The author begins with the premise that the flu began at an army base in Kansas. Though he later admits there was no way of proving that, he proceeds for some time in a vacuum, focusing on the spread of the flu through troop movement, ignoring how it affected the rest of the country. While reading, I often stop and do a bit of online research. Other writers took the same angle, so troop movement did seem to be the super spreader for that epidemic.
While the author did a good job of providing an in-depth look at the deaths, devastation, and the race to isolate the cause and to find a vaccine, at time he veers off and goes in depth into other subjects. The first twelve or thirteen chapters were essentially a history of the rise of American medicine and bacteriology, and biographies of the American researchers who hunted for the cause of what appeared, at times, to be another Bubonic Plague. Because of that, I skimmed and skipped much until I reached the chapter on the epidemic.
I cannot recommend those chapters enough. As I stated above, Barry did a good job of relating the massive death toll and subsequent devastation to individuals, families, local economies, and society overall that the virulent strain of influenza caused, and of the race to isolate the infected and bury mounds of bodies, many of whom were healthy humans one minute and who collapsed the next. He provides an explanation that even I could understand without medical knowledge of how the lungs were attacked by the virus and why it killed so many young adults when children and the elderly were its usual targets. After reading that, I definitely won’t dismiss the flu as readily as I did before.
I was a bit dismay to learn millions wore masks during the epidemic, but overall, the masks didn’t work. The only time they were found useful was when they were placed on those who were infected. In the end, nothing stopped the epidemic but time. It simply faded out.
However, in this age of COVID, it won't hurt to keep socially distancing and washing your hands. Often.
The last chapter covered the lives of the researchers after the pandemic. The first part of the Afterword was interesting. Not only did it discuss past pandemics, the author delves into possible issues regarding future events. Since it was last published in 2018, it was fascinating to see his predictions and how close they came to reality.
In case you’re wondering, the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic is still the deadliest pandemic the world has ever seen. It wiped out tens of millions of people—or more—around the globe, including entire tribes in places like Alaska and in African nations. Still, there is a lot of shared experiences between then and now. Society shut down, fear ruled the day, and no one knew what the disease was or how to stop it.
The book was long, but I recommend it. It places the reader in the middle of the 1918 pandemic, and in doing so, gives insight into aspects of what we’re experiencing now, from closures to masks, to those in government taking advantage of the situation or just not certain how to deal with such an unprecedented situation.
I give it four stars out of five.