Flu : The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic
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Manufacturer: Touchstone
Written By: Gina Kolata
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Binding: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Touchstone
Manufacturer: Touchstone
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2001-01-09
Publisher: Touchstone
Studio: Touchstone
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Editorial Reviews for Flu : The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic
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The fascinating, true story of the world's deadliest disease.
In 1918, the Great Flu Epidemic felled the young and healthy virtually overnight. An estimated forty million people died as the epidemic raged. Children were left orphaned and families were devastated. As many American soldiers were killed by the 1918 flu as were killed in battle during World War I. And no area of the globe was safe. Eskimos living in remote outposts in the frozen tundra were sickened and killed by the flu in such numbers that entire villages were wiped out.
Scientists have recently rediscovered shards of the flu virus frozen in Alaska and preserved in scraps of tissue in a government warehouse. Gina Kolata, an acclaimed reporter for The New York Times, unravels the mystery of this lethal virus with the high drama of a great adventure story. Delving into the history of the flu and previous epidemics, detailing the science and the latest understanding of this mortal disease, Kolata addresses the prospects for a great epidemic recurring, and, most important, what can be done to prevent it.
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Consumer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorite books ever
Comment: I loved this book, couldn't put it down. I learned a lot, not only about the 1918 flu, but about the science of virus research. The writing is very fluid. Kolata is on my short list of must-read authors.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: More than just a story of Spanish Influenza
Comment: I bought this book looking for information about Spanish Flu for a novel I was writing. I had already read other books on the subject and this one was a relief to read. It wasn't dry like much non-fiction tends to be. It was an interesting read. Though it wasn't a narrative non-fiction, it was filled with stories that accented the numbers and the big picture Kolata created about epidemic flu. Though I wasn't so interested in the history of disease and death chapter, most of the other ones were good. I found the human trials interesting. I am also fascinated by the cyclical jumps the flu seems to make between man, swine and birds. If you are interested in the study of influenza in general, this is a great start.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good and comprehensive, but hindered by boring writing
Comment: Kolata's book is a good history of influenza in the 20th century, but her skills at gathering and organizing a tremendous mass of information are unfotunately counterbalanced by a rather monotonous writing style. Even dropping personal details about the subjects of the book doesn't make me feel like they're real "characters". So in terms of entertainment, this book isn't that great.
As a graduate student, the real payoff for me is to see all the things I've been reading about for most of the last year - flu strains, scientists, agencies, experiments - put into context by a narrator. I've seen the names Taubenberger, Garcia-Sastre, Palese, et cetera, et cetera, more times than I want to, but this is the first time I've seen them as people and not just references for looking up stuff. As a budding scientist being forced to look up and read a lot of primary literature, it's easy to miss the forest for the trees.
So - recommended for laypeople who want to know what the fuss about flu is all about, and also recommended for students as a reminder that "science is not done by textbooks".
Customer Rating:
Summary: A very compelling read
Comment: This book reads like a work of fiction, but every word is fact. The story of the devastation of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the subsequent decades-long search for the virus that caused it will frighten even the most jaded among us. That this deadly virus could one day return and kill hundreds of millions makes most other potential disasters pale by comparison. Gina Kolata tells the story with skill. Everyone needs to read this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: grasping the true nature of the virus!!
Comment: Gina Kolata's book is an informative look at the influenza pandemic of 1918. The author provides an opportunity to see the shortcomings of the world of science and medicine during that era. She also describes the search for the genetic make-up of this virus during the 1990's and the difficulties encountered even with the advancements in those fields.
She reveals the devastation wrought upon the human race around the globe using stories compiled from survivors and published accounts. From stories involving families dying together, to the barracks of the Army, to the streets of Philadelphia the loss is nearly inconceivable. Few places on Earth were spared the death and ravaging effects of this influenza. She details the excruciating symptoms of the virus and the rapid speed with which it was transmitted. The numbers are staggering with estimates of the dead ranging from 20 to more than 100 million. The death toll was so high that life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years in 1918. The equivalent numbers today would equate to the death of 1.5 million in the United States alone.
What the future will hold if an outbreak of this virus should strike again makes this book a compelling read. Ms. Kolata has researched and crafted a finely honed book that provides an open and honest vision of the potential disaster that lurks in the shadows. She has cast light onto this subject in a comprehensive as well as comprehensible manner. She has grasped the true nature and significance of the avian flu, as well as the importance of public awareness in the ability to cope with a future outbreak.
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More Information on Flu : The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic
iPac2.0
Flu: the story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and the search for the virus that caused it / by Kolata, Gina Bari, 1948-
CNN - 'Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 ...
High drama about a lethal virus 'Flu' 'The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It' by Gina Kolata
Booknotes
February 27, 2000 Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It by Gina Kolata
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search ...
Chest. 2003;123:2165-2166.) © 2003 American College of Chest Physicians Flu The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It
Flu : the story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and the search ...
Get this at a library near you! -- Author: [Gina Bari Kolata] -- Related Subjects: [Influenza History 20th century.]
Gina Kolata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Road to Dolly, and the Path Ahead, ISBN 0-688-16634-2; Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It, ISBN 0-7432-0398-4; Sex ...
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search ...
Book Review: Nature Medicine 6, 12 - 13 (2000) doi:10.1038/71463 Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It
Pandemic Flu
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. IOM.
Gina Kolata: Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918
city.com, The best collection of city guides on the web. ... Sunday, February 27, 2000 Story last updated at 7:49 p.m. on Saturday, February 26, 2000
Powell's Books - Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of ...
When we think of plagues, we think of AIDS, Ebola, anthrax spores, and, of course, the Black Death. But in 1918 the Great Flu Epidemic killed an estimated 40 million people ...