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“Monumental ... powerfully intelligent ... unflinching ... Barry's book is not just a masterful narrative of the events of 1918 but also an authoritative and disturbing morality tale of science, politics and culture... . One of the strengths of Barry's book is that it goes well beyond medical facts and figures... . [It is] a sweeping style that consistently focuses on real human beings, and he cares deeply and unapologetically about morality and politics... . Barry has done a remarkable service in writing The Great Influenza .”
— Chicago Tribune
“Here is a writer of distinction with a deep philosophical underpinning... . I loved the range of this book, how it directs a searchlight on science and scientists and gives us so much more than its title. We have no cold statistics to pore over, no tables of case fatalities. Instead, we are entering the forgotten world of personalities of medical science ... compelling and brilliant.”
— Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
“Sometimes the book reads like a detective novel; other times it reads like science fiction... . A fascinating and frightening account of sickness, fear, stupidity, scientific exploration, and occasional heroism... . If this book were merely about the causes and effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic, it would be an engrossing tale, but the story encompasses much more... . Ultimately, Barry brings his narrative into the present with provocative implications.”
— The Charlotte Observer
“Immensely readable ... a multistranded narrative account of the most devastating pandemic the world has ever known, as well as a history of twentieth-century science and medicine ... He describes how the influenza virus attacks the body with a clarity that lays the conceptual groundwork for much that would ensue... . And as a piece of social history, The Great Influenza is invaluable. It shows the courage and cowardice of individuals under great pressure; it shows how institutions, captive to the ethics of the time, can rise to the occasion or abjectly fall... . It's a lesson to ponder in our times.”
— The Seattle Times
“Magisterial ... evocative ... unusual literary panache ... impressively up-to-date understanding ... very artfully constructed [with phrases] repeated like Wagner's leitmotifs ... The fact is that flu is one of the most formidable infections confronting humankind. The virus mutates constantly as it circulates among birds, pigs, and human beings, so each new flu season now challenges experts ... His message for our time is clear.”
— The New York Review of Books
“Compelling and timely.”
— The Boston Globe
“Barry writes like an angel... . Through a vision of the scientists of the day he brings back the tension and excitement, the despair and the sorrow ... yes I have indulged myself and read the book twice... . Barry's writing ... manage[s] to capture the science of virology... . This book is a wake-up call.”
— Nature
“Hypnotizing, horrifying, almost incomprehensible ... energetic, lucid prose ... His important story stands solidly and eloquently on its own as a work of history and a cautionary tale.”
— The Providence Journal
“History brilliantly written ... The Great Influenza is a masterpiece.”
— Baton Rouge Advocate
“A medical thriller ... It combines popular history and popular science in a way that reminds one of David McCullough's great books on the Johnstown flood and the building of the Panama Canal and the Brooklyn Bridge. The Great Influenza might be the most interesting such concoction since ... well, since the same author's Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America .”
— Arkansas Times
“What distinguishes Mr. Barry's account is its thoroughness and the writer's command of both the science and the politics that conspired to spread the disease ... compelling ... The storytelling is vivid ... masterly detail.”
— The Dallas Morning News
“Majestic, spellbinding treatment of a mass killer ... With the same terrorizing flair of Richard Preston's Hot Zone , the author follows the disease ... as if from Weegee's camera.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Barry puts the pandemic into a context of medical, national, and world history... . His well-researched and well-written account raises the obvious question: Could it happen again? And the answer is: Of course it could.”
— Los Angeles Times
“Barry provides enormous insight into the very nature of science ... The Great Influenza is a must read for its unnerving relevance to today's scientific challenges of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases and the society's tragic confrontations with war and terrorism ... alarming similarities to today ... gripping.”
—Ronald Atlas, former president of the American Society of Microbiology, ASM News
“Terrifying ... The lessons of 1918 couldn't be more relevant.”
— Newsweek
“An enthralling symphony of a book, whose every page compels.”
— Booklist (starred review)