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John M. Barry

Author profile

born

The United States

gender

male

website

http://johnmbarry.com/

genre

Nonfiction, History, Science

About this author

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John M. Barry is an American author and historian, perhaps best known for his books on the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 the influenza pandemic of 1918and his book on the development of the modern form of the ideas of separation of church and state and individual liberty. His most recent book is Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty (Viking 2012).

Barry's 1997 book Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list and won the 1998 Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians for the year's best book on American history. His work on water-related issues was recognized by the National Academies of...more John M. Barry is an American author and historian, perhaps best known for his books on the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 the influenza pandemic of 1918and his book on the development of the modern form of the ideas of separation of church and state and individual liberty. His most recent book is Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty (Viking 2012).

Barry's 1997 book Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list and won the 1998 Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians for the year's best book on American history. His work on water-related issues was recognized by the National Academies of Sciences in its invitation to give the 2006 Abel Wolman Distinguished Lecture on Water Resources; he is the only non-scientist ever to give that lecture.

His 2004 book The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History was also a New York Times Best Seller, and won the 2005 Keck Communications Award from the United States National Academies of Science for the year's outstanding book on science or medicine. In 2005 he also won the "September 11th Award" from the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Pathogens at Brown University. He has served on a federal government's Infectious Disease Board of Experts, on the advisory board of MIT's Center for Engineering Fundamentals, and on the advisory committee at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for its Center for Refugee and Disaster Response.

The expertise he developed in these two areas has involved him in policy-making, risk communication and disaster management strategies, and developing resilient communities, and this work resulted in his induction into Delta Omega, the academic honorary society for public health. More specifically, he has advised the private sector and local, state, national, and international government officials about preparing for another influenza pandemic. He has also both advised officials and taken a direct role in preparing for water-related disasters. A resident of New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina he was also named to both the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority, which is the levee board overseeing several separate levee districts in the New Orleans area, and the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which is responsible for hurricane protection for the entire state.

His first book, The Ambition and the Power: A true story of Washington, appeared in 1989 and explored the operation of the U.S. Congress, the use of power by Speaker of the House Jim Wright, and the rise of future Speaker Newt Gingrich. In 1995 the New York Times named it one of the eleven best books ever written on Congress and Washington.

With Steven Rosenberg, MD, Ph.D., chief of the Surgery Branch at the National Cancer Institute and a pioneer in the development of "immunotherapy" for cancer—stimulating the immune system to attack cancer—Barry co-authored his second book, The Transformed Cell: Unlocking the Mysteries of Cancer, which was published in 12 languages.

Barry has written for The New York Times, Time Magazine, Fortune, The Washington Post, Esquire, and other publications and frequently appears as a guest commentator on broadcast media.

He has also coached high school and college football, and his first published article was about blocking assignments for offensive linemen and appeared in a professional journal for coaches, Scholastic Coach.(less)

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John M. Barry's Books

Average rating: 3.98 · 9,196 ratings · 1,122 reviews · 11 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History 3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 7,393 ratings — published 2004 — 12 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America 4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 1,554 ratings — published 1997 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty 4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 208 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Great Flu Epidemic of 1918-1919 4.64 of 5 stars 4.64 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2011	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ambition and the Power: The Fall of Jim Wright : A True Story of Washington 4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 1989 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Power Plays: Politics, Football, and Other Blood Sports 3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2001	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Molecular Biology: Genes And The Chemical Control Of Living Cells 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Natural Vegetation of South Carolina 0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1980 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nautical Research Journal, Index Of Volumes 1 40 0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Transformed Cell by Steven A. Rosenberg, John M. Barry, Barr 4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1992 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Which book would you like to read for Septembers book club.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

9 votes, 20.5%

The Great Influenza The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry

9 votes, 20.5%

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

8 votes, 18.2%

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

7 votes, 15.9%

Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose

4 votes, 9.1%

A Distant Mirror The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman

2 votes, 4.5%

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

2 votes, 4.5%

No Ordinary Time Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt The Home Front in by Doris Kearns Goodwin

1 vote, 2.3%

Manhunt The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson

1 vote, 2.3%

The Indifferent Stars Above The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown

1 vote, 2.3%

King Leopold's Ghost A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild

0 votes, 0.0%

44 total votes

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John's Fans (17)

John M. Barry

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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John M. Barry's Books