Review: More Deadly Than War: The Hidden History of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic by Kenneth C. Davis

Title: More Deadly Than War: The Hidden History of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
Author: Kenneth C. Davis
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: May 15, 2018
Edition: ebook (304 pages)
Genres:

• Nonfiction
• History
• Pandemic

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Spanish flu that swept the world in 1918 is still considered the worst outbreak of disease in modern history. Professor Davis traces the Spanish flu outbreak, its migration, its scope and its effects on the United States and around the world. He tells the story through newspaper articles, research and photographs.

The Spanish flu has interested me because my paternal grandmother dies as a result of complications from it, leaving behind my dad, at age 16, and my aunt, at age 12. My dad came home to find her dead, and he was the one who had to break the news. No one expected her to die. She had been quite ill, but was doing well with her recovery, and they thought she was well enough to be left alone while the family went to work and school. I can't begin to imagine how difficult that must have been, especially for my dad and my aunt, at that age.

The detail in this book is superb. I could visualize much of it, as I read. People literally dropped in the streets. One minute they were alive and going about their business, and the next, dead. That is how virulent the Spanish flu could be, though, of course, it wasn't always so. The other thing that fascinated me about this book was the US government's response and the way in which the military responded to the outbreak. And, in the Afterward, Professor Davis writes about the possibility of this happening again. Scary stuff!

If you have an intrust in this topic, history and/or World War I, I recommend you read this book. It has something to offer on several levels.