The great influenza the epic story of the deadliest plague in history
Summary
The strongest weapon against pandemic is the truth. Read why in the definitive account of the 1918 Flu Epidemic. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research, The Great Influenza provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon.... Full description
Summary: |
The strongest weapon against pandemic is the truth. Read why in the definitive account of the 1918 Flu Epidemic. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research, The Great Influenza provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon. As Barry concludes, "The final lesson of 1918, a simple one yet one most difficult to execute, is that... those in authority must retain the public's trust. The way to do that is to distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to manipulate no one. Lincoln said that first, and best. A leader must make whatever horror exists concrete. Only then will people be able to break it apart." 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 months than AIDS 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 of science and epidemic disease. |
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Physical Description: |
1 online resource |
Format: |
Requires OverDrive Read (file size: N/A KB) or Adobe Digital Editions (file size: 1893 KB) or Kobo app or compatible Kobo device (file size: N/A KB) or Amazon Kindle (file size: N/A KB). |
ISBN: |
9781101200971 |
Author Notes: |
The Ambition and the Power: A True Story of Washington (1989 is an examination of use and abuse of power. In Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America (1997), he revisits the power theme, but this time in the setting of a natural disaster. Barry is a careful researcher who documents the devastating facts of the flood and intertwines it with the fascinating story of powerful men and their selfish agendas. The conflict between the ruling class and black racists, the clash of former Senator LeRoy Percy and demagogue James K. Vardaman, the candidacy of Herbert Hoover, and the backlash election of Huey Long, all had roots in the policies surrounding the flood. Barry's political expertise comes from his years as Washington editor of Dun's Review, where he covered national politics. He has written for the Washington Post and magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and Esquire. The Transformed Cell: Unlocking the Mysteries of Cancer, coauthored with oncologist Steven A. Rosenberg, has been published in twelve languages. Barry maintains two homes, one in New Orleans and another in Washington, D.C. (Bowker Author Biography) |