John M. Barry

We learned nothing.

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry

Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World by Laura Spinney

December 27, 2020 by thewheelbarrow 2 Comments

I read The Great Influenza a few months ago after coming across it. I think I would have read it regardless of the current pandemic as I still believe my knowledge of the world in the WWI era to be lacking. The Great Influenza focuses on the Spanish Flu and its impact in the United States. It also details the history of medicine and virology, specifically as it pertains to the flu. The book is long and comprehensive but I really enjoyed it. It really […]

Not What I Was Looking For

May 26, 2014 by ASKReviews 3 Comments

I work in public health emergency preparedness, so this book about the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic has been on my to-read list for a while. People rave about it; even though it’s about 450 pages of small print, I was ready to dive into it because I already have an interest in this sort of thing, I have some background in working on preparing for a pandemic, and I’ve found that histories of diseases and other medical issues (“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” “The Ghost […]

Help Our Mission