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Title: read "The Great Influenza" instead
Review: like the other reviewers here, I found this a major disappointment. The good news is, a truly oustanding book came out this year (2004) "The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History" by Barry will tell you all you wnat to know about this, and it will also give you some terrific history besides, that you would not ordinarily connect with disease (politics, war, the press, etc). An older review here, written apparently before this book was published, mentioned 2 other books. Alfred Crosby's "America's forgotten Epidemic" is also a very good book, tho not nearly as good as Barry's. It is however shorter. Gina Kolata's book-- skip it. It has little to do with events of 1918; it's really about now-dated current scientists digging up bodies lookign for the virus. Barry gives you a far better understanding of both science and the virus.
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