America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918

Alfred W. Crosby

Cambridge University Press, Jul 21, 2003 - History - 337 pages

Between August 1918 and March 1919 the Spanish influenza spread worldwide, claiming over 25 million lives, more people than those perished in the fighting of the First World War. It proved fatal to at least a half-million Americans. Yet, the Spanish flu pandemic is largely forgotten today. In this vivid narrative, Alfred W. Crosby recounts the course of the pandemic during the panic-stricken months of 1918 and 1919, measures its impact on American society, and probes the curious loss of national memory of this cataclysmic event. In a new edition, with a new preface discussing the recent outbreaks of diseases, including the Asian flu and the SARS epidemic, America's Forgotten Pandemic remains both prescient and relevant. Alfred W. Crosby is a Professor Emeritus in American Studies, History and Geography at the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught for over 20 years. His previous books include Throwing Fire (Cambrige, 2002), the Measure of Reality (Cambridge, 1997) and Ecological Imperialism (cambridge, 1986). Ecological Imperialism was the winner of the 1986 Phi Beta Kappa book prize. The Measure of Reality was chosen by the Los Angeles Times as one of the 100 most important books of 1997.

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - scottcholstad - LibraryThing

A reviewer of this book years ago started his review with this: "I think this book is complimentary to Gina Kolata's work on the same topic." And it's interesting because I was going to say basically ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - setnahkt - LibraryThing

This is a medium-technical work (no details about how viruses work, but lots of charts, tables and footnotes) yet still manages to be an engaging read. Author Alfred Crosby notes that there were ...

Contents

• THE GREAT SHADOW: 3
• SPANISH INFLUENZA THE FIRST WAVE SPRING AND SUMMER 1918: 15
• THE ADVANCE OF THE INFLUENZA VIRUS: 17
• THREE EXPLOSIONS AFRICA EUROPE AND AMERICA: 37
• THE SECOND AND THIRD WAVES: 43
• THE UNITED STATES BEGINS TO TAKE NOTE: 45
• SPANISH INFLUENZA SWEEPS THE COUNTRY: 56
• FLU IN PHILADELPHIA: 70
• FLU IN SAN FRANCISCO: 91
• FLU AT SEA ON THE VOYAGE TO FRANCE: 121
• FLU AND THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE: 145
• FLU AND THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE: 171
• MEASUREMENTS RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS AND CONFUSIONS: 201
• STATISTICS DEFINITIONS AND SPECULATION: 203
• SAMOA AND ALASKA: 227
• RESEARCH FRUSTRATION AND THE ISOLATION OF THE VIRUS: 264
• WHERE DID THE FLU OF 1918 GO?: 295
• AFTERWORD: 309
• AN INQUIRY INTO THE PECULIARITIES OF HUMAN MEMORY: 311
• INDEX: 329

About the author

Alfred Worcester Crosby Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 15, 1931. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard University in 1952. He served as a sergeant in the Army in the Panama Canal Zone. After his service, he received a doctorate in history from Boston University. He taught at Washington State University for 11 years and at the University of Texas in Austin for 22 years. He retired in 1999 as professor emeritus of geography, history, and American studies. He was considered the father of environmental history. He incorporated studies of biology, ecology, geography, and other sciences in his efforts to chronicle and understand human events. He wrote numerous books including The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492; Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900; Germs, Seeds and Animals: Studies in Ecological History; The Measure of Reality: Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600; and Children of the Sun: A History of Humanity's Unappeasable Appetite for Energy. He died from complications of Parkinson's disease on March 14, 2018 at the age of 87.

Bibliographic information

• Title: America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918; Acls humanities e-book
• Author: Alfred W. Crosby
• Contributor: American Council of Learned Societies
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, revised
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2003
• ISBN: 0521541751, 9780521541756
• Length: 337 pages
• Subjects: History / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies); History / Modern / 20th Century; History / United States / 20th Century; Medical / History; Medical / Infectious Diseases; Science / History