Plague of the Dead (The Morningstar Strain)

Book Description

The end begins with a viral outbreak unlike anything mankind has ever encountered before. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, a dramatic increase in violent behavior, and a one-hundred percent mortality rate. Death. But it doesn't end there. The victims return from death to walk the earth. When a massive military operation fails to contain the plague of the living dead it escalates into a global pandemic. In one fell swoop, the necessities of life become much more basic. Gone are petty everyday concerns. Gone are the amenities of civilized life. Yet a single law of nature remains: Live, or die. Kill, or be killed. On one side of the world, a battle-hardened General surveys the remnants of his command: a young medic, a veteran photographer, a brash Private, and dozens of refugees, all are his responsibility-all thousands of miles from home. Back in the United States, an Army Colonel discovers the darker side of Morningstar virus and begins to collaborate with a well-known journalist to leak the information to the public... The Morningstar Saga has begun.

Customer Reviews:

Not the worst, but close.......2007-10-02

I have a serious thing for zombies. If it is about the undead I will read it or watch it. Because of this I have read a whole lot of horrible books. While this is certainly not the worst of the genre it does come fairly close.
The novel is grammatically sound, sadly an unusual trait in most zombie books. This does help an awful lot, but it certainly isn't enough to overcome paper thin characters throughout the book. I mean it, there isn't one well developed character in the entire book. Transparent, poorly researched caricatures of people are all you get, and it is often enough to make you cringe. There's the gruff general who is a natural leader, the plucky red cross nurse, and enough soldiers stolen from various movies to fill a small stadium.
Another glaring problem is the lazy story development. This book is made up of long strings of ridiculously convenient plot devices that carry the story from A to B. It reads like the author had a an idea for the beginning and end of a story and decided to slap together enough filler to get you from one to the other.
I gave the novel two stars because I think this is the author's first book. Since his technical writing skills aren't too bad there is room for him to pull it together and learn how to write at least marginally interesting characters and plot lines. Considering how god awful much of this genre is, it is at least a bit refreshing to find a writer that knows the difference between 'there' 'their' and 'they're'.

Book.......2007-09-22

This is a strong book that always keeps yo guessing and on the edge of your seat. I think that this author writes some nice pieces of written masterpiece! I will be buying more!

Plague of the Dead review.......2007-09-04

If you enjoy Zombie stories like I do (guilty pleasure) then you will really enjoy this one. This book has all of the attributes of a world-wide zombie apocalypse. It incorporates a causative agent and the in-effective efforts of the military. The story centers on several different characters and their experiences. It is a complete story but could very well have another book following the surviving characters.

Lot of Action and Survival.......2007-08-24

The story takes the reader through Africa, the Middle-East and finally to the United States. The story becomes more compelling as the number of soldiers and civilian refugees dwindles and they are forced to find supplies where they can.

If only I could have been better convinced that the battle at Suez was truly un-winnable, then I would have given this book 5 stars. That wasn't even the key turning point in the story that it seemed to be; The world was lost before then.

The story is very good and I am glad I read it. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Good read.......2007-08-03

I quite enjoyed this book. I'm relatively new to zombie books, so I couldn't say which ideas were new and which aren't, but I liked the concept of having two different types of zombies. The parallels drawn between the Morningstar virus and other viruses also made sense to me.

I had a couple of minor issues with the book. There were a fair number of spelling/printing errors in my copy (such as Pacific Northwest not being capitalized). Not the fault of the author, nor did they detract from my enjoyment. But the copy editor needs to double check his work.

*Spoiler Warning*

The other issue is a pet peeve of mine. I grew up in northern California - five hours north of San Francisco. From where I lived, it was another hour and a half to two hours to the Oregon border. If the Ramage was headed to San Francisco, and they were dropped off a little north of the city - even 2 hundred miles north - they would have been crossing northern California, not Oregon. Not a major issue, but it seems like there's a lot of folks that forget that San Francisco is in the middle of the state. Like I said, pet peeve.

Still a good book, though, and I look forward to the sequel.

The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history

Average customer rating:

The real version of "The Stand" by Stephen King
Wow! Very Important Read
a true horror story
Frightening and informative
Excellent Book

The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history
John M. Barry
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

20th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

History | Special Topics | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Preventive Medicine | Specialties | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America
Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic
America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time (P.S.)
Purple Death : The Mysterious Flu of 1918

ASIN: 0143036491

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.

Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic

Average customer rating:

A very compelling read
grasping the true nature of the virus!!
Outstanding book!
Get sick, get well, hang around the inkwell.
History of the great 20th century flu

Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic
Gina Kolata
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

History | Special Topics | Medicine | Subjects | Books

The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history
America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918
The Devil's Flu: The World's Deadliest Influenza Epidemic and the Scientific Hunt for the Virus That Caused It
Purple Death : The Mysterious Flu of 1918
The Bird Flu Preparedness Planner

ASIN: 0743203984

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.

The HIV Pandemic: Local and Global Implications

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The HIV Pandemic: Local and Global Implications

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

AIDS | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Health Care Delivery | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Hospital Administration | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Public Health | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

AIDS & HIV | Diseases | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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ASIN: 0198528434

Book Description

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the first recognition of HIV/AIDS in 1981, this book reflects on the international impact of the disease. It has persistently remained a global issue, with more than 50 million people worldwide estimated to have been infected since that date. This ambitious book, written by 165 authors from 30 countries, offers a multi-country comparative study that examines how the response to the common, global threat of HIV is shaped by the history, culture, institutions and health systems of the individual countries affected. Increasingly the shift of health systems has been from prevention only as the main containment strategy, to a strategy that includes scaling up HIV treatment, and care and prevention services, including antiretroviral therapy. Thus, all parts of the health system must be involved; policy makers, healthcare professionals and users of the services have been forced to think differently about how services are financed, how resources are allocated, how systems are structured and organized, how services are delivered to patients, and how the resulting activity is monitored and evaluated in order to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, equity and acceptability of the response. This book is unique in attempting to describe and assess a range of responses across the globe by situating them within the characteristics of each country and its health system. Most chapters combine a health policy expert with an HIV specialist, allowing both a 'top down' health system approach and a 'bottom up' HIV-specific perspective. There are thematic and analytical sections, which provide an overview and some suggestions for solutions to the most serious outstanding issues, and chapters which analyse specific country and organisational responses. There is no perfect health system, but the evidence provided here allows the sharing of knowledge, and a opportunity to assess the impact and reactions, to an epidemic that must be considered a long term issue.

The AIDS Pandemic: Impact on Science and Society

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The AIDS Pandemic: Impact on Science and Society

Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

AIDS | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Safety & Health | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

AIDS & HIV | Diseases | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Disease and Democracy: The Industrialized World Faces AIDS (California/ Milbank Books on Health and the Public)
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic

ASIN: 0124652719

Book Description

The AIDS Pandemic explores the ways in which HIV/AIDS has, and continues to transform the wide range of related disciplines it touches. Novel perspectives are provided by a unique panel of internationally recognised experts who cover the unprecedented impact onf AIDS on culture, demographics and politics around the world, including how it affected the worlds' economy, health sciences, epidemiology and public health. This important far- reaching analysis uses the lessons learned from a wide array of disciplines to help us understand the current status and evolution of the pandemic, as it continues to evolve.

* Unique and timely presentation of new theories and perspectives
* Concentrates on the changes that have taken place in a broad array of related disciplines
* Provides key contextual information, for those new to the field or at interface areas between disciplines
* Includes an international focus on evolving African and Asian experiences
* Focuses on the current strategies for developing vaccines and microbicides
* Outlines harm reduction and prevention programs
* Explores issues related to delivery of life-saving AIDS medications in resource-constrained environments

The AIDS Pandemic: The Collision of Epidemiology With Political Correctness

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The AIDS Pandemic: The Collision of Epidemiology With Political Correctness
James Chin
Manufacturer: Radcliffe Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Health Policy | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Public Health | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

AIDS & HIV | Diseases | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West, and the Fight Against AIDS
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa
When Bodies Remember: Experiences and Politics of AIDS in South Africa (California Series in Public Anthropology)
The Invisible People: How the U.S. Has Slept Through the Global AIDS Pandemic, the Greatest Humanitarian Catastrophe of Our Time
Global AIDS: Myths and Facts, Tools for Fighting the AIDS Pandemic

ASIN: 1846191181

Book Description

Book Description

Genesis of a Plague Right now, in a remote corner of rural China, a farmer and his family are sharing their water supply with their livestock: chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep. They share the same waste-disposal system, too. Bird viruses meet their human counterparts in the bloodstreams of the swine, where they mix and mutate before spreading back into the human population. And a new flu is born...... Dr. Noah Haldane, of the World Health Organization, knows that humanity is overdue for a new killer flu, like the great influenza pandemic of 1919 that killed more than twenty million people in less than four months. So when a mysterious new strain of flu is reported in the Gansu Province of mainland China, WHO immediately sends a team to investigate. Haldane and his colleagues soon discover that the new disease, dubbed Acute Respiratory Collapse Syndrome, is far more deadly than SARS, killing one in four victims, regardless of their age or health. But even as WHO struggles to contain the outbreak, ARCS is already spreading to Hong Kong, London, and even America. In an age when every single person in the world is connected by three commercial flights or fewer, a killer bug can travel much faster than the flu of 1919. Especially when someone is spreading the virus on purpose....

Customer Reviews:

Great science, scary scenario, weak thriller!.......2007-02-01

Daniel Kalla's "Pandemic" is an entertaining, informative and frightening thriller that undoubtedly ought to be taken seriously as an uncomfortably plausible scenario in real-life. But, as a fictional thriller, frankly, it simply isn't innovative enough to make the cut as a first-rate thriller. Good quality, yes, but not with that dynamite rock-em, sock-em, non-stop page-flipping urgency that separates the men from the boys in the thriller section of the library!

The villain of the piece is the ARCS virus (Acute Respiratory Collapse Syndrome), a disease with the lethal virulence of small pox or Spanish Flu but a contagion that spreads with the speed and ease of the common cold! The one (and I would suggest only) truly innovative twist in the novel is in the opening chapter. Kalla posits an ultra-right wing fundamentalist group of Islamic terrorists that purposely infect themselves, in effect weaponizing the virus and using themselves as carriers! Biological suicide bombers, as it were! The notion of using a dastardly right-wing fundamentalist Islamic jihad confronting a right-wing militarist US government whose simplest solution might be to carpet bomb the Middle East and turn the burning sands into a glassy parking lot is getting to be a decidedly tired plot device.

But - make no mistake - Kalla is a skilled writer who has a marked ability to convey the science behind his plot in an informative, interesting fashion. And the logistical details of the World Health Organization and Atlanta's Centre for Disease Control's rapid and overwhelming response to the release of such a viral pathogen are quite breath-taking and humbling. Hats off to these organizations and kudos to Kalla's ability to tell us their story.

Four stars for the science and the real-world details of the response to a frightening pandemic scenario. Two stars for the thriller. We'll average it out at three stars and call it a story worth taking the time to read!

Paul Weiss

Not a Gerritsen or Cook.......2006-01-16

This story is about Dr. Noah Haldane, an emerging pathogens expert with WHO(World Health Organization)and his struggle to save the world, as well as his marriage, and only one will survive. It is after 9/11 and terrorists have devised a plan to attack the US again on its own soil. This time around, a nasty virus will be used instead of planes. It will be up to Noah and his WHO team to find and thwart the terroists plans.

The story has alot of promise and is written well, except not enough time is spent building on the suspense. The author spends more pages and ink than is necessary describing the virus and introducing characters. The plot about Noah and his wife is so underdeveloped that the whole dynamic between them is comical. The premise of the story is plausible and horrifying, the development of the story needs some work. The ending is a little lame and rushed. While not a waste of time, this book will never pass up the suspenseful and fast-paced books written by people such as Tess Gerritsen and Robin Cook. I certainly wouldn't put this author in the same class as Nelsen DeMille either, but this is his first time out of the shoot and he shows promise, maybe his next effort will be more exciting to read.

A race against time.......2005-11-22

Kalla rarely misses a beat in this fast paced thriller, which, due to current events, seems scarily prescient. The author, however, gives the tale a scary spin, positing that the human race has as much to fear from terrorism as it does from a mutated flu strain.

Opening with a disconcerting scene that would make a gritty and effective framing sequence to a Bond movie, Kalla uses the familiar "race against time" as the backbone for this fast paced, arresting novel. His heroes, Dr. Noah Haldane of the World Health Organization and Dr. Gwen Savard, Director of Counter-Bioterrorism, Dept. of Homeland Security, are perfect protagonists, simultaneously searching for the cause and cure for outbreaks of a deadly avian virus which strikes in Hong Kong, England and Canada. Thinking that the outbreaks are natural in origin, Haldane and Savard soon discover they are dealing with a mad religious zealot intent on bringing down America and its allies.

A doctor himself, Kalla effortlessly blends fact and fiction into a worthy thriller, one which will likely result in many sleepless nights for those who read it, both during and after that process. Frightening because of its "ripped from today's headlines" storyline, Pandemic also educates its readers about the origins of various flus and the sometimes extreme measures which must be taken to forestall their spread. If knowledge is power, Pandemic is a powerful book.

Let's make things simple: read Pandemic if you've ever shivered while reading non-fiction books like The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston, or Flu, by Gina Kolota or Germ by Judith Miller, et al. Or, if you've ever thrilled to books like Stephen King's The Stand or George R. Stewart's Earth Abides. But read it mostly because it's good story well told, a cautionary tale from which you'll probably glean some useful information about a deadly phenomenon that will likely continue to make front-page news for years to come.

Somewhat predictable.......2005-06-27

Pandemic is a story about Muslim terrorists who get hold of a nasty virus and threaten the world with it. The story did follow a sequence. It was easy to follow. He plays off of his knowledge of the SARS epidemic very well.

A few criticisms: Kalla didn't know the details of the Spanish Influenza as well as he professed. I saw a documetary on PBS that contradicted quite a few of his facts. I have done some reading on the subject that shows it was far worse than he stated.

I think that Kalla missed a wonderful opportunity to show how truly uncontrollable bioterrorism is. There is a scene where an elevator is infected with the virus in a fancy London hotel. I think that it would have provided far more angst for the terrorist, if some Egyptian businessman were infected and unknowingly took the disease back to Egypt. (The terrorists are Egyptians.) Imagine the frustration and rage of the terrorist to have the President of the United States get on tv and tell the world how the terrorists screwed up and infected their own country! If he had written that scenario into the book, it would have been an extra good warning about bioterrorism.

He does have a gay storyline. That will offend a lot of people.

medical thrill-ride.......2005-06-09

Once I picked up PANDEMIC, I just couldn't put it down. Scared the pants off me, but I enjoyed every moment!

The Great Bird Flu Hoax: The Truth They Don't Want You to Know About the "Next Big Pandemic"

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The Title Is the Hoax
Multiple books & dvd's
Joseph Mercola and the Great Bird Flu Hoax
Important book with a few caveats
Very Interesting

The Great Bird Flu Hoax: The Truth They Don't Want You to Know About the "Next Big Pandemic"
Joseph Mercola
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health
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Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching
Fight for Your Health: Exposing the FDA's Betrayal of America
The No-Grain Diet

ASIN: 0785221875

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 [...]

America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918

Average customer rating:

not as good as "The Great Influenza"
WHY FORGOTTEN?
Scholarly, yet easy to read
America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918
very good, but it has been overtaken by The Great Influenza

America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918
Alfred W. Crosby
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Disaster Relief | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

History | Special Topics | Medicine | Subjects | Books

The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history
Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic
The Devil's Flu: The World's Deadliest Influenza Epidemic and the Scientific Hunt for the Virus That Caused It
Purple Death : The Mysterious Flu of 1918
The Monster at Our Door: The Global Threat of Avian Flu

ASIN: 0521386950

Book Description

Between August 1918 and March 1919 the Spanish influenza spread worldwide claiming over 25 million lives, more people than perished in the fighting of the First World War. It proved fatal to at least a half-million Americans. Yet, the Spanish flu pandemic is largely forgotten today. In this vivid narrative, Alfred W. Crosby recounts the course of the pandemic during the panic-striken months of 1918 and 1919, measures its impact on American society, and probes the curious loss of national memory of this cataclysmic event.

Customer Reviews:

not as good as "The Great Influenza".......2006-12-28

Like another reviewer here, I'd say that unless you're looking for tables and statistics, you should get "The Great Influenza" by John Barry instead of this book. Also like that reviewer, this is not a knock on Crosby at all, but a tribute to Barry. Barry's book really is an incredible work by any standard. Compared to Crosby, it is simply richer and deeper, whether the 2 writers are addressing the same thing-- for example, both focused on Philadelphia, possibly the hardest hit city in the country-- or in the way Barry explains things that Crosby never addresses at all-- such as the political and scientific context, how viruses behave, immunology. Yet you certainly won't be disappointed if you buy this book and you're interested in the subject.

One thing you should NOT do is get any of the other books on influenza. Most of them are outright crap. None of the other books can compete with Crosby's, not to mention Barry's.

WHY FORGOTTEN?.......2006-11-05

Crosby's classic account of this pandemic begins in the spring of 1918 with the virus just getting started in American military training camps. He then discusses how it devastated Philadelphia and San Francisco, contrasting the two cities handling of the crisis. The rest of the book looks at how the flu affected the US army in France and how it impacted the Paris peace conference. Toward the end we get a fascinating but grisly description of how Alaskan native towns were destroyed by the disease.

Crosby focuses on the US here, and does not take a global perspective, as most books have. We learn nothing, for instance, about how over twelve million perished in India. But then Crosby is an American historian, and we gain something by limiting our focus.

Why is this disaster forgotten? Of course the war had much to do with it; people have trouble absorbing two calamities at the same time. But I also believe the public remained calm for a simple reason: the sickness was known to be flu. An unusual and deadly flu it was to be sure, but it is hard for many to be truly afraid of a disease that strikes every year and lasts a season. Most probably thought they would make it through until spring. For a half million in the states, this turned out to be a delusion.

Scholarly, yet easy to read.......2005-12-05

This book was written several decades back, yet is entirely relevant to today. The subject matter is the great flu pandemic of 1918 -- one of the worse mass die-offs in human history that somehow we seem to have collectively forgotten. Full of interesting statistics, the author describes the waves of the disease and the terrible mortality, especially among the young. I first heard of the pandemic many years ago when my great grandmother showed me family pictures. There was one particular picture, a beautiful young woman (her daughter), over which she wept as she described her and how quickly she died. I was surprised that I hadn't heard the story before, but my mother told me that no one talked about that time -- it was just too terrible to think about. I can also recall having the "Asian Flu" as a child. That was truly awful. You find it difficult to breath, you are delerious, you ache horribly. Now we find that there is possibly a new pandemic coming, if and when the Avian flu mutates. Be afraid. So read this well written book if you want to know what may happen.

America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918.......2005-08-10

This book is well-researched, and has pulled together, in narrative and tabular form, the disparate data and details of the influenza pandemic of 1918. Although the timelines move back and forth through the narrative, the evolution of epidemiology and research chronicled in the book is fascinating. The hair-raising depiction of widespread illness and resulting deaths during the pandemic paint a far different picture than is discussed in epidemiology or history courses. Extrapolating events from 1918 (and other pandemics) to current events with Avian influenza makes for sobering and thought-provoking consideration of worldwide pandemic preparedness, or lack thereof.

very good, but it has been overtaken by The Great Influenza.......2004-06-08

Without a doubt this is an excellent, provocative, and thoughtful book. In and of itself I'd give it 5 stars... But that would make it impossible to rate John Barry's The Great Influenza higher. Of course Barry's book came out 25 years after Crosby's, and to some extent is derivative. But it goes so far beyond Crosby, and adds so much context about scientists, the virus itself, and politics, there is unfortunately no reason to read Crosby any more. Actually that's wrong-- there is a reason. If you wnat tables and statistics, Crosby includes them. Barry does not. Although Barry's book does read better, and has a real narrative flow and scientist-characters.

AIDS and South Africa: The Social Expression of a Pandemic

Average customer rating:

AIDS and South Africa: The Social Expression of a Pandemic
Kyle Dean Kauffman , David L. Lindauer , and Desmond Tutu
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

AIDS | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

South Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

AIDS & HIV | Diseases | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Indigenous Theories of Contagious Disease
Waiting To Happen: HIV/Aids in South Africa : the Bigger Picture
The Moral Economy of AIDS in South Africa (Cambridge Africa Collections)
The Political Management of HIV and AIDS in South Africa: One Burden Too Many?
HIV/AIDS in South Africa

ASIN: 1403932565

Book Description

The HIV/AIDS pandemic striking South Africa is of historic proportions. More people are living with AIDS in South Africa than in any other country in the world. Just in the past decade, the life expectancy in South Africa has dropped from 67 to 43 years. The social and economic impact of this disease is hard to overstate. However, what is striking is the paucity of thoughtful, reflective scholarship and writing on the subject. AIDS and South Africa: The Social Expression of a Pandemic addresses the economic, social and cultural impact of HIV/AIDS as it relates to South African society.

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