Rating: 
Summary: Inaccuracies sink this book
Review: One cannot believe anything stated in this book. The fact-checkers were out to lunch, and the 'facts' stated that fall within my field (veterinary medicine), were so blatantly incorrect, that I cannot believe anything else I read in this book. Science writing, although journalism, still requires the same attention to detail as the subject it purports to describe. This book is sloppy, and at times tedious. I felt annoyed that I had wasted so much time reading it.
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Summary: Extremely readable and informative!
Review: Gina Kolata's book "FLU: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918" was a page burner for me (I read it front to back in 24 hours!). Our family lost several members in the great flu pandemic so the book was of particular interest. I found it extremely informative without getting highly technical. This is a first-rate book I recommend to any reader that is interested in the lesser known events in American and world history.
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Summary: Disappointing read: Bloated, poorly researched.
Review: I was trained as a physicist and although I'm no longer in science, I'm an avid reader of popular science books and Kolata's book is among the worst I have seen in this category. Never mind the fact that the book wanders quite considerably from its stated topic; never mind the fact that the writing style is so clearly newspaperish. Most readers can probably look beyond such minor failings. What is truly galling is the way in which the author tries to insult her readers' intelligence by resorting to completely blatant space fillers: e.g. In a page-long paragraph she exhaustively lists the names and designations of all 20 attendees at some policy meeting. Fascinating. At another point she goes into pointless details about the Mercedes that one of the protagonists drives. Moreover Kolata hasn't done enough research into the events around 1918; that part of the book is entirely derived from the published literature. And the attempt to force the story into the mold of a 300 page mystery story just doesn't work. For refreshing popular sciencereading, pick up Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe" instead. If biology excites you, anything by Richard Dawkins would be money and time better spent.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Science Story That Falls ...a little short
Review: Gina Kolata obviously has considerable talents as a science writer. She explains technical material well, and she knows how to tell a story with suspense. Her books uses the 1918 Pandemic as a backdrop to focus on a larger question. With all of our technology, why can't we cure influenza? After reading FLU, I now know where many influenza strains originate; I understand the classifying of different strains and how we manufacture vaccines against the "flu." As an added bonus, I learn that we have many medical technologies available today to buffer the effects if a virulent strain should emerge again. This is all thought provoking, useful information. Where the book falls short is that it remains a murder mystery without the killer fully identified. And, the killer's M.O. is not clear. Yet, we gain some insight into how scientists continue to peer in at this culprit through a dark glass. Not all science stories have neat endings. But this one is worth reading and thinking about.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: There are better books on the subject. This is written to turn a historical matter into a detective story. If you're going to do that then have a resolution. The build up for this story, which goes from Alaska to Norway to Hong Kong, leads nowhere. In the end, the author has some speculation on what caused the disease but nothing in the least bit concrete. There are hundreds of pages spent on the search for a frozen but living virus that leads to it being mapped. Does it tell us anything about the virus. Not really. If I need speculation I'll read John Case. That has the same story in a fiction novel with much of the same speculation. Meanwhile she tells us very little about the virus. A chapter is spent on what happened in 1918. That's it. Read Crosby's book. Everyone else mentioned in this did.
Rating: 
Summary: Science writer's medico-historical thriller
Review: Kolata is an excellent science writer, able to explicate complicated issues with understanding and appeal. This book, however, was not a favorite for me. Her treatment of the science is clear and understandable, and even generates something of a thrill at times. It is also somewhat repetitive and sometimes seems to lack direction. It seems that perhaps there just wasn't quite enough substance for a book, albeit a short one. I finished it, though, and reading it at the beginning of flu season would add a little apprehensive shudder.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting but unfinished story
Review: The scientist reader probably greets Gia Kolata's lucid book Flu with,"been there, know that," but the rest of us can get some mileage out of it. Kolata takes the 1918 flu pandemic and plays it out as a real-life murder mystery, dishing out explanations of virology as well as cultural and historical notes as she follows a variety of characters chase after the solution. The 1918 pandemic was lethal, cutting a swath across the population, killing more robust young American adults in one year than were killed in all the major wars of the 20th century combined. When it was done, the flu disappeared as quickly as it came and for reasons that are not fully explored in the book, America relegated the experience to obscurity. No one knew what strain it was or how to vaccinate against it in the future. Occasionally, in ensuing decades, a scientist would reconsider the mystery, but it wasn't until a few years ago that two teams simultaneously scrambled for body tissue of 1918 victims buried in the permafrost of Alaska and Norway, and a solution was in sight. The very expensive, media-attended Norwegian attempt was unsuccessful while the Alaskan trek, funded out of pocket, was in, out and got the goods very quietly. And there, suddenly, Kolata stops. It's like pulling the keys out of the ignition of a car that's plummeting across Interstate 80. Up to this point, the book is very interesting and I feet a little cheated out of the climax. That aside, I learned from this very readable book, especially how my own misconceptions about flu vaccinations (I have avoided them) were shaped by the political and media bumbling surrounding the 1976 swine flu epidemic. I also understand the science of virology better. Kolata is not one of the players but her prose transcends technical writing and conveys the thrill of the hunt.
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Summary: All sizzle and no steak
Review: The book's subtitle ("The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It") seems to promise a lot, but, in fact, it should be taken literally: it's only the STORY of the pandemic and the STORY of the SEARCH. The book could be synopsized as follows: In 1918 a flu pandemic struck that killed millions of people. Since then, a half dozen or so people have tried and failed to answer the big questions: Where did the 1918 virus come from? Why was it so deadly? That's it; that's all that's in this book. Perhaps, if Ms. Kolata revises her book in the coming years AFTER the big questions have been answered and adds more technical detail about flu viruses, it will be worth the time to read it.
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Summary: Flu by Gina Kolata
Review: This is one of the most informitive books I've read about the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919. After studying public health 17+ years, I'm happy someone's decided to shed light on one of the most destructive disease outbreaks, certainly in modern history. The "great plague" or "black death" as it's better known, killed 125 million people over six centuries, while the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 killed at least 20 million, and possibily as many as 40 million people in just over one year! Thank you Gina for opening the worlds eyes to the destructive power of influenza.
Rating:
Summary: Great germ detective story
Review: I love a good germ book, and "Flu" had me engrossed from the first page on. Gina Kolata has a punchy, matter of fact writing style that made the narrative flow and held my attention. I particularly enjoyed the way Kolata integrated science, medicine and history to make the story of the germ-hunters come alive. There is just enough scientific detail to place the search for the flu virus into context without bogging the reader down in too much jargon. And fans of the detective story will appreciate the way Kolata turns what could be a dry scientific research project into a dramatic, man-against-nature quest. Be forewarned that the book does not describe the 1918 flu pandemic in great detail -- the focus is mainly on subsequent attempts to find the virus and discover how to prevent it from causing another pandemic. (In that respect, the subtitle is a bit misleading, as it suggests the book will contain a more lengthy historical treatment of the 1918 experience, which it does not.) Fascinating and provocative, "Flu" raises some of the same questions that Laurie Garrett's "The Coming Plague" does, particularly whether humans have the capacity to survive another microbial onslaught like that of 1918.
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