Rating: 
Summary: Decent read, interesting, not as good as it could have been
Review: I bought this book anticipating a chilling tale of the deadly 1918 influenza pandemic with an account of modern research on the flu virus as a supplement to the main story of 1918. I was rather sadly disappointed. Not much of the book is devoted to the events of 1918, no more than I could (and have) found searching on the Internet. It seems that Kolata has no little (if any) primary research regarding the pandemic. For the first portion of the book, she leans rather heavily on previous historians, but offers little of her own to say. If, however, one approached this book with no specific content in mind, it would be an excellent read. Kolata's journalistic roots are clearly evident in her style of writing... gets a bit tedious after a while but it's effective. She presents excellent characterizations of the players involved in the story. She doesn't ignore the science, but presents it in an understandable manner. The action is easy to follow and there are certainly some chilling moments. On a side note, one of the photographs is particularly disturbing: a minor league baseball game where everyone (including the players and the umpire) is wearing a mask). Unfortunately, the book ended without a strong conclusion. Kolata merely finished presenting the facts and said, "Watch out! This could come back at any time!" An analysis of the impact of 1918 or an evaluation of the potential in identifying the virus to a further extent would have been appropriate.Overall, an enjoyable book on a little-known topic. Everyone should know *something* about the 1918 pandemic. So (if you have time and money :-), read this and some of the other books on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I had hoped it would be
Review: The Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 was one of histories greatest plagues, killing an estimated 25 million world wide - yet little has been written about it. I had hoped Kolata's book would shed more light on the subject. I was disappointed. Instead of discussing the pandemic itself, I discovered the book was more of a documentary on two scientists competing for a sample of the flu virus - one searcing in Alaska, the other in nether reaches of Norway. To liven the book up, Kolata spends an extraordinary amount of time contrasting the expeditions, which could not be more different in their approach to the subject: one is a lone epidemiologist working on a shoe string budget, the other working with a team of scientists with monied sponsorship. But this is not why I purchased the book. If you are more interested in the story of the disease itself, I recommend Alfred Crosby's America's Forgotten Pandemic. If not, you may find this book worthwhile.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting material, lame writing
Review: she should stick to writing for magazines and newspapers because her style of writing becomes tedious when streched out to the length of the book..i became interested in the influenza epidemic of 1918 after coming a reference of it in one of william oneil's books..i wanted to read more about an event that killed more people than either world wars..if i had to pick a book on the subject again, i think i would try Alfred Crosby's book on the subject..now, there's a real historian as opposed to a reporter trying to write books
Rating: 
Summary: poorly organized, mediocre writing
Review: As I writer myself I'll say 3 things about this book. One, it's poorly organized. It's clear she tacked on chapter after chapter at the end after discovering new material. Two, the writing is at best mediocre. And three, I read it to the end anyway. You'll learn a lot about epidemics and nasty flu bugs. But I have to wonder if the "other" book about the 1918 Pandemic isn't better written. And if you want a REAL read, get Ken Alibek's "Biohazard." The vaccine-resistant smallpox developed in the former USSR is a lot more likely to kill you, or keep you up at night worrying, than even the worst influenza outbreak - or book.
Rating: 
Summary: Flu
Review: Despite its wordy title, _Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It_, is an extremely accessible and thoroughly compelling text. _Flu_ weaves the science, politics, history, and personal tragedy of epidemiology into a thriller that is impossible to put down. The storytelling is made all the more rich by the depth and accuracy of the research. Gina Kolata has distilled into one book the bulk of recent popular examinations of the 1918 influenza pandemic. More importantly, though, she has made the impact of the pandemic relevant by linking it to events in our own time. The result is the elevation of a nearly forgotten period to the status of one of the most important events of the twentieth century. The perfect "Get Well" gift!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent scary science - buy it for a sick friend!
Review: I read this book while getting over a case of the flu - and would recommend almost anyone do the same. Like many popular science books, it's a trifle dry, especially in dealing with the time after the influenza epidemic, when quite frankly science plods along looking for the cure, or even the identity of the 1918 flu. But that said, it's a good read, and you'll be as shocked as I was to learn about the modern day plauge that could have wiped out even more of the nation than it did.
Rating:
Summary: A good book with a weak conclusion
Review: Gina Kolata begins an excellent story about the 1918 pandemic. Well-researched accounts about life during the pandemic fill the first chapters of the book. Gripped by the story, I read on eagerly into all hours of the night waiting for the chapter on the investigation of the miners bodies sealed in the permafrost I had followed carefully on the news. As I finished that account, I became concerned; I was almost out of pages and the author had yet to draw the story together. But I pressed on and found that the story just suddenly stopped; as if she had run out of material or energy. Clearly there are no conclusions about the 1918 pandemic at this time, but I would have expected the author to do a better job summarizing the story; perhaps at least a summary of what little we do know. But Gina Kolata quickly wraps up her book and leaves the reader hanging. It really feels like she just got tired and gave up. It is a good book, and will remain in my permanent library. But I think better conclusions would have really made a good book great.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but superficial
Review: This novel is subtitled, The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused it. This is a fast read, in easy to understand terms, with little techno-biology. For a newspaper reporter for the New York Times, Gina begins very objectively and nonpartisan, but by the end there is a definite slant to the story which would have been best left out. Still, the book has all the elements of a good mystery as Gina frequently points out. It doesn't come close to The Coming Plague by Garrett in terms of technical accuracy, objectivity, or depth. It's more of a primer for the world's deadliest flu. It is also very up to date, pointing to the huge slaughter of chickens in mainland China just a year or two ago. Gina writes simply enough and with enough suspense to make this a real page turner and a book that can easily be read by anyone who has some interest in the subject within a week. This would have been more interesting to me if there was more biology about the virus and exactly how it works. There was an article some years ago in The New Yorker which originally captured my interest on this deadly virus. The article described some things that were being done to find a specimen of the virus through either the Army's huge depository and/or the resurrection of infected bodies that had been buried in areas of extremely cold temperatures. And to a large part this book takes you to the moment where a large part of the virus has been revealed and mapped. Viruses are fascinating to me because they were in all likelihood precursors to the rise of life on Earth, and possibly other planets as well. As with my fascination of insects, viruses are like the perfect machines. It seems a lot can be learned from them. From a philosophical point of view I stand on the side of the theory that suggests societal structures are mimics to what goes on within us at a microscopic level; that how cells behave ultimately reflect how societies are structured and why societal mutations may have a benefit to the overall longevity of the human species. And so the virus is a way of relating to life in micro terms. I even take it further by believing that the elements and creation of the universe is intricately related to life at a cellular level-yes, even at an atomic level where resides the ultimate laws of everything. It is why this reading was superficial to me. It did not elaborate on the molecular structure of how this virus works. And it may be true that there is not enough understanding yet of this virus to have anything to say about it on this level. The read itself has only left me still hungry for knowledge of viruses. I only hope that what knowledge that does come my way is in easy to understand language as Gina has made this effort to be.
Rating:
Summary: Whoohoo!! Great story!!!
Review: Who knew that a book about flu pandemics could make for such gripping reading? I have no medical background, but certainly recognize a good read when I see it. This one was all the more intense since it is very real you don't know how it "ends" as you're reading it. The author does an excellent job of introducing the characters and smoothly relating their part in the quest. You'll love some and get annoyed with others. I can see where you might be disappointed with this book if you're a hardcore researcher/historian as the book doesn't get deep into the technical. But, boy, does it make a great story!!!!
Rating:
Summary: i was not impressed
Review: The subject is fascinating, yes, but Gina Kolata did not do justice either to the history or to current science. (Incidentally, several reviewers in here have given her credit for writing The New Yorker article on digging up bodies; she did NOT write that article. Malcom Gladwell did.) In terms of the more distant history, she was superficial at best. Barely 25% of the book deals with the 1918 pandemic. In terms of her analysis even of the 1976 swine flu fiasco, she shows herselt to be a political naif. In terms of the writing, overwrought newspaperish journalism. The best part of the book, and even that is only decent, covers Jeff Taubenburg's work sequencing the genome, which he pulled off a pathology slide. Hopefully this book will not deter a good writer from addressing the same subject.
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