Pale rider - Kirjakasa

No cover — Laura Spinney: Pale rider (2017)

332 pages

English language

Published Dec. 29, 2017

ISBN:: 978-1-61039-767-4
OCLC Number:: 968771198

(1 review)

"The Spanish flu 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. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted--and often permanently altered--global politics, race relations and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts. It was partly responsible, Spinney argues, for pushing India to independence, South Africa to apartheid and Switzerland to the brink of civil war. …

"The Spanish flu 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. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted--and often permanently altered--global politics, race relations and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts. It was partly responsible, Spinney argues, for pushing India to independence, South Africa to apartheid and Switzerland to the brink of civil war. It also created the true "lost generation." Drawing on the latest research in history, virology, epidemiology, psychology and economics, Pale Rider masterfully recounts the little-known catastrophe that forever changed humanity"--Amazon.

1 edition

Thom reviewed Pale rider by Laura Spinney

Review of 'Pale rider' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The flu epidemic of 1918 was kind of a big deal, killing more people than the recent world war. This narrative tells the whole story, embellished with perhaps too much supposition and anecdote. I learned a bit about viruses, universal healthcare and ancient Chinese medicine.

The first half of the book is a great history of the era and the impact of the disease. Treatment methods differed, but overall access to healthcare impacted both virulence and mortality. It is scary how this disease impacted healthy adults, making the age curve "W" shaped instead of "U" shaped. A truly global view of the epidemic is given.

In the latter half, the author speculates on origins (interesting) and what-ifs (less so). I appreciated the connections to modern day flu, but would have preferred a bit more science.

Subjects

Epidemiology
Influenza
Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919
Communicable diseases
History