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The Great Influenza

The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

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The Great Influenza

Written by: John M. Barry
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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About this listen

 In the winter of 1918, at the height of World War I, 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 weeks than AIDS has 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 between modern science and epidemic disease. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research, THE GREAT INFLUENZA weaves together multiple narratives, with characters ranging from William Welch, founder of the Johns Hopkins Medical School, to John D. Rockefeller and Woodrow Wilson. Ultimately a tale of triumph amid tragedy, this crisis provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon.©2004, 2005 John M. Barry; (P)2006 Penguin Audio, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and Books on Tape. All Rights Reserved. 20th Century Americas Modern Physical Illness & Disease Science United States Medicine Middle Ages Health Health Care Imperialism Medical Education

What the critics say

Over a year on The New York Times bestseller list

"Monumental... powerfully intelligent... not just a masterful narrative... but also an authoritative and disturbing morality tale." —Chicago Tribune

"Easily our fullest, richest, most panoramic history of the subject." —The New York Times Book Review

"Hypnotizing, horrifying, energetic, lucid prose..." —Providence Observer

"A sobering account of the 1918 flu epidemic, compelling and timely. —The Boston Globe

"History brilliantly written... The Great Influenza is a masterpiece." —Baton Rouge Advocate
All stars
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Great analysis of the issues the US faced during the outbreak, and interesting to see the similarities and contrasts to Covid-19 today. While the detailed look at the lives of some of the main scientists involved was interesting, the story followed these lines too long and it distracted from the main points.

Great way to compare and contrast to COVID-19

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Well written and well researched.

An excellent educational opportunity for those interested. So much information to soak up and delivered in an manner for all to grasp.

Prepare to bookmark as you go. Second listen will be required.

“Chance favours the prepared mind.”

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See how the lessons of the past were learned the hard way...and how medicine in the US transformed from anecdotal folk remedies to a scientific approach just before and during the pandemic. Leadership was shown to be and still is the key to getting through pandemics. Foundations and then Governments in the US stepped up to meet the demands of public health at the turn of the 20th century... Johns Hopkins University is a legacy still paying dividends today. A great exploration of key figures in medicine as well. Sad to see the predictions and warnings of this book and history were unheeded and ignored and now we are paying the price with Covid-19. Maybe we will now learn something to forestall the grave consequences of the next influenza pandemic...

A sobering look at the lessons of a pandemic in light of Covid-19

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I found it very well written and easy to listen to.
the most compelling part was the censorship and propaganda that Woodrow Wilson imposed on the USA in WW1.

a story of censorship propaganda

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This is the longest audiobook I have ever listened to and it is very detailed but it never got boring. I enjoyed the story immensely. I am writing this review in February 2021 as we are in the middle of another pandemic

How timely and prophetic

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