Feeling tired, achy, and
congested? You'll hope not after reading science writer Gina Kolata's
engrossing Flu, a fascinating look at the 1918 epidemic that wiped
out around 40 million people in less than a year and afflicted more than
one of every four Americans. This tragedy, just on the heels of World War
I and far more deadly, so traumatized the survivors that few would talk
about it afterward. Kolata reports on the scientific investigation of this
bizarre outbreak, in particular the attempts to sequence the virus' DNA
from tissue samples of victims. She also looks at the social and personal
effects of the disease, from improved public health awareness to the loss
of productivity. (The disease affected 20- to 40-year-olds
disproportionately.)
How could this disease, now almost trivial to healthy
young people, have become so virulent? The answer is complex, invoking
epidemiology, immunology, and even psychology, but Kolata cuts a swath
through medical papers and statistical reports to tell a story of an
out-of-control virus exploiting an exhausted world on the brink of
transition into modern society. Through letters, interviews, and news
reports, she pieces together a cautionary tale that captures the horror of
a devastating illness. Research marches onward, but we're still at the
mercy of something as simple as the flu. --Rob Lightner
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