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.