Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World

Laura Spinney

Sep 2017 · Hachette Audio · Narrated by Paul Hodgson

About this audiobook

In 1918, the Italian-Americans of New York, the Yupik of Alaska, and the Persians of Mashed had almost nothing in common except for a virus -- one that triggered the worst pandemic of modern times and had a decisive effect on twentieth-century history.
The Spanish flu of 1918-1920 was one of the greatest human disasters of all time. It infected a third of the people on Earth -- from the poorest immigrants of New York City to the king of Spain, Franz Kafka, Mahatma Gandhi, and Woodrow Wilson. But despite a death toll of between 50 and 100 million people, it exists in our memory as an afterthought to World War I.
In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal how the virus travelled across the globe, exposing mankind's vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted -- and often permanently altered -- global politics, race relations and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts. It was partly responsible, Spinney argues, for pushing India to independence, South Africa to apartheid, and Switzerland to the brink of civil war. It also created the true "lost generation." Drawing on the latest research in history, virology, epidemiology, psychology and economics, Pale Rider masterfully recounts the little-known catastrophe that forever changed humanity.

Ratings and reviews

pandemic, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture ---- Impressive body of work. Much more comprehensive yet detailed than any other writings on this subject that I have read, it is not just a statistical report but a compilation of information gleaned from writings from many countries around the globe. The majority of other readings are focused on Europe and North America, while this includes translations from China, Russia, South America, and anywhere else afflicted. The role of The Great War in its transmission is explored as well. The devastation left behind by this pandemic amounted to a great deal more than the casualties of the war. I feel that this should be required reading for all healthcare workers as well as historians. I have the audio interpreted by Paul Hodgson who was truly remarkable.

About the author

Laura Spinney is a science journalist and a literary novelist. She has published two novels in English, and her writing on science has appeared in National Geographic, Nature, the Economist, and the Telegraph, among others. Her oral history portrait of a European city, Rue Centrale, was published in 2013 in French and English.