Flu, by Gina Kolata

I enjoyed reading this book. Three themes are dear to me:

First, the macabre. Not that there is any shortage in the news, but the book also contains macabreness of a kind I did not expect.

Second, the drive for scientific research. It always makes for a compelling read when the reader is a scientist. And here it is also tinted with adventure.

Third, (recent) history. As I hinted in some previous posts, I started reading history in my late 20’s, as an unbelievably blank slate, and I haven’t stopped. It is not clear it is very consequential for the present, but sometimes it’s good to know how things “evolve.”