The Flu of 1918: Millions Dead Worldwide!

Students researching biology, pandemics, World War I, or life in the early 20th century will appreciate this well-researched title that provides frightening glimpses at victims’ experiences and at the public reaction to the spread of the flu. Describing the course of the illness in a Buffalo, New York, schoolboy and the inhabitants of a Kansas Army camp, the book discusses viruses in general, as well as symptoms of the 1918 strain of the illness, worldwide infection rates, and quarantine efforts. Saddest of all are the portrayals of the actions of a desperate public, many of them ignorant of effective prevention measures, and societal consequences such as an overflow of dead bodies. This book benefits from plentiful period photographs, as well as reproductions of excerpts from period newspapers. Closing spreads cover the H1N1 virus and provide bulleted lists of “Other Famous Flu Outbreaks” and “Flu Facts.”