The Plague of the Spanish Lady

The Plague of the Spanish Lady: The
Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 by Richard Collier
is an interesting account of the worst flu
pandemic in history, as told through the
stories of a number of people affected by it:

A Congressional Medal of Honor winning doughboy

An Italian mother and wife

A young man in Tahiti

A woman determined to take course of the
sick despite her husband's opposition

and others.

Plus, it tells of many aspects of the pandemic
using anecdotes from around the world.

Unfortunately, it's written in a style
that seems as old-fashioned as 1918,
even though the book dates back only
to the 1970s.

Plus, its structure is confusing. It
jumps from story to story to story
without clear transitions. It takes
some time to pick out the major
characters being followed from the
minor anecdotes there just to
make points.

Therefore, it can be frustrating if you
really want to get into the stories of
the main characters. However, this is
not really necessary.

The real main character is the "Spanish
Lady" herself -- the extremely lethal
influenza that wiped out from 20 to 100
million people in all parts of the world
that did or could not isolate themselves.

Her story is told in chronological order
and it is made clear. And this account
brings out aspects I hadn't known before --
such as that although it died out weeks
after the end of World War I, that final
period was actually the worst.

That's because people massed together to
celebrate, spreading the flu virus as
they hugged and kissed and partied in
the streets and attended tightly packed
church services.

Therefore, soon after Armistice, there was
a huge spike in flu deaths.

So, although this is not an "easy read" due
to its disjointed structure, it is
worthwhile to get a glimpse into the past
at how people reacted -- often with great
heroism, although the negative stories
are told here also -- to great challenges.

It's also interesting to read it with
the thought that today's world may
soon be facing a similiar challenge from
bird flu.

Hopefully our government officials will
react with greater speed and effectiveness
than many did in 1918. We have much more
advanced medical procedures, and I'm sure
that today's doctors and nurses will also
prove as dedicated and courageous.

And ordinary people will demonstrate their
goodwill by helping each other through a
difficult time.