T H E G R E A T I N F LU E N Z A v ALSO BY JOHN M. BARRY Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America Power Plays: Politics, Football, and Other Blood Sports The Transformed Cell: Unlocking the Mysteries of Cancer (with Steven Rosenberg) The Ambition and the Power: A True Story of Washington T H E G R E A T I N F L U E N Z A The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History J o h n M. B a r r y V I K I N G viking Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Copyright © John M. Barry, 2004 All rights reserved Photograph credits appear on page 547. library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Barry, John M. The great influenza : the epic story of the deadliest plague in history / John M. Barry. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN: 0-7865-8651-6 1. Influenza—History—20th century. I. Title. RC150.4.B37 2004 614.5'18'09041—dc22 2003057646 Set in Minion Designed by Francesca Belanger Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. To my darling Anne and to the spirit that was Paul Lewis