Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World

Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World by Laura Spinney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If we were not in the middle of a pandemic, I never would have picked up this book. That very idea is what fascinates the author - why do we not talk about the Spanish Flu? It affected World War I and changed global society for so many reasons: catastrophic loss of life only being one of them. The book is well written, but often inconclusive. Medical science was not nearly as developed then, nor oftentimes did scientists and the broader population realize they were dealing with Spanish Flu, so our understanding of the disease is limited. That said, reading this book published just three years ago, we knew enough now to have done so much better with Covid. There is no reason why we should have let so many people die. It will be one of the great, unnecessary tragedies of the 21st century.

I'm not sure I would recommend the book only because it's so much to think about on top of Covid living. However, if you're interested, you could learn a lot from it.

Happy reading and if it wasn't clear already, please wear a mask....here's hoping for vaccinations by the summer....