| Edition |
1st Touchstone ed. |
| Description |
xi, 338 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 22 cm. |
| Note |
"A Touchstone book." |
|
Originally published in 2001. "With a new epilogue about avian flu"--Cover. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. [317]-328) and index. |
| Contents |
Prologue -- 1. The plague year -- 2. A history of disease and death -- 3. From sailors to swine -- 4. A Swedish adventurer -- 5. Swine flu -- 6. A litigation nightmare -- 7. John Dalton's eyeballs -- 8. An incident in Hong Kong -- 9. From Alaska to Norway -- 10. Mysteries and hypotheses -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index. |
| Summary |
The fascinating, true story of the world's deadliest disease. In 1918, the Great Flu Epidemic felled the young and healthy virtually overnight. An estimated forty million people died as the epidemic raged. Children were left orphaned and families were devastated. As many American soldiers were killed by the 1918 flu as were killed in battle during World War I. And no area of the globe was safe. Eskimos living in remote outposts in the frozen tundra were sickened and killed by the flu in such numbers that entire villages were wiped out. Scientists have recently rediscovered shards of the flu virus frozen in Alaska and preserved in scraps of tissue in a government warehouse. The author unravels the mystery of this lethal virus with the high drama of a great adventure story. Delving into the history of the flu and previous epidemics, detailing the science and the latest understanding of this mortal disease, she addresses the prospects for a great epidemic recurring, and, most important, what can be done to prevent it. |
| Subject |
Influenza -- History -- 20th century.
|
| ISBN |
0743203984 |
|
