Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating and inspirational
Review: The virus: it is always a source of amazement that an entity so small and so simple could wreck such havoc to human populations. This book details the history of the deadliest viral outbreak in recorded human history. Contributing to the deaths of probably as many as 100, 000, 000 people worldwide, and just over the span of a couple of years, this story of the 1918 influenza virus is a chilling one, but also a story of human and scientific triumph. Reading the pages of this book instills fear as well as inspiration, and it serves as a good apology for current efforts to understand and engineer viruses, in order to soften or even eliminate their threat to all life forms on this planet.
This book does not merely discuss the calamity caused by the influenza virus. It also gives an overview of the state of medical science as it was before the virus struck. For anyone (such as this reviewer) not familiar with the history of academic institutions in the United States, especially medical institutions, the author offers a view of it that is actually quite surprising when judged from contemporary standards. The United States currently has the best medical institutions in the world, but as the author shows, this was not the case one hundred years ago. Indeed, the picture of the U.S. university towards the end of the nineteenth is one that was oriented to liberal arts and religious/theological studies. Medicine and science in general were not very well represented in the university, but a perusal of the universities of Europe motivated some to replicate their success in America, with Johns Hopkins being the ultimate example. Even Harvard University, the author points out, would grant a medical degree to anyone who could pass five out of nine courses. He quotes an American student, who, like most others of the time had to go to Europe to get a quality education in medicine, described the state of medical education in the United States as "simply horrible."
The contributions and life of William Henry Welch, one of the major players of medical science at the time, founder of the Johns Hopkins medical school, and one of the first proponents in the United States of the germ theory of disease, are discussed in great detail in the book. One can only view his life with admiration, not only for instigating the correct path for medical research in the United States, but also for his dedication to his goal, which early on, required him to live a somewhat Spartan existence. The lives and contributions of other members in the great cadre of medical science of the time, such as Simon Flexner, Oswald T. Avery, William Park, Anna Wessel Williams, Rufus Cole, Paul A. Lewis, and Richard Shope, are given ample treatment in the book, stirring the reader to a quiet envy of their dedication and accomplishments. Their impact to medical science and molecular biology is still being felt, both in terms of their strategies in tackling scientific problems and the restlessness they exhibited in finding the answer.
With the tools of molecular biology and powerful computing machines, knowledge of viruses has swelled dramatically from what it was in 1918. Interest in the 1918 influenza virus has not subsided, and in fact just in the past few weeks there have been efforts by some researchers to study the virus by taking fragments from the (exhumed) victims of the pandemic. Five of the eight genes of the virus have been sequenced, and some researchers have added some of these genes to modern flu viruses, in order to recreate the 1918 virus. Naturally issues of containment have arisen, and they should be, but a study of the 1918 virus is necessary in order to find ways to combat possibly even more virulent viruses. The genetic engineering of viruses, both dangerous and benign is important work that should be done by those individuals who have proven themselves responsible in carrying it out. This book gives ample evidence that an understanding of viruses is of extreme importance to the future of humankind.
Rating: 
Summary: It could happen again...
Review: ...and it almost certainly will. John Barry's exhaustive study of the great flu pandemic of 1918 is an excellently researched account of the deadliest attack of a killer virus that ever hit the planet. As Barry states, 24 million people have died of AIDS in the past 20 years; the flu virus of 1918 killed at least twice that many people in 20 weeks. The book is overlong; I would have preferred less information about the bios of the men involved in fighting the pandemic and investigating its cause, and more on the human side of the catastrophe; more individual vignettes would have illustrated the toll the pandemic took on ordinary people in this country and around the world; but the narrative is stark enough. The account of how the flu swept through the army camps, decimating the numbers of young men about to be sent off to fight in World War I, is mind-blowing; even more so is how the disease attacked remote locations outside the United States and left ghost towns in its wake. Barry mentions that the flu spared those cities and towns in America that took the most stringent isolation precautions, and this could have been developed more in anticipation of another visitation of a deadly pandemic. Because Barry states without hesitation that sooner or later it will happen again, and the implications are devastating. The 1918 flu pandemic occurred in an age before jet travel; how fast would it spread in our own time? The socio/legal problems of quarantine and isolation are enormous, and yet they may -- will -- have to be faced. The prospect of a return of another killer flu virus makes one realize just how defenseless we are against an airborne plague. One can pretty much avoid HIV by good luck and careful practices, but nobody can stop breathing and survive.
Rating:
Summary: Sobering look at a deadly pandemic...
Review: A book that recently caught my eye was one by John Barry titled The Great Influenza - The Epic Story Of The Deadliest Plague In History. Now, I generally have a phobia about needles, and have *never* received a flu vaccination, but I think that will change next year. This was scary stuff...Barry details the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 in great detail. He starts by setting the stage of how American medicine was practiced at the end of the 19th century, and how there was little control or respect for the profession. And rightly so... Nearly anyone could call themselves a doctor and do nearly anything. But through the efforts of a few key people, John Hopkins university was formed to bring the medical education up to European standards. Most of this transformation was occuring when the flu pandemic started. This is where the book gets interesting... and frightening. Because of World War 1, recruits were overcrowded into training facilities that were less than sanitary. When the flu first broke out in one of the army camps in the states, it was quickly transferred to other camps when soldiers transferred. From there, it easily jumped into major cities, decimating large numbers of people. And when these soldiers went overseas, the flu went with them. Being especially contagious, it swept the globe in short order and left, by some estimates, over 100 million dead. That is so hard to comprehend. When you look at the struggle they had to even identify the cause of the illness, you understand how it could so easily run rampant. One would think that it couldn't happen today, but one would be wrong. SARS, AIDS... diseases that defy attempts to quickly identify the virus, and are resistant to attempts and efforts to treat them. It's not hard to imagine how a pandemic could start so much more quickly today due to the ease of worldwide travel. Well worth reading to understand how precarious the general health of society could be...
Rating:
Summary: The Time of Death -- a timely and chilling reminder...
Review: A startling fact about a plague that devastated humanity --one which occurred within the lifespan of many still alive today-- is the collective amnesia that so often surrounds that event. Few Americans realize that it's probable that they have a family member only a generation or two ago who fell prey to the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic; tales of when the cry "bring out your dead!" echoed along American streets were seldom passed from those who witnessed it to those of us who descended from the survivors. It takes a trip to virtually any cemetery to bring the death toll home to us, as marker after marker identifies the victims of the 1918 flu pandemic. With THE GREAT INFLUENZA, author John Berry provides illumination on what is perhaps the most horrific epidemilogical holocaust in human history-- the deaths in 1918-1919 of at least 40 million humans, and very likely as many as 100 million, within a timespan measured in months. Chillingly, Barry's examination of the Spanish Flu worldwide epidemic is timely indeed. As I write this, an avian influenza virus not unlike that which triggered the 1918 pandemic, if forcing the mass slaughter of chickens and other birds throughout Asia. It is an attempt to forestall the very real possibility that the virus (which already has infected human victims through bird-to-human transmission, and currently has a 70 percent mortality rate among human victims) could acquire genes which would allow for human-to-human transmission. During research for my own novel, FINAL EPIDEMIC, I interviewed dozens of medical researchers and epidemeologists. Without exception, each stated that their greatest fear was a resurgence of a influenza virus similar to the 1918 variant, which through incubation in humans mutated into a unprecedented killer of humanity. Based on the cyclic nature of flu pandemics, I was told, mankind was already overdue-- and, worse: woefully unprepared-- for such an emerging viral Shiva. Barry's research is intense and impressively documented; he cites in detail the historical record so painstakingly compiled by such fellow medical historians as Alfred W. Crosby, author of the definitive AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN PANDEMIC: THE INFLUENZA OF 1918, and draws compellingly upon the news accounts and diaries written during as the lethal pandemic raged worldwide. His detailed account of the individuals who revolutionized medicine in the U.S. --in the process, fortitiously preparing medical science for the coming conflict with influenza-- provides a valuable perspective on the portrait Barry paints. Barry writes in a style that is gripping yet avoids the tone of sensationalim he could so easily have fallen into, given the terrifying nature of his subject. Influenza was, and remains, a universal threat: As A.W. Crosby wrote in his own classic examination of the 1918 Spanish Flu, "I know how not to get AIDS. I don't know how not to get the flu." THE GREAT INFLUENZA deserves to be ranked among the best medical-oriented histories in print today. It also deserves the attention of any who recognize that in the past lies the potential calamity of our future. In John M. Barry's THE GREAT INFLUENZA, we see that lethal potential all too clearly. --Earl Merkel
Author, FINAL EPIDEMIC (PenguinPutnam 2002)
and DIRTY FIRE (PenguinPutnam 2003)
Rating:
Summary: Mirror to the past, window on the near future?
Review: A startling fact about a plague that devastated humanity --one which occurred within the lifespan of many still alive today-- is the collective amnesia that so often surrounds that event. While many Americans have a family member only a generation or two ago who fell prey to it, few of us have heard of time when "bring out your dead!" echoed along American streets. It takes a trip to virtually any cemetery to bring the death toll home to us, as marker after marker identifies the victims of the 1918 flu pandemic. With THE GREAT INFLUENZA, author John Berry provides illumination on what is perhaps the most horrific epidemilogical holocaust in human history-- the deaths in 1918-1919 of at least 40 million humans, and very likely as many as 100 million, within a timespan measured in months. Chillingly, Barry's examination of the Spanish Flu worldwide epidemic is timely indeed. As I write this, an avian influenza virus not unlike that which triggered the 1918 pandemic, if forcing the mass slaughter of chickens and other birds throughout Asia. It is an attempt to forestall the very real possibility that the virus (which already has infected human victims through bird-to-human transmission, and currently has a 70 percent mortality rate among human victims) could acquire genes which would allow for human-to-human transmission. During research for my own novel, FINAL EPIDEMIC, I interviewed dozens of medical researchers and epidemeologists. Without exception, each stated that their greatest fear was a resurgence of a influenza virus similar to the 1918 variant, which through incubation in humans mutated into a unprecedented killer of humanity. Based on the cyclic nature of flu pandemics, I was told, mankind was already overdue-- and, worse: woefully unprepared-- for such an emerging viral Shiva. Barry's research is intense and impressively documented; he cites in detail the historical record so painstakingly compiled by such fellow medical historians as Alfred W. Crosby, author of the definitive AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN PANDEMIC: THE INFLUENZA OF 1918, and draws compellingly upon the news accounts and diaries written during as the lethal pandemic raged worldwide. His detailed account of the individuals who revolutionized medicine in the U.S. --in the process, fortitiously preparing medical science for the coming conflict with influenza-- provides a valuable perspective on the portrait Barry paints. Barry writes in a style that is gripping yet avoids the tone of sensationalim he could so easily have fallen into, given the terrifying nature of his subject. Influenza was, and remains, a universal threat: As A.W. Crosby wrote in his own classic examination of the 1918 Spanish Flu, "I know how not to get AIDS. I don't know how not to get the flu." THE GREAT INFLUENZA deserves to be ranked among the best medical-oriented histories in print today. It also deserves the attention of any who recognize that in the past lies the potential calamity of our future. In John M. Barry's THE GREAT INFLUENZA, we see that lethal potential all too clearly. --Earl Merkel
Author, FINAL EPIDEMIC (PenguinPutnam 2002)
and DIRTY FIRE (PenguinPutnam 2003)
Rating:
Summary: Monumental
Review: Barry has done a masterul job of presenting not only the minute details of the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 - 1919, but also has written a first-rate history of medicine in the United States at the turn of the last century.
About the first third of the book chronicles what medicine was like in America, and the advances and changes that were taking place in the profession world wide. This is interesting, and does serve to provide some context for the way in which the epidemic was responeded to, but largly was a bit out of place.
The second third of the book is incredible in the thoroughness with which the subject is dealt with. The nature of viruses in general is clearly explained, before influenza in particular is detailed - along with a very solid and easy to understand explaination of the way in which viruses (and influenza) can mutate.
The disucssion of the epidemic in the United States is where Barry really hits his stride. As several readers have already remarked, he does have a tendency to get melodramatic, but his treatment of the proportions, reactions and the dramatic race to cure the epidemic are nothing short of riveting reading.
The book is exhaustively researched, well written, and fascinating. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Nature can be our enemy
Review: Coming on a year when the shortage of flu vaccine caused long lines and panic for protection, Barry brings us the story of man versus nature in response to our deadliest viral outbreak of the modern era. If Barry's research teaches us anything, it is that we are, at best, trying to vaccinate against what might be, while nature has at her disposal all the variations of influenza that can be, and can rapidly mutate with speed to render our best guesses moot. Several books have been written about the great influenza pandemic but what sets Barry's off is the scope he chooses to study. For he not only looks at the pandemic itself, he places the pandemic in societal and historical perspective. He shows how quickly medicine had moved in the 19th century from almost unregulated quackery to a field based in science and certification, producing medical doctors who actually can treat patients and make them better, rather than just making a guess and bleed them for good measure. And the pandemic is placed in the context of World War I, where travel was increased, information was carefully censored, and people were thrust together in close quarters, providing excellent tinder for an epidemic. As we speak more about potential biological warfare in the 21st century, you can see that in many ways, we are no more prepared than those early 20th century doctors. Barry gives us some hope as he notes the vigorous response to potential outbreaks of flu in recent decades that have helped cut the spread of deadly strains. But as the author states "Nothing could have stopped the sweep of influenza through either the United States of the rest of the world - but ruthless intervention and quarantines might have interrupted its progress and created occasional firebreaks."
The scary part of the story is that it could very well happen again today. In fact, we seem to have come close more than once, but been lucky enough to catch it as it just begins, isolating the disease so that it burns itself out for lack of hosts. And this is where Barry's work has some of the most impact - it is not just a history but also a warning.
If I had one complaint of the book it is the sweep of characters involved. We meet many people, especially in the medical field, who have vital parts leading up to the pandemic, and many of these people are then replaced by others in the actual fighting and aftermath of the pandemic. Sometimes it was difficult to keep track of where people fit in. People who gave Cassandra like warnings ahead of the plague are not heard from after it hits. A simple cast of characters list would have been helpful. But this is a very minor concern, and one that may not impact many other readers. Considering the scope and sweep of the book, Barry does an admirable job keeping the range of characters fairly tight. One can only hope that Barry and his writing may have more impact than those who stood warning the world in 1918.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding history of pandemic and medical history
Review: Compliments the Kolata book; increases wonder that we didn't learn anything about this in school in the fifties and sixties. Occasionally repetitive, but otherwise perfect history of the development of the medical profession, the great figures it produced (and that produced the medical schools), and what they confronted in 1918. Hard to believe that the governments -- federal, state and local -- were as obtuse and immovable as they were, that Woodrow Wilson was as careless and uncaring as he's portrayed, but completely consistent with Barry's thesis. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding historical story
Review: Don't be fooled by the nature of the topic, which some may think is too scientific for the average reader. John Barry is a terrific storyteller who makes what could have been a dull nonfiction account of a flu epidemic into a riveting account of a deadly plague. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in science history. I also recommend In The Name of Science: A History of Secret Programs, Medical Research, and Human Experimentation by Andrew Goliszek as another outstanding historical account of past and present atrocities done on human subjects.
Rating:
Summary: subject matter is a must-read.
Review: i believe this is the book i read in my "emerging and evolving pathogens" class. i may be wrong. if i'm wrong, i'm getting this book! being that almost NOBODY knows of the 1918 influenza pandemic (not even members of the medical community) - this story is a must-read. it is time we acknowledged and respected the innumerable victims of this disaster. it is also important considering a few military members caught a version of swine-flu (similar to that of the 1918 pandemic) and i believe at least one died. it was a large scare because a repeat of the pandemic was/is greatly feared. READ THIS (or at least find out what it's really about, because you will most likely want to read it after that!) :)
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