Questions About The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

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Answered Questions (4)

Has the world learned any methods that can help combat contagious viruses from the 1918 pandemic?

Antonia Because viruses mutate rapidly, there have been no successful vaccines that are 100% cures. This book describes how medical science and the brilliant …moreBecause viruses mutate rapidly, there have been no successful vaccines that are 100% cures. This book describes how medical science and the brilliant men and women who practiced it came into the fore. Modern medicine has come leaps and bounds, but the same old preventatives against contagion prevail: wash your hands, avoid crowds, quarantine. (less)

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on a scale of 1-10; ten being the easiest read. how would this book be rated?

Maria Rose I would give it about a 6 in reading if you can skip over some of the technical details which are great if you are doing research on these scientists'…moreI would give it about a 6 in reading if you can skip over some of the technical details which are great if you are doing research on these scientists' methods, it does present the situation well in terms of the 1918 period, which we all know was during WW1. The most interesting was a presentation of the mindset of Woodrow Wilson (less)

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What publishing company published this book?

Kaye Viking Press is the publisher under the Penguin Books imprint for the paperback edition and Penguin Audio for the audio version. (https://www.penguinr …moreViking Press is the publisher under the Penguin Books imprint for the paperback edition and Penguin Audio for the audio version. (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...) (less)

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Our book club is reading this book next month. What questions occurred to you after reading this book that you think would be good for a discussion?

Tracey I think a provocative discussion question is how the public health service intentionally played down the pandemic in 1918, and how our past leadership…moreI think a provocative discussion question is how the public health service intentionally played down the pandemic in 1918, and how our past leadership did the same with Covid-19. Could you draw analogies between the the two presidents? President Wilson very much ignored the risks and packed soldiers into ships to sail to Europe to fight in the war. A large percentage of them died in route. (less)

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