American pandemic The lost worlds of the 1918 influenza epidemic

Nancy K. Bristow, 1958-

Book - 2012

"Between the years 1918 and1920, influenza raged around the globe in the worst pandemic in recorded history, killing at least fifty million people, more than half a million of them Americans. Yet despite the devastation, this catastrophic event seems but a forgotten moment in our nation's past. American Pandemic offers a much-needed corrective to the silence surrounding the influenza outbreak. It sheds light on the social and cultural history of Americans during the pandemic, uncovering both the causes of the nation's public amnesia and the depth of the quiet remembering that endured. Focused on the primary players in this drama--patients and their families, friends, and community, public health experts, and health care profe...ssionals--historian Nancy K. Bristow draws on multiple perspectives to highlight the complex interplay between social identity, cultural norms, memory, and the epidemic. Bristow has combed a wealth of primary sources, including letters, diaries, oral histories, memoirs, novels, newspapers, magazines, photographs, government documents, and health care literature. She shows that though the pandemic caused massive disruption in the most basic patterns of American life, influenza did not create long-term social or cultural change, serving instead to reinforce the status quo and the differences and disparities that defined American life. As the crisis waned, the pandemic slipped from the nation's public memory. The helplessness and despair Americans had suffered during the pandemic, Bristow notes, was a story poorly suited to a nation focused on optimism and progress. For countless survivors, though, the trauma never ended, shadowing the remainder of their lives with memories of loss. This book lets us hear these long-silent voices, reclaiming an important chapter in the American past"--

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Subjects
Genres
History
Published
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press ©2012.
Language
English
Main Author
Nancy K. Bristow, 1958- (-)
Physical Description
xiii, 280 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-274) and index.
ISBN
9780199811342
9780190238551
  • "Influenza has apparently become domesticated with us" : influenza, medicine and the public, 1890-1918
  • "The whole world seems up-side-down" : patients, families and communities confront the epidemic
  • "Let our experience be of value to other communities" : public health experts, the people, and progressivism
  • "The experience was one I shall never forget" : doctors, nurses, and challenges of the epidemic
  • "The terrible and wonderful experience" : forgetting and remembering the aftermath.
Review by Choice Review

Bristow (University of Puget Sound) delves into America's so-called "forgotten pandemic" (see Alfred Crosby's Epidemic and Peace, 1918, CH, Sep'76, and America's Forgotten Pandemic, 2nd ed., CH, Feb'04, 41-3471) to demonstrate that the memory of the 1918 influenza pandemic lived on in the private, if not the public, sphere. The author asserts that gender, race, and class were profoundly implicated in the American pandemic experience. Although the virus struck indiscriminately, the treatment an individual received was directly related to social identities. An epidemic of this proportion could have had the potential to break down cultural barriers, but, she argues, Americans responded with adherence to their respective roles in societies. Bristow provides an intimate account of the individual and private suffering of millions of Americans. Based on solid, comprehensive research, the volume is readable and vivid in language and example. By drawing on the personal papers of victims, families, and medical and public health workers, the author breathes life into stories of death, while drawing larger conclusions about the reasons Americans chose to "forget" the pandemic and the costs of such "public amnesia." An impressive and important book for students, historians, and lay readers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General, academic, and professional audiences, all levels. D. A. Henningfeld emerita, Adrian College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The memories of the worst pandemic ever are all but lost. In a richly researched work that gives sobering context and voice to a flu that killed 675,000 Americans and 50 million worldwide in 1918-1919, University of Puget Sound history professor Bristow dispels the "costly amnesia" that followed the devastation. She notes how scientists were overconfident of their ability to control the flu, buoyed by the discovery of microbes responsible for a stunning list of deadly diseases. Bristow also describes the harrowing symptoms of the virulent flu and relates the heartbreaking stories of individuals raked by the disease, including the high proportion of young adults (usually the very young and old are most at risk) whose lungs filled like those "of the drowned." And though poor and rich alike died, Bristow finds how differently the public judged "deserving" and "undeserving" victims. She also writes of the daunting public health task of stanching the flu's spread-from mandated school closures to the wearing of face masks in public and the public's frustration with, and resistance to, them. This enlightening history lifts the curtain on a remarkable period of destruction and endurance-and reminds us that those who forget history are condemned to relive it. Photos.(May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Over one-quarter of Americans were infected with the flu virus popularly known as the "Spanish Influenza" in four waves between 1918 and 1920. Of these, 675,000 sufferers died in 1918, reducing American life expectancy that year by 12 years. Countless children were orphaned, often overnight. The pandemic's impact included cancellations of school, of all public entertainments in many cities, and of church services; unprepared hospitals were overwhelmed, even piling up bodies in hallways. While this flu hit American society hard, Bristow (history, Univ. of Puget Sound; Making Men Moral: Social Engineering During the Great War), granddaughter of a Spanish flu orphan, contends that it has been too little studied by scholars. She intends her extensively researched book to fill part of the gap. Bristow studies how the flu increased American support for government social programs; how patient experiences differed by racial, gender, and socioeconomic status; public health planning changes; and why Americans have chosen to forget such dramatic events. Verdict Well written, engaging, and at times a bit graphic, this scholarly study does not include as many personal stories as some readers may hope for, but it will make them think twice about sneezing. Recommended especially for academic readers and specialists.-Laura Ruttum Senturia, Univ. of Colorado Boulder Lib. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Bristow (History/Univ. of Puget Sound; Making Men Moral: Social Engineering During the Great War, 1996) unpacks the complex cultural, social and scientific effects of the 1918 influenza epidemic and reveals the American voices that fill the gap of a suppressed national memory. In less than two years, influenza killed more than 50 million people worldwide, shocking existing medical infrastructures and destabilizing the trust that citizens had in science. Physicians were at a loss to prescribe effective treatments; racial and gender divides grew as misunderstandings about the spread of disease exacerbated existing stereotypes; and fear of contagion threatened to collapse the kind of community support that had helped the nation endure past hardships. Simultaneously, the rise of public health care employed the rhetoric of opportunity and optimism, further destabilizing social boundaries as the death rate climbed. A combination of media emphasis on looking toward the future and a public call for increased funding for new scientific research assisted in whitewashing the deep sense of loss and despair that afflicted most Americans as they dealt with the aftermath of the pandemic. Bristow, whose great-grandparents succumbed to influenza in 1920, writes with depth and feeling. By researching dozens of primary sources, she reveals the human circumstances and personal stories behind the history of this tragic era. It's a much-needed addendum to pandemic literature and an important perspective to understand as new and ever-evolving flu strains hover over our collective understanding of disease. Well-researched and insightful.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.