The Great Influenza
by John M. Barry, Amelia Pérez de Villlar · first published 2004
45% recommend55% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Detailed, in-depth history of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that also covers US medical history leading up to it. It offers a fascinating read for understanding pandemics and current events.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
At the height of WWI, history's most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision of science and epidemic disease. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research and now revised to reflect the growing danger of the avian flu, The Great Influenza is ultimately a t
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A few years ago I read 'The Great Influenza' by John Barry, which includes a historical perspective of US medical history leading up to the 1918 pandemic as well as digging into the pandemic itself. I recommend the book.
on “The Untreatable: The Spanish Flu of 1918” ↗The flu vaccine is seasonal because it evolves so quickly. Same with HIV, a high mutation rate complicates making a vaccine. I was really struck by this part of The Great Influenza: https://books.google.com/books?id=BYsW6qTP0pMC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA... Influenza is an RNA virus. So is HIV and the coronavirus. And of all RNA viruses, influenza and HIV are among those that mutate the fastest.…
on “When antibiotics failed a severely ill patient, a virus saved him” ↗This is a fantastic book on the topic: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Influenza-Deadliest-Pandemic-Hi...
on “How the 1918 Flu Spread Across America (2017)” ↗There is a book on this: The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague In History, by John M. Barry. I found it fascinating.
on “1918 Flu Pandemic” ↗For a fascinating, in-depth look at the Spanish flu of 1918 check out John Barry’s “The Great Influenza” [1]. The book was amazing and gives you a real sense of what one of the worst pandemics in history must have been like. [1] The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143036491.
on “What we can learn from the 1918 flu pandemic” ↗I read a great book which covers the Spanish Flu called The Great Influenza (https://www.amazon.ca/Great-Influenza-Revised-John-Barry/dp/...) by John M. Barry. The book does a great job of expressing the history of medicine leading up to the 1918 Spanish Flu. But above all…
on “A Key Lesson from the 1918 Flu Pandemic? 'Tell the Truth,' One Historian Says” ↗The Great Influenza by John Barry for some perspective on current events. A good read so far.
on “Ask HN: What are you reading during the Covid slow down? and why?” ↗COVID is not a good model for the Spanish influenza. I highly recommend The Great Influenza: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Influenza-Deadliest-Pandemic-Hi... We were so desperately lucky. It was not "like covid".
on “The past is not true” ↗The Faber Book of Science (Carey) Asimov’s New Guide to Science (Asimov) The Great Influenza (Barry)
on “Ask HN: Favourite science history book of the 20th century?” ↗…rice/beans/grains, and pre-purchasing anything we use regularly which has a long expiration date). We also have medicines/toiletries/etc to last that long. Maybe 10-12 years ago I read the book 'The Great Influenza'[1], and there are enough similarities between that outbreak and this one that we are taking it fairly seriously. Although that book isn't perfect, it has a lot of detailed and fascinating explanation…
on “Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?” ↗According to "The Great Influenza" by John Barry young people died due to cytokine storms. Essentially young people have a vigorous immune system that gave an aggressive attack. 1918 flu was unique in that the deaths was not just the…
on “History of 1918 Flu Pandemic” ↗“When you mix politics and science, you get politics.” — John M. Barry from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Influenza
on “Science and scientific expertise are more important than ever” ↗There's an interesting bit at the end of John Barry's "The Great Influenza" about how Wilson got the flu at Versailles. Barry suggests that Wilson was physically and mentally affected and thus gave in on terms around punishing Germany for the war. Apparently until he got the…
on “Should America Have Entered World War I?” ↗Definitely very US focused. Misses out on some of the areas where the pandemic had the most devastating effects. One interesting story from The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry: "Freetown, Sierra Leone, was a major coaling center on the West African coast, servicing ships traveling from Europe to South Africa…
on “History of 1918 Flu Pandemic” ↗Assange is being charged under a century-old law passed in order to criminalize dissent to US participation in WWI. I came across this randomly during my pandemic reading (The Great Influenza, about the Spanish Flu of 1918). It was really shocking to read how thoroughly the US government suppressed speech during WWI - it's not something I was at all aware of before. The Espionage Act is almost…
on “An Unprecedented Attack on Press Freedom” ↗