The Great Influenza

Title: The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

Author: John M. Barry

Publisher: Penguin Books (2009)

Genre(s): Nonfiction, Science, History

Length: 461 pages

Synopsis:  Beginning with the development of modern medical research, Barry lays out the events of the 1918 influenza pandemic.  The characters are the titans of science that litter modern textbooks of biology and public health, men and women who shaped the course of medical history, and whose work was, in turn, shaped by the course of the disease that swept over the world, leaving devastation in its wake.

My Rating: 4 Stars

My Opinion: 

This is an immensely complex book, a work of research seven years in the making.  Barry's attention to detail shows.  However, I would suggest that it is mis-titled.  The scope goes far beyond the 1918 pandemic.  It might be better titled "The Great Influenza: The First Test of Modern American Medicine."  In truth, that's what Barry's describing here. The book is rather hard to get into; Barry clearly spent so much time with his research material, was so thorough and detailed, that he neglects to give readers an easy entry into the complex world he's about to describe.  He has a tendency to name drop, though for readers unfamiliar with the time period, these simply add clauses to his already lengthy sentences.  But given the persistence to overcome this hurdle, readers will find that complexity quite intriguing and thought-provoking.  History, public health, biology are all interwoven to paint a complete picture of a terrifying period in history.  As a biologist and student of public health, I was delighted to find that all the science in this book was accurate and clear; rather than dumbing down the information to the point of inaccuracy, he takes the time to describe everything readers need to know to understand the course of events as he lays them out.  In that process as well, the book is rather unique.  Unlike so many accounts of dangerous diseases, this book does not read like a thriller destined for the big screen.  It's insightful and applicable to the current state of healthcare in both America and the rest of the world.  The focus is not on the millions of deaths that this pandemic caused, but rather on the systems of politics and science that allowed it to act as it did, as well as the lessons we did (and didn't) learn.  Readers with a vested interest in science, war, history, biology, medicine, or politics would find plenty to learn from this text, but it's not exactly casual reading.