Virus 1918: Spanish Influenza - The Words of People Who Lived It

"… with the dead body of his son for company on the last half of the trip and himself delirious with Spanish influenza…"

“… take the secretions from the noses and throats of influenza patients and place them in the noses and throats of the volunteers.”

“... the casket was placed upon the porch and the heart-broken mother and daughter stepped out the door and took a last look at the face of the dead.”

This book contains actual newspaper articles printed during the most deadly pandemic in recent history - the Spanish Influenza in 1918.

These are hand-selected stories that are frightening, enraging, touching and inspiring. You will meet heroes and villains. You will hear tragic stories of suffering and loss. You will find inspirational stories of doctors, nurses and average people who gave everything to save others. Each chapter of this book also includes fascinating contextual and historical information to help bring the stories and situations to life.

With recent outbreaks like SARS, MERS and COVID-19, you will see stark similarities between then and now as you hear the words of the actual people who experienced the deadly Spanish Influenza.

These articles are real stories of real people as found in newspapers across the country in 1918 and 1919. We have recreated these newspaper articles word for word so you can experience the world through their eyes.

This book is organized by topics that flow together smoothly so it can be read easily from cover to cover. For those of you who prefer to focus on specific topics, you can skip around the book without missing critical information.

In either case, I think you will find the information enlightening, fascinating and helpful during this critical part of our country’s history.