A book I read during the second half of 2020 was:



John M. Barry, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, Penguin 2004.

With the ‘Covid-19’ pandemic developing through 2020, I decided to read this work written well before it, but meeting increasing interest because of the so-called ‘Spanish Flu’ being considered the closest parallel earlier event.

The writer actually focusses on two areas, the ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic itself and the development of medicine and medical education in the U.S. It was interesting to read how undervalued medical education and research was until the late nineteenth century. Endowments were far greater for subjects such as theology and there were few checks on the quality of students who entered medical colleges, not least because their faculty depended on income directly from the number of students enrolled. However, thanks to the drive of a succession of figures in the U.S. medical world, both the quality of education and the pace and quality of research improved. A central figure was William Henry Welch, who took charge of numerous associations, acted as a mentor to younger academics and was involved in the reorganization of existing institutions and the establishment of new ones, not least Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. J

As for the pandemic itself, it details how it developed, its ‘waves’ and how it spread geographically. The reader can see both similarities and differences from the situation with Covid-19, although probably more of the latter. Some were related to its timing and relationship to the First World War. Spread, both within the U.S. and to Europe was increased by the mobilization of men as the U.S. entered the war. Military objectives overrode public health considerations, as with the explosive spread through Philadelphia, after the infamous holding of a parade to promote the sale of ‘Liberty Bonds’ and suppression of news which might sap morale led to the media underplaying the severity of that pandemic. In contrast, the media in 2020 has arguably increased anxiety with alarmist coverage, added to by the plethora of other Internet ‘sources’ amplifying what has become known as ‘fake news’. Obviously medical knowledge has greatly advanced in a century, but at both times there was a similar urgency to find both treatments and vaccines. In both cases, measures such as closing schools and moving events outside were utilized. Spurious treatments were championed. Interestingly, federal leadership was lacking at both times in the U.S. and local administrations were and have been left to deal with it. Interestingly, he is dismissive of the (gauze) mask wearing that took place during the ’Spanish Flu’, as in: “The masks worn by millions were useless as designed and could not prevent influenza” (358-359) and “The masks were useless.” (375).

As for the actual effects, at both times, large ranges of severity can be seen and mysterious symptoms can be seen. The earlier pandemic showed a parallel with the enduring condition described as  ‘Long Covid’. As the writer indicates, “Months after “recovering” from his illness, the poet Robert Frost wondered, “What bones are they that rub together so unpleasantly in the middle of you in extreme emancipation…? I don’t know whether or not I’m strong enough to write a letter yet.” (p.392)

The parallel themes of the medical and medical education developments and the course of the ‘Spanish Flu’ itself can lead to some chronological challenges, as the time focussed on goes back and forth and the work only has limited coverage of the situation in other parts of the world. For example, reference to its effects in Japan are limited to, “In Japan it attacked more than one-third of the population.” (364) In addition, there is some confusion in apparently somewhat contradictory statistics concerning certain locations.

However, as the writer indicates, descriptions of the ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic are limited, particularly in fictional literature from the period. Therefore, John M. Barry has provided readers with a very valuable description of the two themes referred to above, which have obviously become particularly relevant in this ‘Time of Corona’.

 Find out about other books which I have been reading.