This book gives a day by day, city by city, nation by nation acount of the great influenza pandemic of 1918. Called the "Spanish Flu", the flu killed over 500,000 people in the USA, and anywhere from 20 million to 100 million worldwide. This book documents how it started in the shadow of World War 1, how it spread, and how cities, families, and institutions coped with the extremely virulent disease. There are many personal accounts given of different people in different locations, relating how the flu took family members and friends. Much attention is given to the US military bases, as the disease appears to have started in these camps by returning soldiers from Europe and then sread like a wildfire on a parched prairie. The death statistics are astounding and alarming.



The great flu pandemic of 1918 is charted and described from start to finish in this book. Since we have not experienced anything like it in the past nearly 90 years, it is hard for the reader to imagine the chilling horror and rank death that prevailed that deadly fall and winter of 1918.



I read this book because of interest in the current bird flu epidemic in China and SE Asia. Could we have another killer strain of influenza ravage the world as the "Spanish Flu" did in 1918? The answer to that question is unfortunately, "Yes". As explained in the book, viral flu RNA intermingles in the lungs and organs of humans, ducks, chickens, and pigs. Strands of RNA are shared and mingled and it is quite possible that another killer strain of influenza could terrorize the world. With international travel more available than ever, the virus could be transported worldwide in days, bringing death to every part of the globe. Since a vaccine takes time to make and distribute, a new devastating human flu strain could kill untold millions (perhaps billions) of people before treatment is available.



This book is a chilling reminder that despite our technological advances in medicine, we are still extremely vulnerable to viral disease epidemics (witness HIV virus, Ebola virus, etc.). Yes, it could happen again, and that thought sends chills through my being.



A very interesting book that will get you thinking about our current threat of a mutating bird flu.



Jim "Konedog" Koenig

This book gives a day by day, city by city, nation by nation acount of the great influenza pandemic of 1918. Called the "Spanish Flu", the flu killed over 500,000 people in the USA, and anywhere from 20 million to 100 million worldwide. This book documents how it started in the shadow of World War 1, how it spread, and how cities, families, and institutions coped with the extremely virulent disease. There are many personal accounts given of different people in different locations, relating how the flu took family members and friends. Much attention is given to the US military bases, as the disease appears to have started in these camps by returning soldiers from Europe and then sread like a wildfire on a parched prairie. The death statistics are astounding and alarming.

The great flu pandemic of 1918 is charted and described from start to finish in this book. Since we have not experienced anything like it in the past nearly 90 years, it is hard for the reader to imagine the chilling horror and rank death that prevailed that deadly fall and winter of 1918.

I read this book because of interest in the current bird flu epidemic in China and SE Asia. Could we have another killer strain of influenza ravage the world as the "Spanish Flu" did in 1918? The answer to that question is unfortunately, "Yes". As explained in the book, viral flu RNA intermingles in the lungs and organs of humans, ducks, chickens, and pigs. Strands of RNA are shared and mingled and it is quite possible that another killer strain of influenza could terrorize the world. With international travel more available than ever, the virus could be transported worldwide in days, bringing death to every part of the globe. Since a vaccine takes time to make and distribute, a new devastating human flu strain could kill untold millions (perhaps billions) of people before treatment is available.

This book is a chilling reminder that despite our technological advances in medicine, we are still extremely vulnerable to viral disease epidemics (witness HIV virus, Ebola virus, etc.). Yes, it could happen again, and that thought sends chills through my being.

A very interesting book that will get you thinking about our current threat of a mutating bird flu.

Jim "Konedog" Koenig

Fortunately a handful of books have been published recently on this plague-like epidemic which wiped out over 20 million human beings around the globe in the frighteningly short time span of a couple of years. Picture the following scene: one moment your strapping and virile twenty-year something year old friend is at the peak of his life, within twenty-four hours a virus turns him blue, causes blood to ooze out of his mouth and sends him to a painful, fast and gruesome death. Sounds like the plot of a cheap Hollywood horror movie? It was a true occurence that was repeated in the millions around the world in 1918. If you want to read a gripping, informative and coherent account of the appearance, havoc wreaked, and sudden disappearance of this terrorizing influenza virus, 'Influenza 1918' is not the book to read. Iezzoni may possibly excel at creative writing, but writing a documentary is not her forte. She seems to have accumulated a mountain of unrelated stories and then has strung them together without theme or story-line. The individual families whose tragic fates we are allowed to follow make arbitrary and abrupt appearances in the book. Iezzoni fails to engage us on an emotional level in the horrendous fate of some of the individuals she has chosen to highlight. A great book will provide the reader with a new angle on a given topic. After reading this book I did not feel any more knowledgeable about the subject of epidemics, deadly influenza or how best to protect friends and family from deadly outbreaks. For a 60 minute review of the same subject, just borrow the Influenza 1918 dvd from your local library. A writer such as Jared Diamond could have turned this momentous event into a page-turning, yet highly informative thriller. If you are interested in learning about this killer, research all available books on the market before investing your time into a sub-standard treatment of the subject.

This is the companion book to the television documentary on PBS "The American Experience". It provides a concise history of the great flu pandemic of 1918. Flu mostly kills the old or unhealthy; this "Spanish flu" was most dangerous to those between 15 and 40, in the prime of life (p.16). It attacked suddenly and killed quickly. Medical science was helpless, it did not even know this was a virus. Scientists today don't know why this "Spanish flu" was so deadly or how to create a vaccine against it in time (p.220). Pathologist recovered the remnants of an RNA virus to identify it (p.223). The "Spanish flu" closely resembles a pig flu isolated in 1930. There is an interaction between humans, pigs, and fowl in this disease. This was the worst epidemic in American history.

Chapter 1 begins in Spring 1918 with influenza deaths in Fort Riley Kansas. The civilian influenza deaths weren't noticed until later. There was an epidemic of influenza in April 1918, people began to call it "Spanish influenza". Being at peace, Spain had no censorship about civilian life (p.37). The warring nations had shortages of food, clothing, soap, coal, and other essentials. (p.38). Plus stress and hardship? Chapter 2 explains that flu virusses live in birds, but require another animal, like pigs, to spread it to humans. These virusses are constantly changing, creating a problem for the human immune system. Chapter 3 deals with rumors, such as the spread of germs by the enemy Germans (p.67). If the author know more of history and sabotage she wouldn't mock this false idea. "The Enemy Within" by Henry Landau. This "Spanish flu" mostly killed "young, vigorous, robust adults". Before WW II more soldiers died from disease than battle.

Chapter 4 tells of the pandemic around the nation and across the world. Chapter 5 describes the failures of medical science to develop a vaccine. Test "volunteers" from a prison could not get the flu, but their doctor did, and died (pp.110-111). The shortage of doctors resulted in the use of dentists and veterinarians (p.115). This epidemic disrupted normal life. The worst-hit city was Philadelphia Penna (Chapter 6). Dead people were put out in the streets to be taken to mass graves, like during the Black Death in XIV century Europe. Fresh air and sunshine helped to cure (p.143). Then NY became "the deadliest place in the nation" (p.158). Sometimes the "dead" returned to life (p.169). The flu epidemic seemed to be accelerating (p.174). This flu epidemic seemed to end The Great War (Chapter 8). The cold weather of November was followed by a decrease in flu victims (p.177). But there were after-effects from this flu (p.184).

This book repeats the Big Lie that the "punitive peace" of WW I caused WW II. This "peace" did not result in the occupation and purge of the German ruling class of aristocrats and corporate leaders. They did not make this mistake after WW II (p.189). President Wilson was handicapped by his disease (pp.190-191). Insurance actuaries computed the cost of the Spanish flu (p.193). After the dying stopped the "Forgetting" started (Chapter 9). More Americans died in ten months than during the Civil War, more than all 20th century wars (p.204). Was it human nature to ignore this unpleasant reality (p.206)? "Swine flu" began in the autumn of 1918 and every fall after; it had the identical symptoms of the Spanish flu (p.210). Canine distemper is also similar. Dr. Richard Shope found the swine flu virus in 1930. One after effect was setting up national health departments to track disease (p.213). The drift and shift of the flu virus creates everlasting threats to humans (p.214).

What made the Spanish Lady so deadly to the 15 to 40 age group? Perhaps it was war-time rationing that deprived this generation of the food, minerals, and vitamins needed for a healthy body.

With news of bird flu in China mutating and puzzling scientests, I thought it timely to learn more about the 1918 flu pandemic. This book conveys the worldwide effects of the influenza and suggests some possible origins.
The frightening part is how inadequate the medical structure and the governments were in coping with the massive outbreak. At first I had to read the book in small doses, as it was depressing. Gradually I was caught up in the personal tragedies and the international scope of the pandemic and couldn't put the book down.
Piecing together individual's stories and interspersing research, the narrative seems fragmented at times. This makes me want to read further on the topic.

With news of bird flu in China mutating and puzzling scientests, I thought it timely to learn more about the 1918 flu pandemic. This book conveys the worldwide effects of the influenza and suggests some possible origins.
The frightening part is how inadequate the medical structure and the governments were in coping with the massive outbreak. At first I had to read the book in small doses, as it was depressing. Gradually I was caught up in the personal tragedies and the international scope of the pandemic and couldn't put the book down.
Piecing together individual's stories and interspersing research, the narrative seems fragmented at times. This makes me want to read further on the topic.

Worst epidemic? What about the Smallpox plague that wiped out the indingenous peoples of both North and South America?

Influenza 1918 provides a striking account of one of the worst seasons of death in American history, exploring the actions of public officials, a panicked public, and those 675,000 who died. Influenza 1918 is more than just a historical narrative; it examines the medical community's response and the elements which made the flu so deadly on so many levels.

Why was influenza not a reportable disease in the United States in 1918? I know that Oregon reported it, but I don't know why. Also, I believe there were 4 other states that reported influenza in 1918. Does anyone know the answers to these questions?

It does astound me that an epidemic of this magnitude affected the world, but no one ever hears anything about it. Is it because the people who were alive then are dying out? I became interested in this topic in the course of genealogical research. I found that three family members, who were in their late teens & twenties, all died of the flu and pneumonia in September 1918. I found it difficult to locate a book on the subject, but I was happy to find this book, which had to be good since it was based on a PBS documentary. I'm sorry to say that I found this book to be so poorly organized and repetitive that I almost could not finish it. I was hoping for a book that started at the beginning, developed the theme, and ended with the end of the epidemic and a discussion of all the medical issues involved. Instead, the author talks about the war, then women in the fight against flu, then the funerals, then the war, then women again, then a few statistics, etc. Each of these topics could have been treated in separate chapters. I will try to find other books in Amazon about the flu that are more coherent.

While I think this is a good overview of the pandemic, I wish better use had been made of the extensive interviews done for the American Experience episode upon which it was based. Even the addition of an appendix of full interviews would have been helpful. Influenza 1918 seems to have been written with the attention span of television viewers in mind -- rather than as an extension of the excellent script upon which it was based. The PBS version focused more upon the sociological effects of the flu and left me wondering if perhaps the breakdown of the American family began with the fear of exposure to the deadly virus and not with the introduction of the "glass teat." The book, on the other hand, left me wanting more history and less assumption that that the reader doesn't want to READ. Influenza 1918 is simply the latest in the trend of PBS book tie-ins that doesn't deliver the goods on a promising subject.

Since this epidemic is almost forgotten today, it is chilling to see the entire scope of it. Like millions of Americans, I heard in childhood about the horrors of the 1918 flu, which nearly killed my grandfather (the disease skipped over two small children and a sick wife, and attacked a healthy 33-year-old man, making him a semi-invalid for the rest of his life). My mother told me stories of being taken to the doctor's office, and seeing literally hundreds of people waiting for whatever treatment was available. Now, it seems, she might have been underestimating rather than overestimating its effect. The book is stunning and ought to be required reading, if not in American history classes, certainly in those pertaining to epidemiology.

This is a book you would rather not read. On the other hand, Its a book you should. It tells a lot more than I expected, and I wish it included even more. As a parable its outstanding. It always surprises me, our lack of memory and the absence of history. Maybe its possible to live only with Star Wars, but I don't think so. Some of the comments in regard to W. Wilson were intriguing.