Influenza Books

This informative monograph, directed at the general public, uses anecdotes to illustrate many of the problems associated with the influenza vaccine shortage of 2004.

The first section, tangential to the main topic, describes the 1918 influenza pandemic. The next two sections get back on track by presenting a short history of the development of influenza vaccine followed by a description of current production methods. Regulatory burden has led many manufacturers to withdraw from producing vaccines. By 2004, only three companies were licensed to sell influenza vaccines in the United States.

The author discusses the globalization of vaccine production. Some US-based production facilities are owned by foreign companies, and US companies have production facilities outside our boundaries. This obviously complicates oversight by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On October 5, 2004, the sudden announcement that the Chiron vaccine, which constituted almost half the US supply, would not be available caught US policy makers by complete surprise. The chaos and confusion that followed are well described.

(excerpt from extensive review in JAMA)
W. Paul Glezen, MD
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Tex

If your horse crazy than you have to read this book. This book is not only about horses but ups and downs of life. YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK!

This is a GREAT book beginning to middle. It has a hifhanger ending. Read this book it's GREAT!

I really loved this book its very interesting. If you dont like horses well thats ok because it makes you feel like you do This book really tells whats going on you really get in to it.This book was about a girl and some horses and the horses are driving her crazy because they are all getting sick . If you would like to now more pick one up there GREAT!

IT IS A VERY INSPIRING BOOK I REALLY HATED IT SO THANK YOU FOR WRITTING IT! IT REALLY TOLD WHAT WAS HAPPENING!

This book is to good, any one who doesnt like this book, I totally disagree with them. In this book six horses get the equine flu, if that isn't bad enough a very powerful tornado hits the barn. Ty tries to save dylan a show jumper, when a tree crashes into the barn. Dylan has to be put down and ty is in a coma. Amy has to much work to do, and she need Ty back at heartland.

I loved this book so much I NEED the next book to find out what happens next. DEFINITLY READ THIS BOOK!!!!

AMANDA

Don't bother with this book unless you enjoy being talked down to by a condescending physician. He treats the readers as if they are imbeciles. The quality of the writing and research is abominable, and it is obvious that the author is just trying to make a buck off book sales. If you want the facts about avian influenza, don't read this. You won't find any facts or advice here.

Dr. Marc Siegel's book delivers what has been sorely missing in the discussion of bird flu--a balanced, reasonable, and objective view of this possible threat to our health. Dr. Siegel carefully explains that calls for alarm are not appropriate based on current scientific knowledge and only serve to raise the fear level. At the same time he outlines steps such as upgrading vaccine manufacture and government responsiveness in case a real threat materializes. His basic advice which is to eat smart, exercise, and reduce anxiety, will likely help all of us to live longer. This highly readable and informative book is really "everything you need to know" about this subject.

The spread of a lethal strain of bird flu in the past two years has sparked fears of a new pandemic. In Bird Flu, Dr. Marc Siegel looks through the facts, the fears, and the realities to explain what has the experts so worried and why there's still plenty of reason to be calm. Regardless of whether a bird flu outbreak will occur this year in the United States, there's still plenty of work to be done in preparing America for outbreaks of any kind.

Siegel believes that it is not likely that the bird flu will mutate to human form, and that even if it does, it will be less lethal than currently. In addition, generally unreported evidence from Hong Kong (about 16% of those tested had antibodies to the H5N1 virus) indicates it is less virulent than believed.

Siegel also suggests looking at the downward trend in U.S. flu pandemic deaths - about 500,000 in the 1918 Spanish Flu, 70,000 in the 1957 Asian Flu pandemic, and 34,000 during the 1968 Hong Kong Flu. He attributes this to improved sanitation and the use of pneumonia vaccines (pneumonia causing about half the deaths attributed to flu). Finally, he also points out that cooking poultry kills 100% of the flu virus.

The greatest problem with the avian flu, according to Siegel, is our tendency to panic and over-react. He does not recommend that citizens stockpile Tamiflu because it is expensive, only has about a three-year shelf life, and most citizens would probably waste it because they wouldn't know when to properly use it.

Siegel's "Bottom-Line:" We should be focusing more on the pandemic we already have - AIDS/HIV.

Superb. Dr. Marc Siegel's book "Bird Flu" portrays a concise, realistic and informative outlook on a media bred epidemic: fear and anxiety. Certainly an epidemic from bird flu is possible, I know of no one who disagrees. One, however, needs not confuse the terms possibility with probability. The irrational belief that the bird flu virus has a greater chance of mutating to humans in opposition to the thousands of other viruses currently in existence is unfounded. Certainly we should not remain naïve of such possibilities but we also need to take into consideration the probability of an epidemic from one particular virus that has yet to master the chain of specific mutations it would need in order to become pandemic. Even if this virus mutated to infect humans on a large scale, who is to say that its virility and potential deadly effects would also not alter and wither. If we resort to stockpiling antidotes to this one particular virus, must we then stockpile antidotes for every other potential viral metamorphosis? It is not only impossible to achieve, it is also illogical to think that we should. More research to develop means of developing appropriate vaccines quickly as well as global containment preparedness would be better served. To Dr. Siegel I say "BRAVO" and I hope that you continue educating your readers with such rational approaches.

Awesome book. very well written & informative, well researched. It was recommended to me by an immunologist.

I just finished this book en route from a conference in New Mexico, where I gave a presentation on avian influenza, to my home in Tallahassee.

Mr. Davis' book is superbly footnoted and is an excellent digest of events and publications dealing with "bird flu" over the past nine years. His bashing of the Clinton and Bush (43) administrations aside, his work is a sobering "what if?" that all who deal with pandemic planning should read.

Since the Federal Government has issued pandemic plans covering the Worse Case Scenario, I would suggest two books are essential reading, to get one up to date on things. First, of course, is John M. Barry's superb "The Great Influenza," covering the 1918 pandemic. The other book is this one. After reading this work, you'll never trust Asian flu reporting again.

As a confirming note, a press account today (5/7/06) reported that half the A/H5N1 cases coming out of Asia were reported in a timely enough manner as to be of value in alerting the planet of a human-to-human pandemic. In that context, Mr. Davis' book should be taken even more seriously.

He's kind of into it, isn't he? And that's not even considering the scary picture of the rooster on the front cover of his new book, MONSTER AT THE DOOR. In the 1950s such an illustration might have graced the cover of TALES FROM THE CRYPT, now here it is advertising, or promoting an ostensibly serious document with a little bit of scare quotes going on.

Another reviewer for Amazon praises Mike Davis for his mountains of research. That's all very well, but in the six months since the publication of this book medicine and medical technology has altered dramatically and I find these citations nearly useless for constructing a response to the threat. The sad thing is that at this stage of the game the internet can probably tell you more than a book, with its finite "endgame" of a 2005 publication date. We must know more about avian flu and the men, women, and children who have already come down with this devastating, and supercontagious disease.

Davis names names, calling the governments of Thailand, Indonesia and China "super deceivers" for their attempts to quell debate and to cover up the extent of the illness. It was not merely millions of chickens and porcine family mammals who lay wasted by the AF, it was millions of people, Thais, Chinese, everyone who had anything to do with these infected birds. You could see them gasping for air and raising a withered hand, then the air went out of them and they collapsed into death. Mike Davis doesn't have all the answers, but he's on the trail of the right questions. Most of all, in our global economy, who profits by this death? Who profits from the intentional slowdown of vaccine production? He compares the way poor Africans are suffering from AIDS and views the lack of response on the part of "world public health" as a template for what's going to happen here. If they can ignore the deaths of billions of Africans, what's going to happen when a virus much more easily spread hits the airwaves like some sort of Stephen King like fever dream?

This book is a comprehensive look at just what bird (or avian) flu is all about, and what the world is, or is not, doing about it.

Influenzas are divided into three major categories. Types B & C are relatively mild, leading to the common cold, or, at worst, the winter flu. But Type A is the unpredictable, and lethal, strain that is fully entrenched among the bird population of East Asia. It is very easy for the disease to jump from migratory birds, to ducks, to chickens, to swans and egrets, and back again, mutating along the way. Until now, the human deaths have come from direct contact with infected birds. But the time is coming when that last mutation will click into place, causing it to jump from person to person. A worldwide flu pandemic, with a death toll in the hundreds of millions, is, as one researcher put it, "late."

What is America doing to prepare for the coming pandemic? Not much. Industrial chicken farms, with millions of chickens crowded into one building, are a wonderful breeding ground for diseases of all sorts, not just bird flu. Remember SARS from a couple of years ago? Among the reasons why it was contained is that the cities where it happened, Toronto and Hong Kong, are modern cities with modern health care systems. Imagine if SARS had shown up somewhere in Africa, with a much less modern health care system.

The major drug companies have opposed moves to allow other countries to make cheap copies of flu vaccines, even though there are nowhere near enough doses of vaccines even for first responders, out of concern for their corporate bottom line. The Bush Administration is more interested in spending money preparing for a smallpox or anthrax outbreak, something which has much less chance of ever happening, than in spending it on bird flu, which is coming in the near future.

This is a very spooky book, which I guess is the idea. It is written for the layman, and does a fine job at showing how unprepared America is for the next flu pandemic. It is very highly recommended.

The free market approach to procuring vaccine when signs of epidemics of Influenza A arise has been disastrous, Davis shows. In the U.S. epidemics in 1957 and 1968, companies could not manufacture enough vaccine in time to prevent it from spreading and killing tens of thousands of elderly people, pregnant women, etc. Vaccines for infectious diseases are very unprofitable for pharmaceutical companies to manufacture. The need for flu vaccine is uncertain and seasonal. And the flu mutates and reasserts into new forms that make a previous season's vaccine obsolete so the companies get left with a worthless stockpile. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt recently bragged that he had set up a contract with Sanofi Pasteur to procure new production lines for cell-based vaccines. The head of the Centers for Disease Control Julie Gerberding, much disliked amongst her employees for being a political operative of the Bush administration, in contrast, acknowledged that vaccines become obsolete after one season, that the production lines being set up by Sanofi Pasteur were limited and also that the doses puchased were more adequate for common cold/flu. Leavitt, also dodged questions about the relatively tiny purchases compared to those made by other countries, of Tamiflu, the one drug that can inhibit the explosion of Avian flu in the body after it has gotten set up in the body.

Currently the U.S. has two companies under contract to produce flu vaccine. One of them is the San Francisco based Chiron. FDA officials i.e. appointees of the Bush administration, waited nine months before sending the inspector's report to Chiron officials about finding many sources of potential contamination in its production and then assured congress that the company was working on the problem. Then in July 2004, Chiron discovered massive doses of bacteria that can cause death from septic shock, just as it was bragging in a press release that it had shipped one million doses of Fluviron vaccine to the U.S and planned to ship 52 million more doses. Chiron waited a month to tell the FDA. FDA acting head Lester Patterson and company officials assured congress everything was fine but shortly after those assurances, British inspectors closed their planned and withdrew their license to manufacture vaccines.

Devastatingly he notes how the Bush administration has used the scare over anthrax, which seems to have come not from Muslim terrorists or Saddam, but from Fort Detrick Maryland, to ramp up funding for vaccines against the very remote possibility of smallpox or anthrax transmission by terrorists. At the same time Bush has slashed funds for public health protection against infectious diseases like the evolving strains of Avian flu. They are, of course, only following the course set by the Reagan administration. Rates of infectious disease among poorer Americans have increased since the cuts of the Reagan years, weakening immune systems and thus giving diseases like Avian flu and SARS an easier pathway. Neither Democratic nor Republic politicians, both heavily funded by Pharmaceuticals, have been willing to even timidly suggest that the patent rights of the flu vaccine manufacturers should be violated and governments should be able to produce their own generic version of vaccines. Maintaining the level of Pharmaceutical company profits, the most profitable industry in the world is more important than slightly cutting into those profits by allowing governments to produce their own generic version of Tamiflu (a proposal which the U.S. and France blocked at a WHO conference in 2002) to say nothing of producing drugs to combat Malaria and reduce AIDS deaths in Africa (also blocked by the U.S.). . He notes how AIDs must have got started. Fisherman in West Africa could not longer compete in procuring fish for protein and commerce as their governments lifted restrictions on corporate foreign fishing on their shores. Meanwhile, West Africa's previously isolated rain forests were logged over and exposedtheir pathogens to the rest of the world, particularly through their animals which many Africans turned to as a source of protein in lieu of the fish.

Government spending on public health in third world has been dramatically slashed in the third world as governments are compelled to undergo IMF (i.e. U.S.) imposed structural adjustment so government preparedness in these countries for public health disasters is even worse than before. He mentions the Indian government's response to a Pneumonic Plague outbreak in the slums of Suratt, where there is one toilet for every 250 persons. The rapidly expanding slums of the third world are extremely dangerous for spreading disease as are the crowded conditions among sweatshop laborers in China's poultry center, Guangdong province, who suffer from pollution related respiratory disease and cacner.

In the United States and in Thailand and the rest of Asia, mass chicken farms tens of thousands of chickens co-exist with other poultry, wildfowl and human beings and thus Avian flu has the chance to go through many different hosts and evolve. One chicken farm in Utah produces more excrement than the entire city of Los Angeles. In 2000-01, chicken farms in the Tilgore valley in Californian and in British Colombia both covered up the spread of Avian flu among their fowl.

Davis describes how the Thai poultry conglomerate CP, in collusion with the Thai govt., bribed its sources of chickens to keep quiet while its workers at its processing plants were unknowingly exposed as they prepared to export the chicken. The Thai government blamed small scale chicken producers who are very poor backyard producers and went around butchering all their chickens while offering them terms for compensation which they could almost never abide by.. The CP has been blamed for one particular Avian flu outbreak at one of its open air poultry farms in Vietnam. CP apparently sent campaign donations to Clinton through John Huang in the scandal that got right wingers all excited. One insightful thinker at the Weekly Standard tried to tie CP and its close connections with China as a Commie front company that was influencing Clinton. . Of course, Davis points out, CP actually has had strong business relations with Bush Sr. and Neil Bush and the Carlyle group.

Dr. Woodson has shown keen insight last year in foreseeing the likely conditions that would prevent most people suffering from an influenza pandemic from obtaining treatment at overcrowded hospitals. Now the Federal and State governments openly admit as much.

The techniques and procedures contained within this book describe how to treat a family member who has contracted a highly pathogenic influenza, such as H5N1. While the severest cases still need hospitalization, the vast majority of other cases can be treated at home if one follows the carefully spelled out therapy Dr. Woodson has communicated in layman's terms. I loaned this book to my physician who called back two days later to confirm the soundness of the treatment plan. Interestingly enough, the book only costs $5, but the information within makes it worth its weight in gold.

this extremely alarmist manual does not offer practical suggestions, but a ritualistic rule of worry that will instill doomsday panic in anyone who tries to follow it. Shame on a practicing physician for coming up with such nonsense.

The "Bird Flu Preparedness Planner" delivers what it promises in a clear, compelling, straight-forward way. Dr. Woodsen lays out the facts of this health threat with no hype and no panic. However, it is real, it is deadly, and it is heading our way.

The most valuable feature of this slim, easy-to-read manual, is its simplicity and practicality for preparedness. It has checklists of supplies, medicines, and food a family would need in case of a severe epidemic or pandemic. I will try to get Tamiflu (to help with ordinary strains of influenza) and the over-the-counter remedies he recommends.

I think the food list could have been a bit more comprehensive. I plan to have more than rice and potatoes on hand to feed a family of six for eight weeks. However my grocery list looks more like a summer cookout for a family reunion than an emergency stash. I suppose 8 cases of baked beans and 8 summer sausages is a little over-the-top.

Grattan Woodson wrote the brief book, "The Bird Flu Preparedness Planner," ". . .to prepare his patients for a possible catastrophic event. . ." (page 83). The book, as the title suggests, is a nuts and bolts volume, giving readers a brief introduction to avian flu (with a focus on H5N1) and how to deal with it if a pandemic breaks out.

There are introductory chapters about the nature of avian flu and why it could be so destructive of human life. The chapter beginning on page 21 is where this becomes a useful "how to do it" manual. This looks at "pre-pandemic" preparations, including preparing stockpiles of medicines and supplies that one might need if pandemic strikes. There is also am listing of nonperishable foodstuffs that are worth collecting beforehand.

The chapter beginning on page 41 speaks of home flu treatment advice. The author notes that one of the single most important pieces of advice is to (page 41): ". . .make sure [people] have plenty of fluids. Dehydration must be prevented, as this can be fatal in a patient who would otherwise survive." Diet recommendations for those afflicted with flu are enumerated as well.

One of the more sobering presentations in this book is a set of maps showing how rapidly that the 1918 pandemic swept across the United States. From a small outbreak in mid-September, we see the entire country infected by October 13th.

For those interested in a brief introduction as to what one might do to prepare, this is a useful volume. Of course, the brevity is also a problem if one wants much more detail. But if what one wants is "quick, dirty, and brief," this is a volume worth looking at.

Like many Americans, all I knew about bird flu was what I got from headlines, and that information was very basic and not helpful as far as forming a plan of action. This book was different. While less than 100 pages, and some of those diagrams, there is no effort on the part of the author to impress (or boggle) your mind with fancy words. He speaks at a level that normal people can understand, and I feel more educated about this flu issue than in the past. He helped me understand what an epidemic means (not just the Webster definition) as in, how many people get sick, and what we might face. I hadn't considered how it might affect me if a sizable part of the nation got sick all at once (even if I remained untouched, there's still consequences).

Pros - Not complicated medical lingo (skips why the viral RNA has potential to mutate and therefore cross
from birds to humans because of gene marker...) Just what the common person needs to know
- Not an overly long book (not too much to remember all at once)
- Small enough to fit in your coat pocket to read little bits at a time
- Instruction is simple, in an even tone, not panicky
_ Recommendation of "The Great Influenza" was a good one, borrowed it from the library. You probably
won't find "the Bird Flu Preparedness Planner" in your library

Cons - Well, I wish I knew more, and I want some details, especially on how I can take steps on my own to deal
with this when it hits.
- $5 seems like a sum for a small book...

Overall: This book is straight-to-the-point, simple info on what a flu epidemic could be like. I think he hit his goal with getting the basic info out to the masses (this book just needs to move more) in a timely fashion (this was published for 2005) so that if the flu came, at least SOME info would be out there. He has written a second one, "Bird Flu Manual" which I have purchased but not read yet. I think it will fall to me to be the bird flu 'expert' in our family, so I am trying to educate myself. Emails don't count. I always put more stock in a bonafide published work that the author could be hung out to dry on if he writes fluff. Emails are anonymous, and forwards could be written by anyone. Zero authority.

Buy this, read it, get it to someone else. I gave my copy to my father, as he is also interested.

This is a wonderful book. It has only 90 some pages and you can read through it fast. The book brakes down this flu first by explaining what it is on the molecular level. Then it gives six scenarios of what the experts think might happen. The book talks about medications and natural foods that might help you to fight against the flu if you contract it. The book discusses the 1918 flu and other flues that have attacked in the last 100 years. Last and most important it give you a list of items you should stock up. If and when this does becomes dangerous for people many items will be gone from store shelves in a matter of just a few hours. The book in no way uses scare tactics but just presents you with the facts and informs you of what the experts see as the potentially dangerous outcome of this H5N1 bird flu.

This is a relatively easy book to read and doesn't get bogged down in too much "technical detail." I've read two other books about the flu and one about the international epidemic in WWI. While those books were generally historical, this one is practical and actually addresses things we can do if the flu gets over here. It's worth the time and money to read.

A practical, informative book, with the information you need to be prepared. I especially like the information on herbal remedies - key, since we know that vaccinations will be next to useless.

This is a pretty straightforward treatment of the potential Avian Flu Pandemic that contains some useful information and insights from an M.D. I didn't give it 5 stars since much of the information can be found in the public domain at the CDC and WHO websites. In addition, the very nature of the Avian Flu story lends itself to quick developments which quickly date a book of this nature.

These minor criticisms aside, I appreciated the author's discussion of conventional flu treatments and possible alternative remedies. He also included a list of items that you should consider storing in anticipation of a panic, if the virus goes pandemic. I didn't think the book was over the top in terms of trying to frighten people. This is a frightening topic, but the author presented a range of possible scenarios from the mundane to the apocalyptic. You can either allow yourself to be scared silly, or you can take the information available, make your own plan and rest easy. Knowledge kills fear.

My mother asked me to buy this book for her, and she has not slept since and I wish I read it first. She is upset because bird flu is a worrying possibility, yes, but also because this book writes about it in a way that is designed to make you think, o dear what if the neighbors infect me? how would i save myself, if other people were suffering? It is a bad state of mind, to think of your self when the whole community is badly sick. This book remind me of those men who go to remote deserts and dig fallout shelters and hide there with guns and canned soup. It sounds too excited about the possibility of everybody else dying and being horribly dangerous to you like a zombie film, even though it is written by doctors who should be wise and not selling to people's selfishness and fear. My mother keeps crying in the night and she needs comfort and shame on them.

What really sucks you into this book are the illustrations of Marven on skis. Kevin Hawkes' illustrations subtly allude to Paul Bunyan stories, with the larger-than-life character Jean Louis. What gives the book staying power is that it is a true story, a history, and so you have to constantly remind yourself, "This really happened."
The story is about how one family in Minnesota's lives were turned upside-down by panic over the influenza epidemic of 1918. They send their son away to work at a logging camp with a friend. I like how the child reader is forced to understand how the labor of a young boy would be useful in the camp doing bookkeeping. Frequently, when child labor is addressed in children's lit, it is typically done by showing the working conditions of the archetypal child factory worker or coal miner covered in soot and malnourished. This true story shows how a boy was able to use his skills to support himself during hard times in a manner that was mutually beneficial to himself and the logging company. The story doesn't feel like it has to twist the history to serve as any kind of politically correct propaganda. It is simply told from the point-of-view of Marven's recollections of an episode from his childhood. Certainly, it was hard on the child to be away from his family so long, but he developed a sense of self-esteem from his job because he was performing a valuable service. In many ways, it's a positive story about a young boy forced by circumstances into a coming-of-age journey. And again, unlike the classics of the genre like Tom Sawyer and Peter Pan, it's a true story. The closest parallel I can come up with is the boy version of Laura Ingalls in the early 20th century.... or maybe like an underground railroad story except Marven isn't Black or a runaway slave. As a children's history, it certainly is unique and worthy of a place in children's libraries for decades to come.
The one cultural difficulty that was easy for me to address teaching this book was Marven's Jewishness... how he develops a system for keeping kosher and how the fact that he was Jewish contributed to him having the education to be able to actually get that job, given that many of the lumberjacks were illiterate. The cultural difficulty that was not so easy for me to deal with is that I have never skied in my life and the most snow we ever get here is a few inches that melt as soon as they hit the ground. My 8 year old daughter really had a hard time with my explanations about why Marven had to leave the camp before the spring thaw or else he would be "trapped." Kids today in the age of the interstate highway system and scarcely a square mile in the Lower 48 not criss-crossed with grids of asphalt roads, they don't "get" what a spring thaw and mud really means. These little details of American life in 1918 that Lasky carefully weaves into her narrative give teachers and parents a fertile ground for social studies discussion topics.

Not for little girls. A flu epidemic has just arrived, a great-aunt has died, and the family is afraid for their son. They "want him to live to be a man," so they send him to a remote camp for several months. There is no similar concern for their two daughters, who stay at home, and no explanation for the disparity. Fortunately, in the end the son returns home to find that, "Nobody's dead."

This book is a true story about how two unlikely people become friends. Marven a ten year old boy from Duluth, Minnesota in 1918, is sent to live at a logging camp far awar from home in the Great North Woods to escape the influenza that is sweeping the country. Marven is scared to go becasue he does not know what to expect, and is also afraid that the influenza might take the life of some of his family members. At the logging camp Marven meets a French speaking lumberjack named Jean Louis. The two have nothing in common, but become freinds anyway. When Marven comes back home he is relieved to find out that the influenza is over, and that all of his family memebers are alive.

I liked this book because it was adventurous and exciting that a ten year old boy could travel alone far away from his parents to some place he had never been before. I thought the illustrations did a great job of showing the beauty and vastness of the wilderness as well as the difference in size between Marven, his lumberjack friends, and the Great North Woods.

I was excited when I first heard about this book at a teacher training because it takes place in 3 Minnesota towns--where I grew up, where my parents grew up and where I went to college.

Everyone--kids and grown ups alike need to feel the thrill of a connection to a book--a book about places they know. Minnesota current and former residents need this book!

The Best Children's Books of the Year, 1998; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Best of the Bunch, 1997; Association of Jewish Librarians; United States
Children's Books of Distinction, 1998; Riverbank Review; United States
The Children's Literature Choice List, 1998; Children's Literature; United States
Notable Books for Children, 1998; American Library Association
Smithsonian Magazine's Notable Books for Children, 1997; Smithsonian; United States

While the book is well written and has a great deal of suspense, parents need to be aware that it may not be good for sensitive or younger children who have much higher reading levels. Child and spousal abuse, alcohol addiction, doppelganger/dead people coming back to life, lynch mobs coming after a child, etc., are some of the things that are present in this book. I give it four stars because of the quality of the writing but the subject matter can be of concern to sensitive children. Mine started having nightmares after chapter three so we had to stop reading.

The Empty Mirror is about a boy named Nick hodges, who lost his parents in a flu epidemic. Nick lives with his uncle Jack, who owns a boatyard, where nick works. They live in a town called stoneybeach, where no one talks about the flu epidemic.

When Nick wakes up one day he feels that something is missing from him. He later finds out that he has no shadow. When Nick sees a boy that looks exactly like his reflection, things turn for the worst. Nick gets blamed for a series of crimes that he did not committ.

When Nick continues to run into his reflection, he discpvers that a boy named Jared Solters stole his reflection, wanting to get revenge on uncle Jack. Jared's mission is to kill nick and get him blamed for everything he does. When Ni9ck is Wanted for murder, he tricks Jared. Finally, Jared flees to the pond as a last resort, and Nick finally gets his shadow back.

"My backbone went cold, and a chill rose up and shivered across my head. Gypsy's reflection was there, all right. But there was no reflection of me."
Nick Hodges, a thirteen year old orphan with his uncle Jack in a small New England town. Nick wakes up one morning to find he has no reflection. Following the disappearance of his reflection a woman sees Nick miles from where he actually is, a priest says he saw Nick throwing stones at the church when he was working with uncle at home, and many other people claim they see Nick doing other things he didn't do and had nothing to do with. The worst thing about it- the events Nick are accused of doing are getting more severe every time. Nick soon discovers a boy named Jared Solters, who died years ago, took over his reflection and is the one causing all of the trouble. So, it's up to Nick to find a way to stop Jared before he does something unforgivable and turns the entire town against him.
I found this novel very entertaining and thrilling because of the interesting characters, the suspense build up, and the setting. One thing about this book I didn't like was some of the predictable events.

One thing I didn't like in this book were some of the predictable events. This book was very suspenseful overall, but there were some instances when you know exactly what was going to happen next. It took some of the thrill out of the story. For example, there was one part in the story where Nick was running out of town because they were after him for doing something he didn't do, and he hid in the woods. Somehow, his possessed reflection manages to find him in the woods, like he does throughout the entire story.

An element of this story that made it enjoyable were the interesting characters. Nick's uncle Jack. Nick's uncle is a calm, collected type of guy who takes things as they come. He never loses his "cool", and always knows what to do when conflict rises. He is an interesting character because even when a serious situation is happening he doesn't panic. The only event when Jack acted shocked was when he saw Nick and Nick's possessed reflection standing side by side.

The setting in this story made it more mysterious. The place where Nick finds his reflection that is being possessed by Jared Solters is in the woods behind an old graveyard. Briggs Pond is the name of the place where Nick discovers his reflection has disappeared. The author of this novel combines mysterious events with mysterious locations and is bound to give the reader goosebumps every time they read it.

The final and most essential part of this story, in my opinion, was the suspense build up with a few exceptions, this story leaves you guessing what will happen next the entire time. The author does a very good job of building suspense before an event happens. An example of this happening in the story is when Nick is fixing up the graveyard he see's a shadow figure flash through the trees around him in the corner of his eye. He turns around to where he saw it and it was gone. Other events similar to this, happen throughout the story. It sets the mood for reader and leaves them on the edge of their seat wondering ho the story will end.
Overall, this book was a fast-paced, and very suspenseful that has the reader guessing until the very last page.
S.Brown

Thirteen year old Nick Hodges is growing up in the care of his Uncle Jack after losing his parents in the flu epidemic of 1918. Admittedly, he's a "troublesome" boy but things take a major turn for the worse when he wakes one morning feeling like he's lost something, only to discover that he no longer has a reflection. Then people begin to tell him they have seen him in places he knows he hasn't been; next, crimes begin to be attributed to him. Out of desperation, he goes searching and finds an exact replica of himself---his mirror image.

This is a fun book with lots of activity and a bit of creepiness. Nick is a thoroughly believable character accused of incidents he's not done and aching to to clear himself though no one but his uncle will believe him. The story leaves a lot of questions to be answered; we are left wondering the hows and whys of the stealing of the reflection and its return. The fact that there were too many hanging questions denies me giving this book 5 stars, but it was still a fun read with lots of interesting twists. If you can accept the story at "face" value, you'll love this one.

The Empty Mirror is a thrilling, exciting, action packed book. This book shows what happens when two people, one dead and one alive, want to inherit the same body. Nick has a troublesome reputation. So when somebody tries to imitate it and get it in to trouble, the town thinks it is him. Throughout the book, Nick wishes he hadn't been so troublesome. This person is doing worse and worse things each day. Can Nick stop him? I think this book should be recommended for ages eleven and up because of language and drug references. This is a great book. If you are looking for a great, thrilling mystery, see if you can find The Empty Mirror.

Ok, so I ordered this book because I'm an idiot and didn't read the product description and see that it was actually a children's book. But, that doesn't mean I didn't read it.... I actually loved the book. It's a quick read for an adult, but it's also a great book. The information is accurate and well written. It would be easy for a child that is interested in science or history to understand. So, if you're a middle school science teacher or history teacher this would be a great assignment for a book report.

THIS BOOK IS A EXCELLENT HALF HOUR READ OF WHAT HAPPENED IN 1918,IT OPENED UP ALOT OF THOUGHT FOR ME ABOUT THE CAUSE AND CONDITIONS OF THE PANDEMIC. IT IS A GOOD FIRST READ IF YOU KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE PANDEMIC

I have a copy of this book in my library. It is an accurate and well written book that explains in detail the Pandemic Influenza that gripped our world in 1918-1919.

If you purchase this book for a child, be aware of the nature of the topic presented. Between 20 million and 100 million people perished from the great Spanish Influenza.

Since the book is simple to understand and easy to read, I strongly urge you buy copies for politicians at every level of government.

This is one of the books I took out of the library yesterday, and I am so glad I did! This book its one of the best medical books geared for children I have ever read! I wish for tw othings, one, it will never end, and two, that there were more books in this series of unknown viruses. Thanks fo r a great read!

A careful, well-written and thoroughly documented academic study of the flu pandemic that ravaged America from 1918 to 1920. Includes numerous illustrations, tables and photographs, chapter notes, an extensive classified bibliography, and an excellent index.

Taking a much-different approach than the several other books available on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, the authors -- Pettit, a former Medical Technologist with a Ph.D. in American History, and Bailie, holding a Ph.D. in Biochemistry -- take a "social history" approach and weave the stories of individuals who lived and died during this harrowing time, in with informed scientific discussion of the virus and clinical perspectives of the healthcare professionals who tried to save them.

The numbers are shocking -- Pettit and Bailie cite pandemic influenza data indicating that "25%-30% of the world's population" had "clinically apparent illnesses" with a resulting "mortality rate of 2.5 % to 5 %." And, though the pandemic is usually only briefly mentioned in -- or, often even left out of many world and/or American history books -- it was truly a catastrophic event. The authors estimate that somewhere between 50,000,000 and 100,000,000 people died of this particular, virulent strain of the flu worldwide during those two years.

In the opening chapter, "The Riddle of Influenza," we're introduced to the distinguished neurosurgeon, Harvey Cushing, of Johns Hopkins University, who describes his battles with influenza in 1906 and 1918. The authors then discuss how the virus was typically diagnosed at the time, describes the viral invasion, replication and the body's attempts to defend itself; then, goes on to discuss bacterial complications, and traces the disease through the history of mankind. Closes the chapter with a discussion of research conducted by Simon Flexner of the Rockefeller Institute on epidemic encephalitis and Richard E. Shope's work on Hog Flu and the peculiar characteristics of this particular strain, noting that: "About fifty percent of those who died were between twenty and forty years of age. [And,] influenza and pneumonia death rates for 15 to 34 year-olds were more than 20 times higher in 1918 than in previous years; they were people in the prime of life, a group that usually has a very low death rate from influenza."

Chapter two, "The Silent Foe," focuses on the impact of the flu pandemic on the millions of American soldiers mobilized to fight in France during World War I. Describes efforts by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, Army Surgeon General William C. Gorgas and others to improve sanitary conditions in the training camps, to identify and weed-out unfit doctors, and their unsuccessful efforts to prevent the spread of the flu to major cities. Offers useful data that describes this spread by date and city location (46 cities), through the Navy ships and shipyards, through the Army camps and over into France, China and around the world. Focuses on descriptions of the virus in China and closes with a brief discussion of the impact on Austrian-German forces.

Chapter 3, "A Kind of Plague," focuses on the impact of the Flu on the allied forces in France, discusses the establishment of the Pneumonia Commission in the United States during July 1918 and describes their work at Camp Pike in Arkansas, Camp Funston in Kansas, and Camp Devens in Massachusetts. Closes the chapter with discussion of the plight of specific individuals, the horrific death rates, the shortages of coffins in major cities, the effect on the political elections, and bans on gatherings.

Chapter 4, "One War Ends," discusses the economic impact of the flu pandemic during September-October, 1918 through the stories of individuals involved, how the pandemic "was a boon to the life insurance industry," the shortages of healthcare personnel, U.S. Public Health Service efforts to help communities fight the disease, how pandemic-related poverty cases overwhelmed the social agencies of the time, and the misery of the many thousands of children who had lost one or both parents.

Chapter 5, "The Paris Cold," focuses on the impact on the work of the Diplomatic Corps in Paris who fought influenza virus while trying -- at the same time -- to address and write the peace treaty and associated documents to end the war. Refers to cases of one prominent individual after another -- Dr. Raymond Pearl with the U.S. Food Administration, Willard Straight who was an investment banker and founder of New Republic Magazine, Joseph Grew of the State Department, economist Clive Day, Colonel Edward M. House, and finally the battle to save the life of the President himself, Woodrow Wilson, are all narrated and implications on the American Peace Delegation are drawn.

Chapter 6, "The Aftermath (1919)," offers an assessment of the impact of the pandemic on both individual lives and on America's public institutions. Suggests that it: forced the U.S. Government to offer financial support for medical research; pointed out to social workers, how essential it is for communities to offer services to safeguard the health of citizens; how health is as much a public concern as it is a private concern; forced a reassessment of the mission and role of the American Red Cross, the New York City Health Commission and the growth of Public Health Nursing; and, promoted efforts by bacteriologists and other noted scientists of the day to find the cause of the infection and spread of influenza.

Chapter 7, "A Tired Nation (1920)," describes the continued impacts of the pandemic on the American public. Discusses the deaths of more prominent individuals, efforts to limit the spread, the hoarding and profiteering that took place, the resulting mental disorders of many of the victims, and how the nation struggled during this "sad and sickly" time.

Chapter 8, the closing chapter, "The Battle Continues," concludes that the flu pandemic of 1918 was a truly "humbling experience." Discusses how the great strides that scientists had made in bacteriology during the previous 50 year had given many a "false sense of security." Cites the pandemic as kindling a vigorous crusade against the disease, with the Rockefeller Institute spending hundreds of millions of dollars in post-pandemic research and being instrumental in creating focus and interst on public and community health and preventative medicine. Offers a detailed discussion of the theories of origin of the pandemic, followed by a wide-ranging discussion of the research and findings of a number of present-day researcher, including: Jeffrey Taubenberger, Terrence Tumpey, Johan Hultin, Mark J. Gibbs, Adrian J. Gibbs, Neil M. Ferguson, Ira Longini, Jr., Pascale Wortley, and David Morens.

Bottom line of the authors? "We must treat this microscopic mass murderer with the utmost respect and never doubt its exceptional ability to adapt, take advantage of permissive conditions where it can, and overcome adverse conditions to develop resistence to treatments [designed] to destroy it when it must."

And, as stated on the back cover: "Because many experts believe that it is not a matter of IF the world will encounter another 1918-like flu pandemic, but WHEN...[this] should be considered essentail reading for those interested in learning what worked -- and didn't--during that grim time."

Highly recommended; this book belongs in the collection of EVERY college, university and public library. It should also be seriously considered for inclusion in secondary school collections where students are encouraged to write term papers.

In addition, medical and public health decision-makers in government office worldwide, and individuals practicing in the fields of nursing, public health, medicine, and teaching in the history of medicine and in the life-sciences will find it thought-provoking and useful reading.

The global influenza pandemic of 1918-1920, which epidemiologists estimate was responsible for the deaths of between 50-100 million people worldwide, was one of the most deadly events in human history. More people died during the pandemic, which lasted a little over two years, than during all four-years of the Black Death (although the world population was by 1918 far larger than during the Middle Ages). Arriving during the closing phase of World War I, the pandemic had a significant impact on mobilized national armies. Half of U.S. soldiers who died in the "Great War," were victims of influenza not of enemy bombs and bullets. It is estimated that almost ¾ of a million Americans died during the pandemic. The impact of the epidemic was so harsh that the average life span in the U.S. fell by 10 years in the second decade of the 20th century. Among those struck was President Woodrow Wilson, who became ill early in 1919 while in Versailles negotiating the treaty to end the world war. As noted in a letter from Wilson's physician included in the book:

"The President was taken violently sick last Thursday. The attack was very sudden. At three o'clock he was apparently all right; at six he
was seized with violent paroxysms of coughing, which were so severe
and frequent that it interfered with his breathing" (p. 171).

Notably, the pandemic was truly global in its impact, showing up in almost all heavily populated areas but in sparely populated Arctic settlements and in remote Pacific islands as well. In this respect, the pandemic exposed the early stages of the most recent wave of globalism and its reconstruction of the modern world as a socially smaller more integrated place.

Although it has been called the "forgotten pandemic," publication of A Cruel Wind: Pandemic Flu in America is one of a number a number of signs that the pandemic of 1918-1920, is once again on people's minds. The reason for this is not obscure. With AIDS, SARS, and many other new infectious diseases in the news, the whole issue of contagions, old and new, has become a topic of widespread concern and interest. Especially for those who are fascinated by the intersection of disease and history, and the impact of disease on society, Dorthy Pettit and Janice Bailie's book will be a fascinating read.

The book, which tells the tale of the influenza pandemic in full historic and biological detail, is introduced by way of a series of riddles (actually uncertainties about the nature of the pandemic), many of which are still unresolved, including just what caused the dramatic impact and unique expressions of the so-called Spanish influenza, which was the number one public health problem just before the take off of the roaring twenties (which contained an exuberance that might well be read as a national celebration that pandemic was finally over). The pandemic came without warning, took an enormous toll, disproportionately killed people in the prime of life, caused prolong illness, and even among survivors left enduring after-affects. Moreover, it was not solely humans who were victims. Pigs and many other animals also got sick.

As the authors of this book make clear, an important part of the death toll was caused by viral pneumonia characterized by extensive bleeding in the lungs resulting in suffocation. Many victims died within 48 hours of the appearance of the first symptoms. In fact, it was not uncommon for people who appeared to be quite healthy in the morning to have perished by sunset. Even before the pandemic, researchers were confused about what caused the grippe, as the disease was then known. Some thought that the source might be a bacterial infection. At the time, virology had not emerged as a discipline but bacteriology was already a flourishing field. Ultimately, it was confirmed that the pandemic was caused by a virus, specifically influenza A virus of the H1N1 subtype Yet among people who survived the first several days of viral infection, many subsequently died of secondary conditions. Most notable was bacterial pneumonia, and it was this adverse interaction of two different diseases that made the pandemic so deadly, and from the perspective of both history and the future of human health (which, because of global warming and the movement of old diseases to new places) something there is tremendous need to understand better. While questions remain, this book helps to gain a much better understanding of just what happened 90 years ago in the biosocial world of human disease that still holds important lessons for us today.

A Cruel Wind: Pandemic Flu in America, 1918-1920,
Dorothy Pettit, Ph.D, and Janice Bailie,Ph.D., Timberlane Press, 2007
Reviewer: Chris Holmes, M.D., M.S.P.H.

Why should we worry about the flu? It's just a minor, 3-day illness, right? Well, not exactly. For 15% of the world's citizens (500,000 U.S.) who get sick from it each year, or the 250-300,000 (30,000 U.S.) who die from it, it's not "minor." Nor is its economic impact: $167 billion annually in the U.S., which includes the cost of 70 million doses of vaccine. If you multiply these numbers by about 200, you approach the rates for the 1918 pandemic. So maybe we should be a little worried.

In this well written and thoroughly researched book, the authors -- a biochemist and an historian -- trace in detail the American course of this outbreak and its impact on every aspect of U.S. life: economic, political, military and public health. Even the entertainment industry was affected: movie theaters closed, stages darkened. The epidemic also highlighted America's woefully inadequate health care system. The book's numerous illustrations, tables and figures, and extensive references and bibliography ground, illuminate and clarify the viral and historical concepts.

The story begins with a review of basic influenza virology and immunologic classification. The concepts of antigen drift (minor surface antigen changes requiring a new vaccine annually) and antigen shift (major, 10 year-or-so changes which signal the start of pandemics like the 1957 Asian flu (2 million deaths worldwide) and the 1968 Hong Kong flu (700,000 deaths).

The authors then confront several vexing questions about the 1918 pandemic: First, where did it originate. Two competing theories have emerged: that it spontaneously erupted in Europe, Asia and North America; or it began in U.S. Army recruit camps in Kansas then spread to Europe as soldiers headed for WW I. Neither theory emerges a winner. But it seems plausible, wherever it began, that this particular strain also infected animals (swine). Another intriguing question is why this epidemic was so deadly (mortality close to 30% overall), especially in healthy young adults (50% mortalty in 20-40 year-olds). The authors find no definitive answer to this question either, though they examine all sides clearly.

Finally come the most important questions: How likely is the 1918 outbreak to happen again? And are we prepared for it if it does. The Influenza virus can cross the species barrier (as it appears to have done in 1918), and in 2006-2007 275 human cases of avian influenza (H5N1) were documented in Asia, a majority in Thailand. The great worry is that if a human host is infected with both the H5N1strain and a human influenza strain at the same time, he or she could become a mixing bowl for the reassortment and emergence of a new, deadly strain. That thought should scare the collective pants off us!

I highly recommend this book to students and researchers interested in the history of medicine and science, to practitioners and academic professionals (including university and public libraries) in medicine, nursing, public health and infectious disease, as well as to the general interested reader. There is no better example than this book of why we must learn history or are doomed to repeat it.