Hunting the 1918 Flu [Kindle Edition]
Author: Kirsty E. Duncan | Language: English | ISBN: B005DB7KBS | Format: PDF, EPUB
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In 1918 the Spanish flu epidemic swept the world and killed an estimated 20 to 40 million people in just one year, more than the number that died during the four years of the First World War. To this day medical science has been at a loss to explain the Spanish flu's origin. Most virologists are convinced that sooner or later a similarly deadly flu virus will return with a vengeance; thus anything we can learn from the 1918 flu may save lives in a new epidemic.
Responding to sustained interest in this medical mystery, Hunting the 1918 Flu presents a detailed account of Kirsty Duncan's experiences as she organized an international, multi-discipline scientific expedition to exhume the bodies of a group of Norwegian miners buried in Svalbard, all victims of the flu virus. Constant throughout is her determination to honour the Norwegian laws and the Svalbard customs that treat the dead and the living with respect - especially when a live virus, if unearthed, could kill millions. Another theme of the book is the author's growing love for Svalbard and its people. Duncan's narrative describes a large-scale medical project to uncover genetic material from the Spanish flu; it also reveals the turbulent politics of a group moving towards a goal where the egos were as strong as the stakes were high. The author, herself a medical geographer, is very frank about her bruising emotional, financial, and professional experiences on the 'dark side of science.'
Duncan raises questions not only about public health, epidemiology, the ethics of science, and the rights of subjects, but also about the role of age, gender, and privilege in science. While her search for the virus has shown promising results, it has also revealed the dangers of science itself being subsumed in the rush for personal acclaim.
Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation Hunting the 1918 Flu- File Size: 1247 KB
- Print Length: 314 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0802094562
- Publisher: University of Toronto Press; 1 edition (August 8, 2013)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B005DB7KBS
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,209,356 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
I have long been interested in the 1918 influenza epidemic, and I began reading this book immediately after finishing "The Great Influenza" by John M. Barry. "The Great Influenza" is a very scholarly work that gives a great deal of background about the medical profession in 1918, conditions in the US during World War I, and truly stirring accounts of how viruses and the immune system work. When I started "Hunting the 1918 Flu," I was hoping for an expansion on the science of the epidemic. That's not what I got.By A Customer
I was leery from the start because in the introductory material the author goes into considerable detail about her record-keeping and note-taking practices (to the extent of claiming there were witnesses present during many of her phone conversations regarding her project). I wondered, "Why is this woman so defensive?" I found that science is only peripherally addressed in her book; the main theme is how poorly she was treated by almost everyone except her fellow Canadians and the Norwegians she encountered. The Americans, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seem to be the bad guys in this story.
I tried hard to be open minded, but for the most part, I was unable to sympathize with the author. Every field of endeavor has its own politics, and it's not really very interesting to read about them. The author was a young woman, working in a field of study that was not her own, and at times her naivete shines like a beacon. It's not surprising that she was sometimes not taken seriously.
This book is very readable, and I'm sure the author is a very intelligent young woman. However, I think she would have served herself and her subject matter better by taking a more dispassionate tone. Her quest had the potential to be of true scientific value, and telling its story without all the histrionics would have made an interesting book.
I was initially worried that the book would be filled with complex scientific concepts, but everything was explained so that any reader could understand. The story about an expedition that was in danger of being stopped several times and the sheer determination of Dr. Duncan is inspiring. I also enjoyed learning about the people of Norway, who were so gracious and understanding of the importance of this expedition. I would highly recommend reading Hunting the 1918 Flu, as a reminder that history can and does repeat itself.By Jessica Killough
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