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This book is a fascinating look at the 1918 flu, focusing on the US and taking the time to set the stage in politics and medicine before the pandemic occurred. It‘s eminently readable and I didn‘t want to put it down. I do feel like it left a couple threads hanging, but that didn‘t take away from the book for me.

This is a non fiction book about 'the Spanish flu' as it is commonly referred too, from an American perspective.

I learnt a lot here, I hadn't known that this flu and WW1 were at the same time, I learnt about the virus, the reactions, the rules, the deaths, the vaccines.

While covid 2019 isn't mentioned here (this book was published in 2015) it all sounds very familiar. History literally repeated itself.

Four stars.

I have been wanting to read The Great Influenza for a long while. I think I may not have been so surprised with how COVID impacted our lives if I had read this years ago, as the author 100% predicts everything that has happened over the last couple of years. It makes me so angry that this has happened. #mounttbr #wintergames2021 #teamgamesleighers #bfc21 #wintercosy #averymerryreadathon #dashingdecember #averymerrybingo #christmasmyway

Wow this one is filled to the brim with information. Covering everything from the virus, to how vaccines work & are developed, to the scientists desperately trying to save lives and the politicians getting in their way, this book covers it all. Sometimes it seemed to repeat itself, but it didn‘t happen often enough to annoy me. It‘s unsettling how similar our current situation is to the one in 1918. We‘re not as advanced as we think we are.

This one took me a long time to get through but I‘m glad I read it. A detailed history of the 1918 flu epidemic, it taught me a lot about society, health safety and communicable diseases. And that we humans aren‘t great at learning from our history. Overall, a great piece of nonfiction. #BookspinBingo #Bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

The lessons that were learned by one president then quickly thrown out by the next. Things could have turned out so differently for so many people this past year.

8 hours in and I just couldn't finish it. More than 30% of the beginning isn't even about the 1918 flu, but about the history of medical schools in America and how quickly the measles and pneumonia spread at military bases across the country. There is so much information in here that I got bogged down with the detailed history of the major doctors and couldn't differentiate them.

EXCELLENT!!
A year into the Covid pandemic & I decided it was the perfect time to learn more about the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Well, it was pretty evident that we didn‘t learn much from the past when it came to handling Covid b/c we made most of the same mistakes they did a century ago. (We did do some things right too)
It was really interesting learning about the developing scientific techniques used to combat the influenza that killed so many.

So far at 27% of this audiobook and VERY little about the actual disease. It keeps branching off about so many other subjects. I understand some background is needed, but this is a huge bore so far.

An absolutely solid look at what it took to combat the 1918 epidemic, the scientific institution and scientists involved, the affect of being in the middle of a war, and what it was like for the average citizen. There are many lessons here for what we are dealing with in 2020 and clearly shows that there are many we failed to learn from. I strongly recommend this if you want to see what the worst can really be like. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#history #science

Nonfiction about 1918 which is Shockingly relevant today.

Starting this next on #audible. I keep having to wait on holds on overdrive. Need a change.

“Those historians who have examined epidemics and analyzed how societies have responded to them have generally argued that those with power blamed the poor for their own suffering and sometimes tried to stigmatize and isolate them.”

Ooh, I need a new challenge! My goal is to average 200 pages a day. I‘ve never measured my reading by the page, this will be fun! #awesomeaugust Thanks @Andrew65

Given our current pandemic this is a scary book. The pandemics don‘t parallel each other but the similarities are striking. I read history books because I always get a new appreciation for our ancestors and the battles they fought.

Guys! My book buying is getting out of control. No new books for me in August. I‘m vowing it now! But until then . . . (and with one more order to arrive ) look at these beauties!

Just some light reading while I‘m home alone for the week/weekend. 🤓

Wow! At 19+ hours I found this book on the Spanish Flu fascinating! I learned so much, not only about this strand of the flu that killed from 1918-1920. I don‘t think there was a stone left unturned when it comes to dealing with a pandemic! The Afterword was rewritten a few years ago and I‘m curious to read what he rewrites after COVID-19. He did say we are nowhere near prepared for an epidemic. If I read this a year ago it‘d be a different vibe!

AWFUL! The book is very long, overly detailed, and the only new thing I learned about the 1918 influenza was that the Great War‘s troop deployments helped spread the virus. Not surprising. The first third is an exhausting detailed history of U.S. medical schools. The second third is about the evolution of science research institutions. Save yourself 15 hours of life and skip this one. I wish I had bailed!

Lots of audiobooks ready! 3 are library loans. I decided to start the tagged book first. My air pods will be glued to my ears for the next few weeks!

I feel like the world is hinting that I should read this. 😁 So it‘s going on my #bookspin list to fill the gap left by my March read.

This edition has an afterword about the Avian flu. I‘m guessing the next edition will have a coronavirus section!

Maybe not the most comforting book at the start of a worldwide pandemic but very interesting indeed!

Great book and great listen

With the flu comes a #fever Two books about the World War I era flu pandemic.Still on my TBR .More US soldiers were killed by the flu than in battle.I may be a bit afraid to read them.
#MOvember

Someone is being mischievous today. 😼 #catsofLitsy #HelloKitty

My contribution for the “J” prompt in #30junebooks is “The Great Influenza” by JOHN M. Barry. This is a fascinating examination of the influenza epidemic of 1918, in which 100 million people worldwide died. (100 MILLION. In 24 weeks. 😳) I‘m a sucker for disease and epidemic books, and this one hit all my must-haves for a great work of narrative nonfiction.

@howjessreads

This morning‘s beautiful #audiowalk. The last of this snow will be gone by tomorrow. Let Spring begin! #litsywalkers

My little man is on day 4 of being home from school and day 5 of suffering from the flu. I can‘t imagine how sick he would have been if we wasn‘t vaccinated! Well gives mom a whole lot of time to catch up on reading and knitting!

Something cheerful for the ride in.

Very interesting. I've learned a lot about the period and the pandemic. I was always curious about that since I've seen many, many graves in the local cemetery all dated the same few weeks of 1918. It's worth of note though that it's a heavy reading and sometimes the text just doesn't flow.

I am finally done. I primarily read this book at school in chunks of 15-20 minutes twice a week. I learned a lot and can teach my virology friends some things ;). My only complaint was disregarding Ms.Rosalind Franklin about DNA and stating things that aren‘t 100% certain.
#science #influenza #epidemiology

Excuse me?!? What about Ms. Rosalind Franklin?!?!
#sexism

Slowly making my way through. #workreads #exercise

Fun fact Pneumonia was the leading cause of death in the U.S until 1936 #funfact #exerciseandread

Eating some pineapple curry and getting caught up on my reading #thai

Fun fact #1: the Spanish Influenza has killed more people than #aids and the #bubonicplague. #viruses #history #science

4/6 biographies down. I read "5 Days at Memorial" by Sheri Fink and loved it. I'm also fascinated by epidemics and disease. #tbr #disease #science #biography #womanrolemodels

Went to the doctor and tested positive for #influenza. Figured it's a good time to start reading this book. #flu

I finally got to a used bookstore in town that for some reason had never visited. I am in love! 😍 I'll take photos next time, but this place was great! Friendly knowledgeable owner, organized, tons of subjects, lots of light, cozy, books in a great condition, and a cat. 😻 this was my #bookhaul that I spent a bit too much on.

Beautifully written book considering the subject. It ranges from the science to war to life to misinformation all while bring the people discussed to life with all of their flaws.

I was in avoidance mode today & took refuge in reading & science which is my jam. Donated blood to start this Inauguration Day off right & am now reading this amazing book about the 1918 flu epidemic.

The books that strike fear in my heart are a little different than your average horror/thriller/suspense book. I shared 8 books that scared me on my blog today (http://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/halloween2016) so does that mean my #giveascarybook hashtag counts 8 times? 😝 Let's give more kids more books!

🎃🕸🎃🕸🎃🕸🎃🕸🎃🕸🎃🕸🎃🕸
#allhallowsread #booktober #scaretober #halloween #giveascarybook