The Spanish flu of 1918-1920 was one of the greatest human disasters of all time. It infected a third of the people on Earth--from the poorest immigrants of New York City to the king of Spain, Franz Kafka, Mahatma Gandhi and Woodrow Wilson. But despite a death toll of between 50 and 100 million people, it exists in our memory as an afterthought to World War I.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 298-317) and index.

Introduction : the Elephant in the Room -- Part One : The Unwalled City : Coughs and sneezes -- The monads of Leibniz ; Part Two : Anatomy of a Pandemic : Ripples on a pond -- Like a thief in the night ; Part Three : Manhu, or what is it? : Disease eleven -- The doctors' dilemma -- The wrath of God ; Part Four : The Survival Instiinct : Chalking doors with crosses -- The placebo effect -- Good Samaritans ; Part Five : Post Mortem : The hunt for patient zero -- Counting the dead ; Part Six : Science Redeemed : Aenigmoplasma influenzae -- Beware the barnyard -- The human factor ; Part Seven : The Post-Flu World : The green shoots of recovery -- Alternate histories -- Anti-science, science -- Healthcare for all? -- War and peace -- Melancholy muse ; Part Eight : Roscoe's legacy -- Afterword : On Memory.