Influenza 1918: The Worst Epidemic in American History (The American Experience)

While I think this is a good overview of the pandemic, I wish better use had been made of the extensive interviews done for the American Experience episode upon which it was based. Even the addition of an appendix of full interviews would have been helpful. Influenza 1918 seems to have been written with the attention span of television viewers in mind -- rather than as an extension of the excellent script upon which it was based. The PBS version focused more upon the sociological effects of the flu and left me wondering if perhaps the breakdown of the American family began with the fear of exposure to the deadly virus and not with the introduction of the "glass teat." The book, on the other hand, left me wanting more history and less assumption that that the reader doesn't want to READ. Influenza 1918 is simply the latest in the trend of PBS book tie-ins that doesn't deliver the goods on a promising subject.

chilling and inexplicably forgotten (0/0 people found this helpful)

Since this epidemic is almost forgotten today, it is chilling to see the entire scope of it. Like millions of Americans, I heard in childhood about the horrors of the 1918 flu, which nearly killed my grandfather (the disease skipped over two small children and a sick wife, and attacked a healthy 33-year-old man, making him a semi-invalid for the rest of his life). My mother told me stories of being taken to the doctor's office, and seeing literally hundreds of people waiting for whatever treatment was available. Now, it seems, she might have been underestimating rather than overestimating its effect. The book is stunning and ought to be required reading, if not in American history classes, certainly in those pertaining to epidemiology.

It's not your average cold !! (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is a book you would rather not read. On the other hand, Its a book you should. It tells a lot more than I expected, and I wish it included even more. As a parable its outstanding. It always surprises me, our lack of memory and the absence of history. Maybe its possible to live only with Star Wars, but I don't think so. Some of the comments in regard to W. Wilson were intriguing.

Influenza 1918: The Worst Epidemic in American History (The American Experience)

Lynette Iezzoni

Reader Reviews:

Left me wanting more. (0/0 people found this helpful)

chilling and inexplicably forgotten (0/0 people found this helpful)

It's not your average cold !! (0/0 people found this helpful)

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