Flu Epidemic of 1918

Sandra Opdycke is the Associate Director at the Institute for Innovation in Social Policy at Vassar College.

• Introduction1. No Ordinary Flu: The Epidemic of 19182. America in 1918: The Epidemic’s Social Context3. Fighting Two Wars at Once: Flu in the Military4. Caregivers’ Nightmare: Trying to Treat Influenza5. Communities On Their Own: The Civilian Experience6. After the Storm: The Legacy of 19187. The Long Silence: Suppressing the Memory8. Feeling Vulnerable Again: Fears of Another 1918DocumentsNotes Bibliography Index

Reviewer 1-At my university, at least, undergraduate courses in the history of medicine are becoming more popular. World History survey courses are also worming their way into curricula nationwide. Assuming my analysis of courses suited to this book is correct, the market should be growing.I do like the idea of pairing an overarching, synthetic secondary narrative with primary sources. I agree that epidemics need to be understood as more than just pathogens and vectors. Social, political, and economic conditions before an outbreak influence who gets exposed, who gets sick, and even who dies. Moreover, epidemics often transform social, political, and economic conditions in their wake.I could definitely see assigning this book in my course on Epidemics in World History as I typically have a week devoted to this subject, but could expand my coverage of this subject using a work like this.Reviewer #2It is very clear and compelling. The proposal is well-organized and covers appropriate major themse.What I like best is the focus on social and cultural history and the consideration of historic memory in our understanding of the epidemic.I recommend this book for publication because I think it will be accessible to undergraduate students and will cover an important topic that is usually neglected in most U.S. history courses. Yes I would use it if published for these reasons.Reviewer #3The growth in the area of the history of medicine has been remarkable over the past two or three decades. It reflects the popular interest in health topics. Other history areas are fairly steady but not necessarily growing.There has been much interest in sudden infectious epidemics since the 1980s. The shelf life could be substantial, because this topic has been deeply explored, and there are unlikely to be major expansions of the subject matter