Pale Rider
The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World
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4.2 • 79 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In 1918, the Italian-Americans of New York, the Yupik of Alaska and the Persians of Mashed had almost nothing in common except for a virus--one that triggered the worst pandemic of modern times and had a decisive effect on the history of the twentieth century. The flu pandemic of 1918-1920 was one of the greatest human disasters of all time. It infected a third of the people on Earth—from the poorest immigrants of New York City to the king of Spain, Franz Kafka, Mahatma Gandhi, and Woodrow Wilson. But despite a death toll of between 50 and 100 million people, it exists in our memory as an afterthought to World War I.
In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal how the virus traveled across the globe, exposing mankind’s vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. Drawing on the latest research in history, virology, epidemiology, psychology, and economics, Pale Rider masterfully recounts the little-known catastrophe that forever changed humanity.
Customer Reviews
Timely
I write this review as I am home-bound due to the 2020 COVID-19 flu. How timely and appropriate. (And I started reading before the coronavirus hit!)
Spinney includes a history - and prehistory - of flu, the microscopic actions that allow viruses to do their thing, the rights and wrongs of governmental response, the scientific breakthroughs that led to the understanding and actions on the flu, and much more. Even how the naming of the flu happened, and why that nomenclature changed - even though with COVID-19, the politicians are still playing the game.
Spinney is an engaging writer, so this is far from a drab reprisal of what happened. Worth a read at any time, and a prophetic warning of ignoring the signs for the future.
Book can be much shorter
Very little information about the actual 1918 flu. There was a lot of background information that had little relevance to the subject and not written very orderly. The book could probably be cut in half, had to stop reading midway because I couldn’t take it anymore.