The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History in Science and Inquiry

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The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

John M. Barry

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Nov 27, 2018 Susanna - Censored by GoodReads rated it liked it

Started reading a book purportedly about the Spanish Flu, but so far is actually about the history of medical practice in the United States. Also if he calls Johns Hopkins University "The Hopkins" a few more times I'm going to smack him. Or his book, which will be closer to me. (I'm having flashbacks to Sean Wilentz and his freaking "The Democracy.")

ETA: 40% in and we're finally starting to deal with the flu epidemic. That's a long set-up section! ...more

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Dec 27, 2020 Sunshine rated it it was ok

It took me months and months, but I finally made it through this long and arduous book. While the information and retelling of this historic time in U.S. history was exceptional, this felt like 2 books that had been put under one title, and I found it frustrating. Barry spends the first third of this book capturing the history of medical science and the men (there was only 2-3 women of mention at the time) who were shaping this field in North America. Yes, the exploration of this topic is releva ...more

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Feb 02, 2021 Kathleen rated it it was ok

Shelves: history

I would not recommend this book unless you suffer from insomnia and have great tolerance for confusing digressions, unsubstantiated generalizations and lots of repetition. Where was the editor on this one?

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