Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.3 / 5.0

An interesting but unfinished story:

The scientist reader probably greets Gia Kolata's lucid book Flu with,"been there, know that," but the rest of us can get some mileage out of it. Kolata takes the 1918 flu pandemic and plays it out as a real-life murder mystery, dishing out explanations of virology as well as cultural and historical notes as she follows a variety of characters chase after the solution. The 1918 pandemic was lethal, cutting a swath across the population, killing more robust young American adults in one year than were killed... more info

Excellent introduction to the 1918 flu story:

For those familiar with the intricacies of the 1918 flu, this book may not be one to keep on the bookshelves. However, for those (such as myself) who know about this pandemic only peripherally, it was an entertaining and engaging introduction to the devastation of the 1918 influenza epidemic. But most intriguingly, this book places the 1918-19 pandemic into the current world view of disease and how we can and should respond to it. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I appreciated very much reading about the... more info

mediocre extended newspaper article, now dated:

This is not a book about 1918. This is an over-hyped and overlong newspaper story about digging up bodies and trying to recover the 1918 virus from them. It's now (June 2004) much dated, which is what happens to newspaper stories.
If you want to read an actual book about the epidemic-- and about much more, including contemporary science, the virus, the interplay between politics and the disease-- then read The Great Influenza by Barry. Now THAT is worth picking up. I gave that 5 stars, and if I could... more info

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