The Flu Epidemic of 1918: America's Experience in the Global Health Crisis / Edition 1

by Sandra Opdycke

Overview

In 1918, a devastating world-wide influenza epidemic hit the United States. Killing over 600,000 Americans and causing the national death rate to jump 30% in a single year, the outbreak obstructed the country's participation in World War I and imposed terrible challenges on communities across the United States.

This epidemic provides an ideal lens for understanding the history of infectious disease in the United States. The Flu Epidemic of 1918 examines the impact of the outbreak on health, medicine, government, and individual people's lives, and also explores the puzzle of Americans' decades-long silence about the experience once it was over. In a concise narrative bolstered by primary sources including newspaper articles, eye-witness accounts, and government reports, Sandra Opdycke provides undergraduates with an unforgettable introduction to the 1918 epidemic and its after-effects.

Critical Moments in American History is a series of short texts designed to familiarize students with events or issues critical to the American experience. Through the use of narrative and primary documents, these books help instructors deconstruct an important moment in American history with the help of timelines, glossaries, textboxes, and a robust companion website.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415636858
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/19/2014
Series:	Critical Moments in American History
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	234
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

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

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. No Ordinary Flu: The Epidemic of 1918

2. America in 1918: The Epidemic’s Social Context

3. Fighting Two Wars at Once: Flu in the Military

4. Caregivers’ Nightmare: Trying to Treat Influenza

5. Communities On Their Own: The Civilian Experience

6. After the Storm: The Legacy of 1918

7. The Long Silence: Suppressing the Memory

8. Feeling Vulnerable Again: Fears of Another 1918

Documents

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

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 #2

It 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 #3

The 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

From the Publisher