I was originally supposed to leave tomorrow for a quick business trip, but now I'm not going. It's probably for the best, since I'm currently reading Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic. Some years ago, I took Richard Preston's The Hot Zone with me on an airplane. Nothing like reading about hemorrhagic fever while you're breathing in the recycled air of the cabin and wondering about the health of your seatmate.
Flu is a gripping read (no pun intended); it's also scary as hell. The 1918 pandemic isn't something you learn about in history class, and I think it's fascinating. What's surprising to me is the huge local connection— Fort Devens and Boston were two of the first places to show signs. (Fort Devens experienced some 100 deaths per day at the height of the epidemic.)
Posted by rv at October 15, 2005 07:56 PM to book