In the past several years there's been some terrific writing done on the 1918 influenza pandemic; I heartily recommend both Laura Spinney's Pale Rider and John Barry's The Great Influenza for deep dives into the historical pandemic, and I'll add Dr. Brown's work, too, although its emphasis differs from the others. Brown looks at what's happened since 1918 and the steps scientists and governments have taken to get us ready for the next round. Influenza takes an even-handed look at controversial topics such as flu vaccine, which is handled very differently from one country to another, or antivirals such as Tamiflu, which is, depending on the source, a lobbyist-enriching hoax, or a solid contribution to humanity's defense. I especially appreciated the chapter entitled "The Business of Flu" for its exploration of the ways in which the profit motive influences human behavior with important impacts on the health of nations.
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