9780814799246-0814799248-Fever of War: The Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. Army during World War I

Fever of War: The Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. Army during World War I

ISBN-13: 9780814799246
ISBN-10: 0814799248
Edition: First Edition
Author: Carol R Byerly
Publication date: 2005
Publisher: NYU Press
Format: Paperback 251 pages
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Book details

ISBN-13: 9780814799246
ISBN-10: 0814799248
Edition: First Edition
Author: Carol R Byerly
Publication date: 2005
Publisher: NYU Press
Format: Paperback 251 pages

Summary

Fever of War: The Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. Army during World War I (ISBN-13: 9780814799246 and ISBN-10: 0814799248), written by authors Carol R Byerly, was published by NYU Press in 2005. With an overall rating of 3.7 stars, it's a notable title among other United States History (World War I, Military History, Americas History) books. You can easily purchase or rent Fever of War: The Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. Army during World War I (Paperback) from BooksRun, along with many other new and used United States History books and textbooks. And, if you're looking to sell your copy, our current buyback offer is $0.3.

Description

The startling impact of the 1918 influenza epidemic on the American army, its medical officers, and their profession, a story which has long been silenced

The influenza epidemic of 1918 killed more people in one year than the Great War killed in four, sickening at least one quarter of the world's population. In Fever of War, Carol R. Byerly uncovers medical officers' memoirs and diaries, official reports, scientific articles, and other original sources, to tell a grave tale about the limits of modern medicine and warfare.

The tragedy begins with overly confident medical officers who, armed with new knowledge and technologies of modern medicine, had an inflated sense of their ability to control disease. The conditions of trench warfare on the Western Front soon outflanked medical knowledge by creating an environment where the influenza virus could mutate to a lethal strain. This new flu virus soon left medical officers’ confidence in tatters as thousands of soldiers and trainees died under their care. They also were unable to convince the War Department to reduce the crowding of troops aboard ships and in barracks which were providing ideal environments for the epidemic to thrive. After the war, and given their helplessness to control influenza, many medical officers and military leaders began to downplay the epidemic as a significant event for the U. S. army, in effect erasing this dramatic story from the American historical memory.

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