Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 [Kindle Edition]
Author: Gina Kolata | Language: English | ISBN: B004YEJ6P8 | Format: PDF, EPUB
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918
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Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 [Kindle Edition]
Download electronic versions of selected books Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 from mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link
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.
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.
Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 [Kindle Edition]
- File Size: 1293 KB
- Print Length: 362 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: B002SQ4Y7Y
- Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (April 1, 2011)
- Sold by: Macmillan
- Language: English
- ASIN: B004YEJ6P8
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,732 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #27 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Microbiology
- #27 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Microbiology
- #30 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Internal Medicine > Infectious Disease > Epidemiology
First off, this book is some things and is not some things. It is very informative and was well researched, there are lots of footnotes at the end. Much of the chapters read as separate articles that could stand independently. What it is not is a novel like read similar to the story that appears in Hot Zone.By Amazon Customer
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning about the 1918 flu and about the modern researchers trying to find clues to what made that flu so deadly. If you are interested in knowing about that topic then I give this book a strong recommendation. If you are looking for a novel type page turner you'll probably be disappointed.
There was one situation that made the whole work worth reading to me, maybe because I have a weird sense of humor. That was the telling of two separate research expeditions into the frozen north to dig up bodies of people that had died of the 1918 flu. One team was filled with experts, used x-ray to search, spent years planning, spent tons of money, had tons of media present. Didn't get results, the bodies were too decomposed.
The other expedition was one guy with a pick. Well actually he got a few villagers to help him dig, but he spent only a few thousand of his own money and got results, real helpful results, in a couple of weeks.
I also found the detailing of a flu scare that happened in Hong Kong with a jump from chickens to humans a very interesting story. How that scare and the research that went into studying it and comparing that to the 1918 ordeal was fascinating.
There is a bit of information here about the politics of the Swine Flu panic in the 1970's and how the Ford administration dealt with it. Some of the same kinds of questions and issues are relevant today with all the threats of toxic warfare.
If you find the topic of the 1918 flu interesting and how it relates to modern day problems and solutions this book is a strong recommendation.
In this book she covers what seems the entire history of influenza, which includes the greatest pandemic in history in 1918-1919, the swine flu scare in 1976-- she even goes into litigation over the vaccine-- attempts to dig up bodies killed by the 1918 virus and sequence its genome, none of it in depth. In all of the footnotes for this book, there is not a single one for a primary source regarding the pandemic itself. No diaries, no lab notes, no original letters. There's hardly a reference to a contemporary newspaper. In fact, her notes cite interviews with a historian who wrote about the pandemic. Gina Kolata is a reporter, and this is a glorified newspaper story, expanded. Too bad. The subject itself is of interest.By A Customer
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