Pale rider
Subtitle: the Spanish Flu of 1918 and how it changed the world
By: Laura Spinney
Edition: First US trade paperback edition.
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 332
ISBN-13: 9781541736122
Subjects: Epidemiology; Influenza; Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919; Communicable diseases; History
Description: "The Spanish flu of 1918-1920 was one of the greatest human disasters of all time. It infected a third of the people on Earth--from the poorest immigrants of New York City to the king of Spain, Franz Kafka, Mahatma Gandhi and Woodrow Wilson. But despite a death toll of between 50 and 100 million people, it exists in our memory as an afterthought to World War I. In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal how the virus traveled across the globe, exposing mankind's vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted--and often permanently altered--global politics, race relations and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts. It was partly responsible, Spinney argues, for pushing India to independence, South Africa to apartheid and Switzerland to the brink of civil war. It also created the true 'lost generation.' Drawing on the latest research in history, virology, epidemiology, psychology and economics, Pale Rider masterfully recounts the little-known catastrophe that forever changed humanity."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : the elephant in the room; title: Part one. The unwalled city. Coughs and sneezes ; The monads of Leibniz; title: Part two. Anatomy of a pandemic. Ripples on a pond ; Like a thief in the night; title: Part three. Manhu, or What is it? Disease eleven ; The doctors' dilemma ; The wrath of God; title: Part four. The survival instinct. Chalking doors with crosses ; The placebo effect ; Good Samaritans; title: Part five. Post mortem. The hunt for patient zero ; Counting the dead; title: Part six. Science redeemed. Aenigmoplasma influenzae ; Beware the barnyard ; The human factor; title: Part seven. The post-flu world. The green shoots of recovery ; Alternate histories ; Any-science, science ; Healthcare for all ; War and peace ; Melancholy music; title: Part eight. Roscoe's legacy. Afterword : on memory.