The Great Influenza: the Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History.

THE GREAT INFLUENZA, The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History JOHN M. BARRY

The influenza pandemic that began in 1918 and ended just two years later is a fleeting memory now, but it was the most devastating bout with disease the world has known. More people died of flu in 24 weeks than have died of AIDS in 24 years. The outbreak caused more casualties than did 100 years of plagues during the Middle Ages. The deadly strain of influenza is believed to have started in Kansas, when soldiers on leave from Ft. Riley acquired it from farm animals. The troops, heading to the front in World War I, carried the disease to Europe. From there, it went around the world, killing 50 million to 100 million people. Barry reports that Woodrow Wilson's administration didn't do much to help mitigate the crisis. Concerned that morale would fall and the war effort would be hurt, government officials downplayed the outbreak and did little at first to prevent the spread of the disease. But Barry draws a compelling portrait of physicians and scientists such as Paul Lewis and William Henry Welch, who stepped forward to make strides in the fight against this and other disease at a changing time for medicine. Barry's well-researched text is a page-turner while it informs readers about infectious diseases past and present. Viking, 2004, 546 p., b&w plates, hardcover, $29.95.