Books: Plague of the Century

Tracking the 1918 flu virus that killed 20 million

Even a hard-core pessimist must agree that things are looking up when the most immediate worry at the end of the 20th century is that computers won't know what time it is just after midnight, Dec. 31. Or that the threat of a genuine apocalypse has been downgraded from a swift nuclear winter to the palmy dangers of slow global warming.

If you are still not convinced of a general improvement in the human condition, pick up a copy of Gina Kolata's Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!