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The Great Influenza

The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

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The Great Influenza

Written by: John M Barry
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In 1918, the world faced the deadliest pandemic in human history. What can the story of the so-called Spanish Flu teach us about the fight against present day crises, and how to prepare for future outbreaks?

At the height of WWI, history's most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision of science and epidemic disease.

Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research, The Great Influenza is ultimately a tale of triumph amid tragedy, which provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the aftermath of Covid-19 and future pandemics looming on the horizon.

'Everything you need to know about one of the deadliest outbreaks in human history' Bill Gates

'Easily our fullest, richest, most panoramic history of the subject' New York Times Book Review

© John M Barry 2004 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Biological Sciences Medicine & Health Care Industry Military Physical Illness & Disease Science

Critic Reviews

'Easily our fullest, richest, most panoramic history of the subject' (New York Times Book Review)
'A sobering account of the 1918 flu epidemic, compelling and timely' (Boston Globe)
'History brilliantly written... The Great Influenza is a masterpiece' (Baton Rouge Advocate)
All stars
Most relevant
Absolutely fantastic book. Must read! Medicos, doctors, para medics will love it even more! Applause!

Brilliant, educative, shocking

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The historical detail and the research that has gone into making this book is truly monumental. This book is a must read and re-read not only for a lay person but even for the scientific community and the suffering and sacrifice of that pandemic will echo for long. It holds several lessons for us in these Covid times.

An Epic Narrative

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