Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It

Gina Kolata examines the 1918 Great Influenza Pandemic and the scientific effort to identify the virus responsible. In 1918, the flu struck suddenly and killed an estimated forty million people worldwide, including the young and healthy. The epidemic claimed as many American soldiers' lives as combat in World War I. Remote communities were not spared—entire Eskimo villages in Alaska's frozen tundra were wiped out. Scientists have recently recovered fragments of the 1918 flu virus from frozen remains in Alaska and preserved tissue samples in government storage. Kolata, a reporter for The New York Times, traces the history of the flu and previous epidemics while explaining the science behind the disease. She explores the likelihood of future pandemics and discusses prevention strategies.