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

Version: Unabridged
Author: John M. Barry
Narrator: Scott Brick
Genres: History
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks
Published In: March 2006
# of Units: 16 CDs
Length: 19 hours, 30 minutes
Ratings:
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Overview

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.

Selected Reviews

0

by Gary G.
  • Book Rating: 5/5

by JMR
  • Book Rating: 5/5

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Reviews (16)

0

Written by Gary G. on November 16th, 2020

  • Book Rating: 5/5

This should be a must read for all of us given the current pandemic we are experiencing. It puts what we are going through into perspective, and exposes many parallels between the two pandemics. "Those who do not study history are condemned to repeat it" This book could help us cope today.

Written by JMR on October 20th, 2020

  • Book Rating: 5/5

A great story a great achievement

0

Written by Mudassar B. on June 29th, 2020

  • Book Rating: 5/5

The books highlights the horrors of the 1918 influenza, horrors which were inadvertently exacerbated by a US government at war which ironically was trying to keep the spirits of its population high.

Written by Richard B. on April 4th, 2020

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I tell my friends this is a thriller! John Barry lays out in graphic detail the epic saga of the battle between scientists and the greatest pandemic in history. Ultimately science prevails and today has demonstrated that no disease has a chance against modern technologies. Because of the genius of many, Taiwan was able to STOP COVID-19 IN ITS TRACKS and has already reopened schools and donated millions of masks to the US and Europe. Taiwan only had 5 deaths as of 3/4/2020 from C19 and showed the world how to properly react to a highly contagious and lethal plague.

Written by Anonymous on March 2nd, 2020

  • Book Rating: 5/5

One of the best books I ever read!

The Great Influenza

Written by She and She. from The Villages, FL on March 8th, 2019

  • Book Rating: 5/5

Very good information helps make people aware how Dangerous the Flu could be.

Written by Carina Ward on January 17th, 2016

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Great book. Super interesting. I was on the edge of my seat.

More than the Flu

Written by Anonymous on February 1st, 2011

  • Book Rating: 5/5

At first I was really wondering if this book had a point. Then, as it went on, it was clear that all the "extraneous" information was not only essential to really understanding what happened, but it was interesting. We really have not come all that far in medicine.

A well told historical account

Written by Anonymous from Oakland, CA on July 20th, 2010

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I'd read about the pandemic and heard my mother's stories about how her sister had died from influenza. But this book tells the story so well that it makes the influenza pandemic a real and tangible thing as if it happened in recent memory and may very well happen again in our lifetime. I wish more people would read this book. There would be less fear of vaccines and greater respect for public health & illness prevention.

The Great Influenza

Written by E. Weisz on July 21st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Fascinating book. Although technical in many aspects, the book provided great insight into the history of medical practice in the 19th & 20th century and kept the tragic story of the epidemic as almost a mystery novel. highly recommend.+

Selected Reviews

0

by Gary G.
  • Book Rating: 5/5

by JMR
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 16

Author Details

Author Details

Barry, John M.

John M. Barry is the author of "The Ambition and the Power: A True Story of Washington, " and co-author of "The Transformed Cell, " which has been published in twelve languages. As Washington editor of Dunn's Review, he covered national politics, and he has also written for "The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Newsweek, The Washington Post, " and "Sports Illustrated." He lives in New Orleans and Washington, D.C.