One afternoon while driving home, in the height of this spring's swine flu outbreak, I was listening to Mr. John Barry on the radio talk about his book The Great Influenza. My interest was peaked to the point where I actually checked the book out, and (over several weeks) read (most of) it (until I could no longer renew it and had to return it). It's a study of the Spanish Flu of 1918--which I learned was also a swine flu that originated in Oklahoma--its spread and influence, and the prominent figures of medicine at that time, battling the outbreak. It also provides a commentary on the evolution of the American medical education system. I was impressed with the detail and depth of the information presented, though at times I found it gruesome and slow. If anything, my appreciation for modern medicine has reached an all-time high. Read the book to find out what I mean.
