Amazon.com
Wow. This stunning book succeeds on so many different levels--as an engrossing story, a character study, a history lesson, a modern day political allegory--I don't even know where to begin the praise. The Last Town on Earth centers on the inhabitants of a small logging town in Washington and what happens when they take drastic measures (quarantine) to try and protect themselves from the virulent and deadly flu epidemic of 1918. When a deserting WWI soldier demands sanctuary, events are set in motion that change the town forever.
Although this is Mullen's first published work, there are none of the usual verbal pyrotechnics or high-wire "look how well I can write" balancing acts one sees with beginning authors. How refreshing to read a younger author who has already progressed beyond his ego and knows that it's all about story, story, story. Mullen tells his tale cleanly, simply and plainly--making the ironies and allegories all the more potent. I knew almost nothing of the flu epidemic of 1918 and even less about the political climate in the US during WW1. These are not subjects I would go out of my way to read about, but Mullen has made them compelling and interesting. In fact, the author's voice has the same level of confidence and maturity that one only finds in writers with decades more experience (I kept thinking of Wallace Stegner and Alice Munro while I was reading)--authors who earn your trust and confidence so early and easily that you completely relax into the writing and the voice. It's already on my Ten Best List; I can't imagine I'll read ten better books this year. It's easily the most impressive and heartfelt book I've read in a long while. --Terry Goodman
Book Description
Set against the backdrop of one of the most virulent epidemics that America ever experienced–the 1918 flu epidemic–Thomas Mullen’s powerful, sweeping first novel is a tale of morality in a time of upheaval.
Deep in the mist-shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest is a small mill town called Commonwealth, conceived as a haven for workers weary of exploitation. For Philip Worthy, the adopted son of the town’s founder, it is a haven in another sense–as the first place in his life he’s had a loving family to call his own.
And yet, the ideals that define this outpost are being threatened from all sides. A world war is raging, and with the fear of spies rampant, the loyalty of all Americans is coming under scrutiny. Meanwhile, another shadow has fallen across the region in the form of a deadly illness striking down vast swaths of surrounding communities.
When Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself against contagion, guards are posted at the single road leading in and out of town, and Philip Worthy is among them. He will be unlucky enough to be on duty when a cold, hungry, tired–and apparently ill–soldier presents himself at the town’s doorstep begging for sanctuary. The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired, will have deafening reverberations throughout Commonwealth, escalating until every human value–love, patriotism, community, family, friendship–not to mention the town’s very survival, is imperiled.
Inspired by a little-known historical footnote regarding towns that quarantined themselves during the 1918 epidemic, The Last Town on Earth is a remarkably moving and accomplished debut.
Customer Reviews:
An OK read.......2007-10-03
This is an OK read, but not a riveting page turner. Probably of more interest to those who have not read much about the flu pandemic of 1918. The characters are not as fully developed as I like.
wonderful.......2007-09-25
I picked this up at the airport and expected it to just help pass a long flight. The story will stay with me a long time and I find myself thinking of the characters as if they were real. One of the best books I have read in a very long time. With a current war and flu on our modern day horizon...history may have a way of repeating itself.
Disparaging the human race........2007-09-02
What a sad and demeaning concept of our fellow man. We had a long drive so we heard it all but it was the down side of an otherwise delightful visit to the great northwest. I couldn't wait to give it away and be done with it!
Utopia Breaks Down.......2007-09-01
Thomas Mullen's first novel, The Last Town on Earth, is set in a period of American history that its writers have largely neglected, a time when the country was fighting both World War I and the great Spanish flu pandemic. Amidst the turmoil caused by war and illness, the country was also struggling to settle the conflicts inherent in a capitalistic system facing a strong push from the growing organized labor movement.
In Mullen's novel, Commonwealth, a somewhat Utopian logging community deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, was created by a mill owner who was fed up with the way that his family treated the workers at their own lumber mill. Breaking with his family, he built an entire community based on the equality of all of its citizens, even to building identical homes for everyone living and working there. Because the lumber industry was considered critical to the war effort, his workers were routinely exempted from military service immediately following their "enlistments." In fact, because of new contracts with the federal government, the community of Commonwealth thrived until mill owner Charles Worthy reached a fateful conclusion about the flu threat.
Worthy felt a tremendous loyalty to his town and to those who had joined him in creating something so special, and he wanted desperately to protect them from the approaching flu epidemic. Despite the relative isolation of the community he knew that it was just a matter of time before the epidemic found them. In a town hall vote, the citizens of Commonwealth decided to quarantine the town, cutting themselves off from contact with the outside world and even placing armed guards at the only entrance into the town. But when two soldiers wander out of the forest on separate occasions seeking food and shelter, decisions are made that result in tragic consequences for Commonwealth and everyone living behind its barriers.
The Last Town on Earth is a cautionary tale that draws, sometimes a little too obviously, on the parallels between the modern world and 1918 America. As in 1918, we face what has become an increasingly unpopular war that has split the country almost down the middle between those who support it and those who oppose it. We live with the imminent possibility that some version of the "bird flu" will strike the human population in a manner every bit as devastating to it as the way in which the Spanish flu epidemic tore it apart. Thomas Mullen tells the story of how those who came before us responded when faced with that combination of circumstances and choices, showing us what they did right and what they did wrong. He reminds us of the many lessons to be learned from history.
The audio version of the book, 13 discs and almost 16 hours long, was excellent. It was read by Henry Strozier, a professional actor who so consistently used different voices and cadences for each of the main characters that I was able to recognize them merely from the sound of his voice. His reading was almost conversational in style, never rushed or dryly presented, and his performance was a definite plus.
Extraordinary and absorbing-a gripping page turner.......2007-08-30
Deep in the Pacific Northwest is the small mill town of Commonwealth. With World War 1 raging overseas and a deadly influenza striking down vast swaths of surrounding communities, Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself against contagion. Guards are posted at the single road leading in and out of town, and Phillip Worthy, the adopted son of the town's founder, is among them. He will be unlucky enough to be on duty when a cold, hungry, tired-and ill-soldier presents himself at the town's doorstep begging for sanctuary. The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired, will have deafening reverberations throughout Commonwealth, escalating until every human value-love, patriotism, community, family, friendship-not to mention the town's very survival, is imperiled.
Book Description
At the height of WWI, history's most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision of science and epidemic disease. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research and now revised to reflect the growing danger of the avian flu, The Great Influenza is ultimately a tale of triumph amid tragedy, which provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon.
Customer Reviews:
The real version of "The Stand" by Stephen King.......2007-09-11
I really enjoyed this book as it showed in real life how fast a flu epidemic can spread. One has to realize that this epidemic took place in basically horse and buggy days, people did not travel as much. If you look into your family history, as I did, you may find a relative who died during this time period. After I read this book I discovered a graveyard for a turn of the century orphanage. There were so many children that died, all they could do is put numbers on the gravestones. It made me think how fast a flu epidemic could travel today. The references and facts were an eye opener.
Wow! Very Important Read.......2007-08-31
This book will definitely really make you reconsider the vulnerability of society to an epidemic. What really surprised me was how this single epidemic really kick-started the modern health care system. I had no idea that 100 years ago, it was easier to get certified to be a doctor than it was to go to college - quite literally one could go through a correspondence course. It also traces the development and speaks to the foundation of institutions who, our time, are revered for their stature in modern medicine, such as John Hopkins. It covers a great many aspects of medicine and epidemiology. What this book does best, and is truly refreshing for a history book, is provide insight into the thinking of the time - what role politics and political decisions made in the outbreaks in certain cities. What is truly horrifying is how really vulnerable populations are to influenza. Although we understand it better, actual treatment is still quite limited (prevention seems to be the best hope). A small mutation in the virus could again hammer populations around the world. I took on this book because my grandfather's family was so badly devastated by it. I never really asked enough about it before he passed away and now I wish I had. I recommend this book to anyone interested in epidemiology, medicine, particularly how medicine has advanced in the last 100 years, particularly in the US, or if, like me, your family history may have been effected by this. The most frightening aspect is the astounding speed with which this virus spread and the corresponding mortality rate that it brought with it. Tie that in with its extreme, and I mean extreme contagiousness and one finds a really frightening scenario. I can't imagine a world where people are dying so fast they can't even bury the bodies, doctors and nurses are afflicted so badly that they die almost as fast as the patients, that almost nobody really understands how the contagion is spread and people shun one another - neighbors, even family members. What is even more frightening is that this happened less than one hundred years ago. It really makes you think. It really makes you consider how truly vulnerable we all are.
a true horror story.......2007-08-17
First, with all the fearmongering about pandemics in the last couple of years, it is nice to read about the most deadly epidemic the world has ever known. It's not real comforting, but it is better than the fear Fox News was pandering at Rita/Katrina and the bird flu. It's a great book, one that should have been written, though it could have used a better editor. The book does jump around and there is a lot that probably could have been cut, but it is a great book dealing with a complex subject.
Frightening and informative.......2007-08-13
A facinating window into a horrifying period that we've almost intentionally downplayed in our histories. It's especially worthwhile given the recent concerns about an inevitable pandemic. We are better equipped in some ways to deal with a worldwide pandemic, but in many others we are even more fragile. Viruses, like trade, move much more quickly now.
Excellent Book.......2007-08-01
I learned a vast amount about disease, the medical system, and medecine in general. One of the best and most informative books I have ever read. Well-researched and easy to read.
Average customer rating:
|
The Transmission of Epidemic Influenza (The Language of Science)
R.E. Hope-Simpson
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Forensic Science
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Public Health
| Administration & Policy
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Microbiology
| Basic Science
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Communicable Diseases
| Infectious Disease
| Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Forensic Medicine
| Pathology
| Specialties
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Communicable Diseases
| Infectious Disease
| Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Forensic Medicine
| Pathology
| Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Microbiology
| Basic Sciences
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Epidemiology
| Public Health
| Administration & Medicine Economics
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Health Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0306440733 |
Book Description
This groundbreaking work offers a novel theory of the spread of epidemic influenza that may explain many of the epidemiological difficulties surrounding the disease.
Average customer rating:
- One of the most important books ever written
- No good
- a must,very unique and a book that will recorded in the hist
|
Vitamin C, the Common Cold, and the Flu
Linus Pauling
Manufacturer: W H Freeman & Co (Sd)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Vitamins
| Alternative Medicine
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Vitamins & Supplements
| Nutrition
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Respiratory
| Disorders & Diseases
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Health Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
How to Live Longer And Feel Better
-
Cancer and Vitamin C: A Discussion of the Nature, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of Cancer With Special Reference to the Value of Vitamin C
-
Linus Pauling in His Own Words: Selections From his Writings, Speeches and Interviews
-
Ascorbate: The Science of Vitamin C
-
Healing Cancer: Complementary Vitamin & Drug Treatments
Accessories:
-
RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
-
Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
ASIN: 0716703610 |
Customer Reviews:
One of the most important books ever written.......2005-10-18
Vitamin C is so important for health that the vast majority of animals manufacture it daily in their bodies. This is why animals can live outdoors even in the winter without getting colds or most other illnesses. Being healthy is important to animals because if an animal gets sick it usually becomes eaten by a healthy animal. Only a few animals -- principally humanes, monkeys, and apes -- cannot manufacture vitamin C. The inability to manufacture vitamin C confines monkeys and apes to live in or near the tropics, where the weather is warm and edible fruits and vegetation is very rich in vitamin C and thus can supply their need for this essential nutrient. Outside the tropics they would get sick and die or be killed. When monkeys and apes are removed from the tropics to live in zoos or as pets, they are routinely fed a diet very rich in vitamin C in order to keep them healthy.
Humans also originated in the tropics and cannot manufacture vitamin C but -- unlike monkeys and apes -- most humans eventually migrated away from the vitamin C rich tropics and spread all over the world to places in which the food supply contains much less vitamin C than is needed to maintain our health. Thus, unlike other animals, we humans routinely get sick with colds and other illnesses which adequate vitamin C would protect us against. Only the invention and use of clothing, shelter, and weapons make it possible for humans to survive the illnesses caused by inadequate vitamin C which we routinely get. Humans are the only animals which routinely get sick and yet generally survive our illnesses. But why should we live with periodic bouts of illness? Why not protect ourselves by taking supplemental vitamin C? This is the argument presented in this outstanding book by the greatest chemist of the 20th century, Dr. Linus Pauling, the only person ever to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes. Please acquire and read this valuable book. If you follow Dr. Pauling's advice and take supplemental vitamin C daily, you will become healthier, may never have another cold, and should be able to survive the global flu pandemic which is predicted to occur soon.
No good.......2000-09-23
This book is insightful but is not very well organized. Pauling jumps around from thought to thought in almost every chapter. The information is not outdated, but too many of his references are. So much so that it makes it unenjoyable to read. I wouldn't advise anyone purchase this book, here in the year 2000. I would go for one of his later books.
a must,very unique and a book that will recorded in the hist.......2000-04-08
the author of this book is the father of the orthomolecular-medicine is revealing the vitamin c to the public attention,and explain the mechanism of how this vitamin is strenghening the immune system,while continuing of strenghening all of the other parts of the human organism.pauling is also talking about the comparison of vitamin c to conventional-drugs.pauling also explain in this book how the vitamin work in other diseases in the human body.the history of the discovery of the vitamin and the effect on scurvy is also explained in this very interesting book, and the findings of two other vitamin c pionneering researches like:irwin-stone, and albert szent gyorgy are also explained in this very educative-must book.
Amazon.com
Feeling tired, achy, and congested? You'll hope not after reading science writer Gina Kolata's engrossing Flu, a fascinating look at the 1918 epidemic that wiped out around 40 million people in less than a year and afflicted more than one of every four Americans. This tragedy, just on the heels of World War I and far more deadly, so traumatized the survivors that few would talk about it afterward. Kolata reports on the scientific investigation of this bizarre outbreak, in particular the attempts to sequence the virus' DNA from tissue samples of victims. She also looks at the social and personal effects of the disease, from improved public health awareness to the loss of productivity. (The disease affected 20- to 40-year-olds disproportionately.)
How could this disease, now almost trivial to healthy young people, have become so virulent? The answer is complex, invoking epidemiology, immunology, and even psychology, but Kolata cuts a swath through medical papers and statistical reports to tell a story of an out-of-control virus exploiting an exhausted world on the brink of transition into modern society. Through letters, interviews, and news reports, she pieces together a cautionary tale that captures the horror of a devastating illness. Research marches onward, but we're still at the mercy of something as simple as the flu. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
When we think of plagues, we think of AIDS, Ebola, anthrax spores, and, of course, the Black Death. But in 1918 the Great Flu Epidemic killed an estimated 40 million people virtually overnight. If such a plague returned today, taking a comparable percentage of the U.S. population with it, 1.5 million Americans would die.
In Flu, Gina Kolata, an acclaimed reporter for The New York Times, unravels the mystery of this lethal virus with the high drama of a great adventure story. From Alaska to Norway, from the streets of Hong Kong to the corridors of the White House, Kolata tracks the race to recover the live pathogen and probes the fear that has impelled government policy.
A gripping work of science writing, Flu addresses the prospects for a great epidemic's recurrence and considers what can be done to prevent it.
Download Description
The Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 killed an estimated 40 to 100 million people, striking people in every corner of the globe. In this fascinating book, Gina Kolata examines the devastating impact of the most deadly infectious disease epidemic in recorded history and delves into the mysteries that still surround it. She takes readers into labs where scientists today are working with samples of the virus, detailing in easy-to-follow language their latest findings. And, in a chilling discussion, she addresses the prospects for a recurrence of an equally lethal pandemic.
Customer Reviews:
A very compelling read.......2007-01-09
This book reads like a work of fiction, but every word is fact. The story of the devastation of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the subsequent decades-long search for the virus that caused it will frighten even the most jaded among us. That this deadly virus could one day return and kill hundreds of millions makes most other potential disasters pale by comparison. Gina Kolata tells the story with skill. Everyone needs to read this book.
grasping the true nature of the virus!!.......2006-05-24
Gina Kolata's book is an informative look at the influenza pandemic of 1918. The author provides an opportunity to see the shortcomings of the world of science and medicine during that era. She also describes the search for the genetic make-up of this virus during the 1990's and the difficulties encountered even with the advancements in those fields.
She reveals the devastation wrought upon the human race around the globe using stories compiled from survivors and published accounts. From stories involving families dying together, to the barracks of the Army, to the streets of Philadelphia the loss is nearly inconceivable. Few places on Earth were spared the death and ravaging effects of this influenza. She details the excruciating symptoms of the virus and the rapid speed with which it was transmitted. The numbers are staggering with estimates of the dead ranging from 20 to more than 100 million. The death toll was so high that life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years in 1918. The equivalent numbers today would equate to the death of 1.5 million in the United States alone.
What the future will hold if an outbreak of this virus should strike again makes this book a compelling read. Ms. Kolata has researched and crafted a finely honed book that provides an open and honest vision of the potential disaster that lurks in the shadows. She has cast light onto this subject in a comprehensive as well as comprehensible manner. She has grasped the true nature and significance of the avian flu, as well as the importance of public awareness in the ability to cope with a future outbreak.
Outstanding book!.......2006-02-26
This is a rare book. A history book that reads like a popular book. The author did an excellent job of covering a difficult subject with enough science to make it relevant, but with a style that makes it very interesting to read. Highly recommend it.
Get sick, get well, hang around the inkwell........2006-01-06
First the good. This timely and credible treatment of influenza fills a critical void. The book is very readable. Although concentrating on historical vignettes to the exclusion of scientific explanations, the book provides a helpful background for the consideration of risk, public policy, and personal preparation that arise from confusing, contradictory, and incomplete news items about flu outbreaks and related public health initiatives.
Kolata clearly communicates the uncertainties in current understanding of how the flu virus evolves and flue epidemics spread. But she is even-handed to a fault in her descriptions of competing theories and scientists - showing for example way too much patience for the narcissistic Kirsty Duncan.
The major faults in this book are defects of omission. On the policy side, Kolata describes the epidemic of bogus lawsuits that arose from the swine flu scare, but she neglects to follow through with information about the indemnification laws and the excessive industry consolidation that followed. While inferring that dangerous new flu strains emerge from Southeast Asia, she makes no effort to address the distinct possibility of stopping the cycle by regulating China's poultry industry. On the scientific side, Kolata provided no information about the process of "reassortment" that drives the evolution of flu viruses. Also conspicuously absent is clear advice about how to minimize the risks of influenza.
History of the great 20th century flu.......2005-09-16
I found Gina Kolata's book, FLU to be quite entertaining, very informative and pretty engrossing as she traces the cause and effects of the Great Flu Epidemic of 1918 which killed millions of people. While it was interesting to read about the affect of this great epidemic that most people really don't know much about, it was even more intriguing to read about how group of researchers tried to traced down this flu with the technology given during their days. This book is a history about the 1918 flu and its aftermath where researchers tries to see what the flu look like so they can find out what made it so deadly and to find the cure if it ever crop up again.
I believed some of the other reviewers misunderstood the intention of the book but I thought the author did a good job in educating us on the subject on the search of the 1918 flu bug that went from Alaska to Norway to Hong Kong. I supposed its possible that many of the modern flu carried the traces of that 1918 flu in some form or another. Author does a good job showing how some of the major flu outbreaks like the swine flu of mid-1970s, actions taken at that time was influence by what happened back in 1918.
Overall a pretty good science/history book on the subject.
Book Description
From age-old scourges such as smallpox and tuberculosis to emerging threats like AIDS and SARS, our interactions with animals have always played a pivotal role as a source of human disease. Bird flu is the latest such menace coming home to roost. Leading public health authorities now predict as inevitable a pandemic of influenza, triggered by bird flu and expected to lead to millions of deaths around the globe.
The influenza virus has existed for millions of years as an innocuous intestinal virus of wild ducks. What turned a harmless waterborne duck virus into a killer? In Bird Flu, Dr. Michael Greger traces the human role in the evolution of this virus, whose humble beginnings belie its transformation into a killer mutant strain with the potential to become as ferocious as Ebola and as contagious as the common cold. In the face of the coming pandemic, Dr. Greger reveals what we can do to protect our families and what human society to can do to reduce the likelihood of such catastrophes in the future.
Amid the growing panic surrounding this issue, Dr. Greger takes a sobering look at a deadly cycle and offers a solution to ending it.
Customer Reviews:
A terrifying possibility and sad commentary on our exploitation of animals.......2007-08-23
Michael Greger's "Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching" is more terrifying than anything a horror writer could imagine, since it depicts a real-life doomsday scenario that seems poised to occur very soon; indeed, the new H5N1 strain of influenza, known as "bird flu," has mutated into a form that can be transmitted by human contact, though not yet on a massive scale, meaning a mass outbreak is more a question of when, not if.
Whereas humans generally contract the disease by ingesting contaminated birds, or being in frequent contact with them, bird flu could blanket the globe when the virus has learned to jump easily from human to human. The author writes: "One day soon, experts fear, with more and more people becoming infected, the virus will finally figure out the combination -- the right combination of mutations to spread not just in one elevator or building, but every building, everywhere, around the globe. One superflu virus. It's happened before, and experts predict it many soon happen again."
Dr. Greger sets the stage for what could come by giving readers a grisly account of a previous avian influenza outbreak: the 1918 flu pandemic, in which 50 to 100 million humans perished. These were gruesome deaths, with blood oozing from eye sockets as the victim's lungs liquefied. Fatalities were so abundant that officials were unable to keep up with burying the corpses. It seems this was merely a sample of what's in store for humanity. "As devastating as the 1918 pandemic was," Dr. Greger writes, "on average the mortality rate was less than 5%. The H5N1 strain of bird flu virus now spreading like a plague across the world currently kills about 50% of its known human victims, on par with some strains of Ebola, making it potentially ten times as deadly as the worst plague in human history." One reason, he explains, is the 1918 virus attacked only the lungs, whereas H5N1 shuts down all the internal organs.
"Bird Flu" eloquently contextualizes the subject, giving us a greater understanding of the virus' origins and our critical role in it. The director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States, Dr. Greger examines bird flu from every angle, creating a meticulously researched work that traces how agricultural, scientific, environmental, political and economic forces have conspired to transform a virus that once threatened only waterfowl into a "highly pathogenic avian influenza" destined to lay waste to large segments of human population.
Among the stops on the author's bird flu reality tour is President George W. Bush's decision in April of 2006 to lift the ban on poultry products from China -- a country well known for its recent outbreaks of avian influenza -- possibly in return for China's agreement to drop its mad cow disease-related ban on U.S. beef imports. (One disease for another, perhaps? No trade deficit there.) Other troubling highlights include the world's inadequate hospital capacity and the inability to create a vaccine, or enough of it, to combat a virus that kills half its victims. In other words, we are as ill-prepared for avian flu today as we were in 1918. And, as Dr. Greger notes, not only is H5N1 worse than what our grandparents faced, but 21st-century transportation means a virus can travel around the planet in 24 hours, not a year.
The book is also a sobering lesson in how many of our human ailments, from the common cold to AIDS, have come from our oppression of animals, especially the practice of breeding and raising them for food. (Dr. Greger notes that human influenza began with the domestication of ducks 4,500 years ago.) Yet authorities refuse to confront the obvious cause of this "virus of our own hatching," preferring instead to devote their resources to containing the outbreak by culling chickens and turkeys and extolling the virtues of well-cooked meat.
Even without the looming pandemic, "Bird Flu" reminds us that eating animal flesh can be deadly. Dr. Greger writes: "For the same reason that people don't get Dutch Elm Disease or ever seem to come down with a really bad case of aphids, food products of animal origin are the source of most cases of food poisoning, with chicken the most common culprit." He notes that although the USDA asserts that proper cooking methods kill all viruses, including bird flu, 76 million Americans still suffer food poisoning every year and an estimated 5,000 die from food-borne illness. The average American kitchen, it seems, has become a biohazard, with pathogenic bacteria found on food-preparation surfaces, sinks and utensils. Dr. Greger quotes flu expert Albert Osterhaus, who concluded that "the gastrointestinal tract of humans is a portal of entry for H5N1."
Although pandemics seem inevitable, Dr. Greger's landmark book suggests an obvious (some might say radical) solution: the elimination of intensive poultry production. Perhaps this is more wishful thinking, given the world's ever-growing appetite for cheap animal protein, but others in the scientific community are also supporting this recommendation, so we may at least see improvements in the way agribusiness operates. "Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching" could herald dramatic changes in farming practices, finally driving decision-makers to critically examine not only how this virus came to be, but how we can curtail it and future diseases lurking within animal factories around the globe.
Mark Hawthorne, author of Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism
Essential (and surprisingly entertaining) emergency reading.......2007-03-15
I didn't want to read this book. Maybe you don't either. But you must. And when you do, you'll find that the author has made it easy, and even entertaining, for you to learn everything you never wanted to know about bird flu.
Michael Greger writes in an engaging and accessible style that will keep you turning pages as he guides you through the history of zoonotic (animal-based) diseases and explains how contemporary factory farming and meat-packing practices not only make the emergence of new diseases more likely but also place consumers at risk of food poisoning by everyday microorganisms like E. Coli and Salmonella. Despite his somber subject matter, Greger is upbeat, giving us the bad news in a way that energizes us to do something about it.
It can happen here. It has happened here. The 1918 influenza pandemic that killed more Americans than World War II was a bird flu. The next pandemic will be too. We all need to know what we might be able to do to prevent or mitigate that pandemic. You need to what to do to protect yourself and your loved ones when the pandemic comes. Read this book now and make sure that the public policy makers who are supposed to be looking out for you read it too.
Superb work on avian flu history and how to plan for a pandemic.......2007-03-14
Watching a pandemic unfold and take shape before your eyes is like watching paint dry. It is an agonizing process, slow and painful. But at the end, the product is there for all to see.
This is the book to read while watching the paint dry. Like Mike Davis' excellent "The Monster at Our Door," Dr. Greger has done a lot of the heavy lifting for you. He has read countless books, scientific papers, newspaper and magazine articles along with medical/scientific journals and produced the definitive work on avian influenza for the lay reader, decision-maker and concerned citizen.
Along the way, Dr. Greger also shows us the principal underlying cause of the spread of H5N1 (factory farming of chickens and other poultry) and supports his theories with mountains of data, opinion and observation -- much of it directly from the commercial poultry industry he takes to task for putting the world in the shape it is in, bird flu-wise.
Certain passages contain the most relevatory things about food production I have read since Upton Sinclair. It would not take much more to turn me into a vegetarian! I now seek free-range chickens to consume.
Speaking of consume: Once you have read (in order) The Great Influenza (Barry), The Monster at Our Door (Davis) and Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own hatching (Greger), you are ready to dive into the scientific literature yourself. Have a go at all three of these excellent books.
Great book!.......2007-02-06
It is amazing how much is hidden from the public eye. This author does a great job of explaining how the avian flu is VERY probable. You will never want to eat chicken or eggs again after reading this one and learning about overcrowding, filth, and treatment of chickens and how the avian flu is mutating because of the conditions that we (humans) create. I highly recommend this book.
Playing chicken with our food supply..........2007-01-25
BIRD FLU: A VIRUS OF OUR OWN HATCHING opens not with H5N1, the modern day "bird flu virus" which has the potential to mutate into the deadliest pandemic that the world has ever seen, but with H1N1, the influenza virus responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic. In just two short years, an estimated 50 to 100 million people perished as World War I raged on.
As described by author Michael Greger, MD, in chilling detail:
"What started for millions around the globe as muscle aches and a fever ended days later with many victims bleeding from their nostrils, ears, and eye sockets. Some bled inside their eyes; some bled around them. They vomited blood and coughed it up. Purple blood blisters appeared on their skin. [...] [The Chief of the Medical Services, Major Walter V. Brem] wrote that `often blood was seen to gush from a patient's nose and mouth.' In some cases, blood reportedly spurted with such force as to squirt several feet. `When pneumonia appeared,' Major Brem recounted, `the patients often spat quantities of almost pure blood.' They were bleeding into their lungs."
Yet, H1N1 had a "low" (relatively speaking) mortality rate of 2.5% to 5%. Compare that to H5N1, which thus far has killed 55% of those infected - and one must wonder why the possibility of bird flu pandemic is confined to occasional media reports that are quickly dwarfed by the latest Hollywood gossip. Is bird flu-inspired panic just another example of media sensationalism?
Not so, argues Greger. From 1918 he transitions seamlessly to the research laboratories of today. Greger, who is Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States and "an internationally recognized lecturer on public health issues", launches into Viral Biology 101, explaining in layman's terms how a virus reproduces, spreads, mutates, and interacts with its host. Though he's dealing with (arguably) dry subject matter, Greger manages to keep the discussion engaging via the liberal use of colorful analogies and sharp, witty prose. This isn't your high school bio textbook.
Once a basic understanding of viruses has been established, Dr. Greger addresses modern animal agriculture, specifically, how it's especially conducive to the transmission and evolution of avian influenza. Animals, particularly "broiler" (meat) and "laying" (egg) hens, are packed into windowless sheds by the thousands; by the time they're fully grown just 45 days later (in the case of broiler hens), they don't even have enough space to spread their wings or turn around. Chickens are selectively bred for fast growth or maximum egg production - much to the detriment of their immune systems. Rather than improve the birds' ability to stave off disease (which would come at the expense of their "energy efficiency"), large-scale corporate "factory farmers" opt to pump their livestock full of antibiotics, thus contributing to bacterial resistance in humans. Add to this mix the fact that chickens literally spend their short lives wallowing in their own feces (and sometimes even that of previously butchered flocks), and you've got the perfect environment for a virus such as H5N1 to thrive.
And thrive it has. The billions of chickens, turkeys, and pigs raised and slaughtered for food annually act like "petri dishes" in which avian influence can mingle, swapping genetic material in order to mutate, gradually evolving into a strain more lethal and infectious to humans. Their compromised immune systems and unsanitary and stressful living conditions only facilitate this process. Despite numerous attempts at eradicating the virus - for example, by wiping out entire flocks of chickens, to the tune of millions of birds at a time - H5N1 (along with additional viral strains) can still be found on many farms, throughout the world.
While some critics - particularly those in the animal agriculture industry - dismiss this as scare mongering, Greger argues his points convincingly, and offers a wealth of evidence to support his claims. Indeed, his "Reference" section spans an impressive 90 pages! Throughout the text, he quotes a myriad of experts in the field, including Robert Webster, Kennedy F. Shortridge, and Michael Osterholm, as well as health professionals from the USDA, CDC, FAO, and WHO. Even "food scientists" admit - in the comfort and familiarity of their own trade journals, mind you - that the industry is flirting with disaster. The general - nay, unanimous - consensus seems to be "when, not if."
A pandemic is inevitable, that is, unless we swiftly and dramatically move away from factory farming methods towards less intense animal agriculture methods, such as free range farming. Additionally, this must be preceded by a temporary global moratorium on meat and egg production, in order to eradicate the bird flu virus(es) already present in farm animals worldwide. None of which is bloody likely to happen.
Thus, Greger urges readers to take precautions before a pandemic hits. He recommends obtaining and filling a prescription for Tamiflu (the more effective of two antivirals used to treat avian influenza), as well as stocking up on necessary groceries and such - TODAY. Greger also advises readers on how to purify water with bleach, and concoct cheap, homemade hand sanitizer. Oh, and do make sure you have plenty of liquor, cigarettes and ammo on hand, just in case the world reverts to the barter system! Though Greger reiterates and even elaborates upon government-issued pandemic guidelines in this last section, I didn't exactly walk away with a sense of empowerment. The rest of BIRD FLU was so horrifying that stocking up on canned veggies and medical masks won't do much to ease my troubled mind.
Whether you're a vegan, a carnivore, an average Jane, a state Senator, an animal welfarist, or a hunter, BIRD FLU is one book you can't afford to ignore. For too long, we've been playing chicken with our food supply - and nature may soon see fit to reward our taste for cheap meat with a global pandemic.
Average customer rating:
- GO LAUREN BROOKE!!!!!
- Amazing Book
- Great book
- The best book ever!
- worst book ever
|
Heartland #13 (Heartland)
Lauren Brooke
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Fiction
| Horses
| Animals
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Friendship
| Social Situations
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Heartland
| Horses
| Series
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Issues
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Fiction
| Horses
| Animals
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Issues
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Fiction
| Friendship
| Social Situations
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Horses
| Series
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Sooner or Later (Heartland #12) (Heartland)
-
Heartland #14 (Heartland)
-
Love is a Gift (Heartland No. 15) (Heartland)
-
True Enough
-
Heartland #10 (Heartland)
ASIN: 0439425085 |
Book Description
A fierce flu strain is infecting Heartland's horses, and, despite Amy and Ty's fervent efforts to treat and isolate those infected, the flu spreads to other horses and the vet quarantines Heartland. To make matters worse, the late summer heat heightens the tension. Ben is frustrated when Red starts to exhibit flu symptoms because their show season will be cut short. Ty thinks Ben is being selfish, and Amy feels caught in the middle. Then, just as some horses start to get better, a tornado devastates the valley. When the storm is over, everyone is forced to gain a new perspective.
Customer Reviews:
GO LAUREN BROOKE!!!!!.......2006-04-01
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
Amazing Book.......2006-03-06
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!
Great book.......2006-03-06
This is a GREAT book beginning to middle. It has a hifhanger ending. Read this book it's GREAT!
The best book ever!.......2006-01-21
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!
worst book ever.......2006-01-07
IT IS A VERY INSPIRING BOOK I REALLY HATED IT SO THANK YOU FOR WRITTING IT! IT REALLY TOLD WHAT WAS HAPPENING!
Average customer rating:
- A bit thin
- Interesting, inventive, but sometimes weak
- Lyrical, Moving, and Inventive
- Uneven -- often good, never great
- Was there a plot?
|
Wickett's Remedy: A Novel
Myla Goldberg
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Bee Season: A Novel
-
The March: A Novel
-
The Year of Magical Thinking
-
On Beauty
-
Digging to America
ASIN: 1400078121
Release Date: 2006-10-10 |
Amazon.com
One day in her kitchen, Lydia Wickett devises a harmless, medicinal-tasting concoction that her enterprising husband bottles under the moniker "Wickett¹s Remedy." Myla Goldberg's unconventional second novel, named for the potion, follows the (mis)fortunes of the loving Wicketts and the strange fate of their recipe as it is reincarnated by an unscrupulous businessman as the trendy "QD Soda." But there is nothing effervescent about Wickett's Remedy, a beautifully written but pessimistic follow-up to Goldberg's bestselling debut, Bee Season. Set mostly in working-class south Boston before and during the First World War, the novel is laden with illness and tragedy. Poor Lydia barely staggers onto her feet after her young husband's sudden death of pneumonia when her family is swirled into the Influenza epidemic of 1918--fascinatingly, horribly described by Goldberg. Death follows death, until Lydia, volunteering in the overwhelmed wards of the local hospital, discovers the profound intimacy of nursing: a "shared human undercurrent detectable only when the dictates of name, sex, and social standing were erased."
Lydia's experiences are annotated with marginal comments from the dead (literally marginal: the remarks are in a smaller type in the outside margins of the text). This "whispering undercurrent" rises into articulation when one of the dead feels an urge to comment on Lydia's memories. The statements of the dead can be funny or poignant (e.g. "Jefferson Carver, the Public Health Services first colored elevator operator and the car¹s fourth occupant, has become resigned to his omission from the partial memories of his white passengers."), but most often correct fine points in the narrative or complain about slights and oversights. The dead have a "shared desire: that in an unguarded moment, Our whisperings will broach a living ear." Sadly, they don't have much more to contribute than the kind of cantankerous ego-babble we expect from the living.
Although this chorus of the dead is a brave innovation, it fails Wickett¹s Remedy because the perspective of eternity lessens the force of Lydia's story. It would lessen anyone's story. It may be more realistic to view our sufferings and ambitions--our very personalities--as specks in a cosmic blur, but it puts a damper on our wilder emotions. --Regina Marler
Book Description
Lydia Kilkenny is eager to move beyond her South Boston childhood, and when she marries Henry Wickett, a shy Boston Brahmin who plans to become a doctor, her future seems assured. That path changes when Henry abandons his medical studies and enlists Lydia to help him invent a mail-order medicine called Wickett’s Remedy. Then the 1918 influenza epidemic sweeps through Boston, and in a world turned upside down Lydia must forge her own path through the tragedy unfolding around her. As she secures work as a nurse at a curious island medical station conducting human research into the disease, Henry’s former business partner steals the formula for Wickett’s Remedy to create for himself a new future, trying—and almost succeeding—to erase the past he is leaving behind.
Alive with narrative ingenuity, and tinged with humor as well as sorrow, this inspired recreation of a forgotten era powerfully reminds us how much individual voices matter—in history and in life.
Customer Reviews:
A bit thin.......2007-04-17
I am ambivalent about Wickett's Remedy. (I read the paperback. I understand she rewrote it from the hard cover edition.) I enjoyed the historical setting. Myla Godberg did a good job of evoking the period of the Influenza epidemic. I got a good sense for the setting as well and could well accept her premise. The margin notes were, I thought, one of the most clever and effective literary devices I've encountered. Wish I'd thought of it!
However, there was something about the way the threads of this story were woven together that was unsatisfying. Or perhaps it is that they weren't, in fact, woven together very well. I wonder if, having set the stage for this complicated novel, she struggled to make it work. And then, suddenly, it was just over. As I said - unsatisfying. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't all that great.
Interesting, inventive, but sometimes weak.......2007-03-01
I won't repeat the story, but the flu epidemic does make for an interesting background. The characters are believeable, the plot is fairly strong, the setting is well described, but yet it just lacks in places. It's almost as if the author was trying to tell two stories: one about the epidemic and the other about the stealing of the formula for Wickett's remedy which never really rings true. It's too bad because I feel that could have helped develop Lydia's character so much more.
It took me a while to get used to the marginal notes, but I did find them interesting. Shows that what one person sees could be quite different than what another sees. The other "additions" of newspaper articles, newsletters, etc. I found to be quite annoying at times.
Overall, it was a good read but sometimes more effort than it should have been.
Lyrical, Moving, and Inventive.......2007-01-08
It's lovely, with an inventive narrative. The whisperers are charming, funny, and heartbreaking. A beautiful novel, especially for those who love historical fiction.
Uneven -- often good, never great.......2006-12-23
Wickett's Remedy represents an idea that had a lot of potential but which never fully evolved into the novel it might have been. I have to give Goldberg credit for attempting some very ambitious narrative techniques (the marginal voices of the dead, the epistolary interludes from the present, while most of the novel proper takes place in the past), but they never fully mesh, and consequently, they feel more like a gimmick than a groundbreaking new narrative style.
For me, the novel proper (following the story of Lydia and the 1918 influenza epidemic) was FAR more interesting than the present-day story of how Wickett's Remedy was stolen and developed into a successful soda product. And the marginal voices of the dead were just that -- marginal. I never could make up my mind what I thought of that, which in itself is probably a sign that whatever Goldberg intended was never completely successful. At least, for me.
I understand that Ms. Goldberg substantially rewrote the novel for the paperback edition -- a rather daring choice -- but I can't speak to that edition. My comments pertain to the original hardcover. And for my money, it's nowhere close to her first novel, Bee Season, which I absolutely loved! Wicket's Remedy was interesting, but it never quite came together, and I never felt fully invested in the outcome of the story. A pity.
Was there a plot?.......2006-11-28
While "Wickett's Remedey" was very readable and engaging, I found myself wondering when the book was going to come into focus. It seemed to have no ending, just an end. I was very dissapointed. I did; however, enjoy the marginal comments by the dead. I thought that was very original and insightful. I would try another of her books.
Book Description
A “brilliant” and “fascinating” investigation of the looming avian flu pandemic—and how we arrived at the brink of a global health catastrophe—The New York Times
The virus known as H5N1 is now endemic among poultry and wild bird populations in East Asia. A flu strain of astonishing lethality, it has a talent for transforming itself to foil the human immune system—and kills two out of every three people it infects. The World Health Organization now warns that avian flu is on the verge of mutating into a super-contagious form that could travel at pandemic velocity, killing up to 100 million people within two years.
In The Monster at Our Door, the first book to sound this alarm, our foremost urban and environmental critic reconstructs the scientific and political history of this viral apocalypse in the making, exposing the central roles played by burgeoning slums, the agribusiness and fast-food industries, and corrupt governments. Mike Davis tracks the avian flu crisis as the virus moves west and the world remains woefully unprepared to contain it. With drug companies unwilling to invest in essential vaccines, severe shortages persist, a scenario Davis compares to the sinking Titanic: there are virtually no lifesaving resources available to the poor, and precious few for the rich, too.
Customer Reviews:
Monster at the Door.......2006-08-03
Awesome book. very well written & informative, well researched. It was recommended to me by an immunologist.
A more pessimistic view, but not without its reasons............2006-05-08
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.
very spooky and very good reading.......2006-04-10
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.
Scientifically learned but accessible and very useful.......2006-03-09
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.
Eve of Destruction.......2006-02-15
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?
Book Description
The U.S. government is now practically screaming that a new avian super-flu will likely kill millions of Americans. The mainstream media is entirely onboard, as are drug companies and other corporations poised to benefit immensely off the paranoia.
But there is NO coming bird flu pandemic. It's an elaborate scheme contrived by the government and big business for reasons that boil down to power and money.
Presenting eye-opening evidence that casts serious doubt on the truthfulness of reports about the virus's ability to transmit, and its mortality rates around the world, renowned physician Dr. Joseph Mercola reveals the secrets about the great bird flu hoax. In compelling fashion he provides you the
real facts you need to know to protect you from a far greater ill - corporate and governmental greed.
Customer Reviews:
The Title Is the Hoax.......2007-02-08
I dove into reading Dr. Mercola's The Great Bird Flu Hoax expecting a thorough treatment of the science behind the bird flu laid out in such a way that it would show why we don't have to worry about bird flu. This was not the case. In fact, there was little sicence in the book and even less dealt with why Dr. Mercola felt bird flu was a hoax. What became apparent was how little Mercola knew about this highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 strain. The only two reasons he seems to have for believing the flu won't surface as a threat in the US are that it hasn't shown up in chickens in the US and that the human infection rates of bird flu are on the decline. Unfortunatley, neither of these reasons are correct. H5N1 doesn't need to appear in US flocks, nor does it need to enter via any non-human animal. Once the H5N1 mutates into a form that is highly contagious for humans, it will go global from human to human - airline flights will deliver it everywhere. Similarly, Mercola is oblivious to the fact that the bird flue is constantly mutating, again incorrectly trying to support his hypothesis with the current H5N1's inability to transmit easily to humans. Once it gets the right mutation - and it's only a matter of time - it will spread like a wildfire.
As for the rate of human bird flu infections, not only are they not on the decline, but 2006 was the deadliest year so far for humans (granted, the book came out prior to the year's end)(World Health Organization. 2007. Avian Influenza Update Number 76. January 2.
(.......). Mercola again seems to be lacking in his understanding of disease rates when he tries to reason away the lethality of this flu strain. Just like the 1918 bird flu that passed to humans and killed more people than any single war, death rates are based on reported incidents. So, not only is the lethality rate valid based on this, but his hypothesis of lots of unreported cases has been disproven. In the Cambodian province of Kampot, an outbreak of H5N1 killed dozens of chicken flocks and only one young farmer. Researchers swept in and tried to take blood from every family in the area to determine the actual human infection rate. They analyzed blood work from 351 area villagers. Not one person showed evidence of present or past infection. (Vong S, Coghlan B, Mardy S, et al. 2006. Low frequency of poultry-to-human H5N1 virus transmission, southern Cambodia, 2005. Emerging Infectious Disease 12(10). (...........).
The focus of the book deals with his nutrition and health recommendations, and even here, he can't keep his facts straight. For example, he claims that only .003% of eggs are infected with salmonella (p. 171), so that people shouldn't be afraid of eating raw eggs even if they can't get the "healthier" eggs. Yet, he goes to great lengths to show how dirty and contaminated chickens and eggs are from the intensive farming practices of factory farms earlier in the book.
The Great Bird Flu Hoax is not without its good points. Mercola questions the benefits of Tamiflu based on its risks, although I'm hesitant to believe what he states because of his shoddy research on the flu itself. He points out the problems with vaccines and dangers of legislation that could take away our rights not to vaccinate in an emergency. And, he rightly accuses factory farms for being the source of the HPAI H5N1. Oh, I did appreciate being reminded about the benefits of naturally-fermented sauerkraut in fighting bird flu.
Multiple books & dvd's.......2007-01-09
I am always pleased with the items I've bought through Amazon because
they keep me informed of delays & shipments, etc. Some things take
longer than others but I understand due to the multi party involvement.
I do appreciate that they seem to care when/if I get the items. I hope
they keep up the good work
Joseph Mercola and the Great Bird Flu Hoax.......2007-01-04
I found this text to be of real value and very informative if a little verbose and repetitive at times.
The story line reads - there is a potential for a world wide crises but despite the various governments telling us that there is a cure (although it cannot really be afforded) there is in reality no adequate cure or medicine available.
He states that the global (mainly American based) giant pharmacutical industry has blinded us with - well science and rather than look to simple and cheap alternatives and sensible precautions these industry giants have persuaded our governments that they alone have the remedies needed and effectively their lobbying has now given them the right to write for themselves large value cheques.
The example of the bird flue exacts his comment that colloidal silver a very inexpensive product containing a small percentage of the heavy metal silver has the potential to entirely wipe out the patheogenetic effects of the bird flu virus whereas "Tamiflu" has not even been tested and in his opinion will not work at all agains bird flu. I can testify to the effective working of colloidal silver.
Mercola goes on to conclude that the would be pandemic has directly arisen out of greed by large scale and totally unaccontable agricultural businesses who have basically neglected natural breeding and sensible housbandary giving a world choked with waste containing bugs that go on to contaminate swathes of land and effect lives of people across the world.
He adviszes that there is simply no need to trade globally in agricultural produce when we are all in a position to take locally produced supplies - a point to which I say - Amen!(although remember to be prepared to pay a little bit more for the better product)
Although primarily an american text for the American People this book has reinforced my own thoughts on the best way to negate the effects of any forecast pandemic.
A well recommended read for those who are not just conspiracy theorists but who are pledged to taking back responsibility for their own health.
Important book with a few caveats.......2006-10-16
I am a former patient at Dr. Mercola's clinic, and I truly support everything he is trying to do with our current health crisis. His clinic helped me to overcome a serious illness when all other "regular" doctors, including the prestigious Mayo Clinic, had written me off. He truly helps many people every day, I have seen it first hand. However, I admit I was worried when I looked at the book and saw "SHOCKING LIES" on the cover. I was afraid this was a sign that he would follow the trend he uses all too often, dispensing extremely important health information in a format similar to the National Enquirer. I wish he could use a little more humility and respect for the intelligence of his readers both in his books and on his website. For example, the video he has on his website, "The Town of Allopath", is very, very good, and the message critically important, but it turns my stomach to see "Highly Acclaimed Video Causes Flood of Hate Mail" in big letters at the top of the page. Calling such an important video "highly acclaimed" himself just cheapens it, cheapens his reputation, and insults his readers.
In his book the Great Bird Flu Hoax, however, for the most part, he writes in a professional, but sometimes dry, manner. I appreciated the effort he took to document everything, especially in comparison to his book "Total Health Program", where nothing is documented, and his recipes all have cutesy names so you can't find them later because you can't remember the stupid name he gave them! (Again, he calls this book "BLOCKBUSTER!" on his website. Again, it turns my stomach, mostly because a little more professionalism and humility would go a REALLY LONG WAY and it's just kind of sad.)
But I did find myself cheering for Dr. Mercola as I read this book. I think that he did "get it right" this time. He goes after the industries who need someone to go after them! I do hope that this book does get some press, and that folks will pay attention to it. Personally, I wish that he would have devoted more time to talking about the health benefits of saturated fats versus trans fats in his section on improving your health, and also I think folks with no natural health exposure will be confused by his section on fermented foods and will go out and buy regular canned sauerkraut, but these are not large deals in the whole scheme of the book. I laughed out loud (in a good way!) in the section on vaccinations when he asked the folks who are not used to this kind of thinking to take a deep breath, step back, and calm down. You go, Dr. Mercola!!!
In the end, my wish is that he would write a book that I could give to a highly intelligent but VERY sceptical family member and have it not embarass me with overly cute, and sometimes arrogant talk and undocumented claims. With The Great Bird Flu Hoax, he comes the closest that he has yet. Thank you Dr. Mercola.
Very Interesting.......2006-10-13
I am Chiropractor in Manhattan and I utulize many holistic methods in my practice.Dr.Mercola points out some ideas that are very unpopular within "modern medicine" but pretty common among alternative medicine.
I highly recommend it to all the hypochondriacs.
Visit my website at [...]
Books:
- The Man Who Fell to Earth (Del Rey Impact)
- The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain
- The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
- The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the Author
- The Ultimate Gift (The Ultimate Series #1)
- "This Is the Zodiac Speaking": Into the Mind of a Serial Killer
- Thomson Advantage Books: Sustaining the Earth: An Integrated Approach (with ThomsonNOW, InfoTrac® 1-Semester Printed Access Card) (Advantage Series:)
- Tropical Rain Forest
- Water Treatment: Principles and Design
- What's Heaven?
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Lizard King Was Here: The Life and Times of Jim Morrison in Alexandria, Virginia
- Selling Sickness: How the World's Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients
- Missing Mom: A Novel
- Mistletoe And Murder
- Lover's Knot
- Intermolecular and Surface Forces, Second Edition: With Applications to Colloidal and Biological Sys
- My Life
- Toward a Psychology of Art: Collected Essays
- Genetic politics: The limits of biological control
- Holttum Memorial Volume
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
Sharp Objects: A Novel
Thirteen Moons: A Novel
Suite Francaise
Water for Elephants: A Novel
