed and a truly historic account of the medical profession and scientific community in the US. It also provides an accurate account of the 1918-20 Influenza Pandemic and its intertwining with the relevant historic events of those years. It is a bit too detailed and repetitive throughout and somewhat lacks sistematization which would make it easier to follow at times. Nonetheless it is a good book but it is worth to consider if your interest in the subject truly justifies such a detailed, long book.

Plongée historique et scientifique passionnante dans la naissance, la diffusion et les tentatives de traitement de la fameuse "grippe espagnole". L'écriture est dynamique et le propos particulièrement sérieux. Enfin, l'hommage rendu aux scientifiques et personnel médical est particulièrement touchant.

A chilling account of the 1918 pandemic with a lot of lessons that can be applied to the situation that we find ourselves in today. This is a book that does get very technical but also has some take-home value for every reader. Barry however took over 100 pages to actually get into the pandemic! I would recommend this book as a must-read for those that are betting that the world will be out of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 (think again!). Great historical account also on the founding of John’s Hopkins Medical School, the role of the Rockefeller Medical Institute and how America came to being at the forefront of medical research. It did give me some satisfaction reading a recent WSJ article on how much the book impacted President George W. Bush and how he began to create the systems needed to handle the next pandemic.