-
Flu
- The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It
- Narrated by: Gina Kolata
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged Audiobook
- Categories: Health & Wellness, Medicine & Health Care Industry
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $14.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Great Influenza
- The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History
- By: John M. Barry
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the winter of 1918, at the height of World War I, history's most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in 24 weeks than AIDS has killed in 24 years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision between modern science and epidemic disease.
-
-
Gripping and Gory
- By Nancy on 07-01-08
By: John M. Barry
-
Polio
- An American Story
- By: David M. Oshinsky
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This comprehensive and gripping narrative, which received the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for history, covers all the challenges, characters, and controversies in America's relentless struggle against polio. Funded by philanthropy and grassroots contributions, Salk's killed-virus vaccine (1954) and Sabin's live-virus vaccine (1961) began to eradicate this dreaded disease.
-
-
Memorable History
- By Leigh A on 10-02-07
-
The Hot Zone
- A Terrifying True Story
- By: Richard Preston
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days, 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.
-
-
Riveting non-fiction account--truly scary
- By Kathy in CA on 08-13-12
By: Richard Preston
-
Viruses, Plagues, and History
- Past, Present, and Future
- By: Michael B. A. Oldstone
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of viruses and humanity is a story of fear and ignorance, of grief and heartbreak, and of great bravery and sacrifice. Michael Oldstone tells all these stories as he illuminates the history of the devastating diseases that have tormented humanity, focusing mostly on the most famous viruses. For this revised edition, Oldstone includes discussions of new viruses like SARS, bird flu, virally caused cancers, chronic wasting disease, and West Nile. Viruses, Plagues, and History paints a sweeping portrait of humanity's long-standing conflict with our unseen viral enemies.
-
-
very detailed, but very statistical
- By ekhensel15 on 01-12-19
-
America's Forgotten Pandemic (Second Edition)
- The Influenza of 1918
- By: Alfred W. Crosby
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between August 1918 and March 1919, the Spanish influenza spread worldwide, claiming over 25 million lives. In this vivid narrative, Alfred W. Crosby recounts the course of the pandemic during the panic-stricken months of 1918 and 1919, measures its impact on American society, and probes the curious loss of national memory of this cataclysmic event. This edition includes a preface discussing the then-recent outbreaks of diseases, including the Asian flu and the SARS epidemic.
By: Alfred W. Crosby
-
Spillover
- By: David Quammen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 20 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The emergence of strange new diseases is a frightening problem that seems to be getting worse. In this age of speedy travel, it threatens a worldwide pandemic. We hear news reports of Ebola, SARS, AIDS, and something called Hendra killing horses and people in Australia - but those reports miss the big truth that such phenomena are part of a single pattern. The bugs that transmit these diseases share one thing: they originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. David Quammen tracks this subject around the world.
-
-
Wonderful, factual, and engaging
- By Tyler S on 06-12-15
By: David Quammen
-
The Great Influenza
- The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History
- By: John M. Barry
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the winter of 1918, at the height of World War I, history's most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in 24 weeks than AIDS has killed in 24 years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision between modern science and epidemic disease.
-
-
Gripping and Gory
- By Nancy on 07-01-08
By: John M. Barry
-
Polio
- An American Story
- By: David M. Oshinsky
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This comprehensive and gripping narrative, which received the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for history, covers all the challenges, characters, and controversies in America's relentless struggle against polio. Funded by philanthropy and grassroots contributions, Salk's killed-virus vaccine (1954) and Sabin's live-virus vaccine (1961) began to eradicate this dreaded disease.
-
-
Memorable History
- By Leigh A on 10-02-07
-
The Hot Zone
- A Terrifying True Story
- By: Richard Preston
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days, 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.
-
-
Riveting non-fiction account--truly scary
- By Kathy in CA on 08-13-12
By: Richard Preston
-
Viruses, Plagues, and History
- Past, Present, and Future
- By: Michael B. A. Oldstone
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of viruses and humanity is a story of fear and ignorance, of grief and heartbreak, and of great bravery and sacrifice. Michael Oldstone tells all these stories as he illuminates the history of the devastating diseases that have tormented humanity, focusing mostly on the most famous viruses. For this revised edition, Oldstone includes discussions of new viruses like SARS, bird flu, virally caused cancers, chronic wasting disease, and West Nile. Viruses, Plagues, and History paints a sweeping portrait of humanity's long-standing conflict with our unseen viral enemies.
-
-
very detailed, but very statistical
- By ekhensel15 on 01-12-19
-
America's Forgotten Pandemic (Second Edition)
- The Influenza of 1918
- By: Alfred W. Crosby
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between August 1918 and March 1919, the Spanish influenza spread worldwide, claiming over 25 million lives. In this vivid narrative, Alfred W. Crosby recounts the course of the pandemic during the panic-stricken months of 1918 and 1919, measures its impact on American society, and probes the curious loss of national memory of this cataclysmic event. This edition includes a preface discussing the then-recent outbreaks of diseases, including the Asian flu and the SARS epidemic.
By: Alfred W. Crosby
-
Spillover
- By: David Quammen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 20 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The emergence of strange new diseases is a frightening problem that seems to be getting worse. In this age of speedy travel, it threatens a worldwide pandemic. We hear news reports of Ebola, SARS, AIDS, and something called Hendra killing horses and people in Australia - but those reports miss the big truth that such phenomena are part of a single pattern. The bugs that transmit these diseases share one thing: they originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. David Quammen tracks this subject around the world.
-
-
Wonderful, factual, and engaging
- By Tyler S on 06-12-15
By: David Quammen
-
The Ghost Map
- By: Steven Johnson
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a thrilling historical account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London and a brilliant exploration of how Dr. John Snow's solution revolutionized the way we think about disease, cities, science, and the modern world.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Cheryl Crane on 01-14-07
By: Steven Johnson
-
Very, Very, Very Dreadful
- The Influenza Pandemic of 1918
- By: Albert Marrin
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In spring of 1918, World War I was underway, and troops at Fort Riley, Kansas, found themselves felled by influenza. By the summer of 1918, the second wave struck as a highly contagious and lethal epidemic and within weeks exploded into a pandemic, an illness that travels rapidly from one continent to another. It would impact the course of the war, and kill many millions more soldiers than warfare itself.
-
-
Very, Very, Very Frightening
- By Lulu on 04-22-18
By: Albert Marrin
-
Deadliest Enemy
- Our War Against Killer Germs
- By: Michael T. Osterholm, Mark Olshaker
- Narrated by: Jamie Renell
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are facing an overwhelming army of deadly, invisible enemies. We need a plan - before it's too late. Unlike natural disasters, whose destruction is concentrated in a limited area over a period of days, and illnesses, which have devastating effects but are limited to individuals and their families, infectious disease has the terrifying power to disrupt everyday life on a global scale, overwhelming public and private resources and bringing trade and transportation to a grinding halt.
-
-
Riveting
- By Jennifer on 07-28-19
By: Michael T. Osterholm, and others
-
The Controlled Demolition of the American Empire
- By: Jeff Berwick, Charlie Robinson
- Narrated by: Patrick Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The American Empire is finished and will soon become another cautionary tale, tossed upon the trash heap of history, and destroyed by the very same societal issues that plagued the many former empires that share similar fates. It did not have to end this way, but when the most devious and ruthless members of a society are tasked with running the system, the outcome can hardly be in dispute.
-
-
Oracle Of Opportunity In New Fin. System - Jeff Berwick Aka Dollar Vigilante
- By Daniel Fleischman on 05-02-21
By: Jeff Berwick, and others
-
Influenza
- The Hundred-Year Hunt to Cure the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
- By: Dr. Jeremy Brown
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the 100th anniversary of the devastating pandemic of 1918, Jeremy Brown, a veteran ER doctor, explores the troubling, terrifying, and complex history of the flu virus, from the origins of the Great Flu that killed millions, to vexing questions such as: are we prepared for the next epidemic, should you get a flu shot, and how close are we to finding a cure?
-
-
Important read
- By Kathryn C. on 12-21-18
By: Dr. Jeremy Brown
-
Get Well Soon
- History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them
- By: Jennifer Wright
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1518, in a small town in Alsace, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced until she was carried away six days later, and soon 34 more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had been stricken by the mysterious dancing plague. In late-19th-century England an eccentric gentleman founded the No Nose Club in his gracious townhome - a social club for those who had lost their noses, and other body parts, to the plague of syphilis for which there was then no cure.
-
-
Just listen to the podcast Sawbones for free
- By Maria on 08-06-18
By: Jennifer Wright
-
The Moth in the Iron Lung
- A Biography of Polio
- By: Forrest Maready
- Narrated by: Forrest Maready
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fascinating account of the world’s most famous disease - polio - told as you have never heard it before. Epidemics of paralysis began to rage in the early 1900s, seemingly out of nowhere. Doctors, parents, and health officials were at a loss to explain why this formerly unheard-of disease began paralyzing so many children. Why did this disease start to become such a horrible problem during the late 1800s? Why did it affect children more often than adults? Why was it originally called teething paralysis by mothers and their doctors?
-
-
Root Cause
- By Circlekay1 Gulfport MS on 10-24-19
By: Forrest Maready
-
The American Plague
- The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, The Epidemic That Shaped Our History
- By: Molly Caldwell Crosby
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1900, the U.S. sent three doctors to Cuba to discover how yellow fever was spread. There, they launched one of history's most controversial human studies. Compelling and terrifying, The American Plague depicts the story of yellow fever and its reign in this country - and in Africa, where even today it strikes thousands every year. With "arresting tales of heroism," it is a story as much about the nature of human beings as it is about the nature of disease.
-
-
Yellow Fever in Memphis
- By Kevin P Key on 04-13-20
-
The Demon in the Freezer
- A True Story
- By: Richard Preston
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first major bioterror event in the United States - the anthrax attacks in October 2001 - was a clarion call for scientists who work with "hot" agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. In The Demon in the Freezer, his first nonfiction book since The Hot Zone, a number-one New York Times best seller, Richard Preston takes us into the heart of USAMRIID, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland.
-
-
Pretty interesting listening in a horrific way
- By S A on 09-19-03
By: Richard Preston
-
The Next Pandemic
- On the Front Lines Against Humankind's Gravest Dangers
- By: Ali Khan, William Patrick
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An inside account of the fight to contain the world's deadliest diseases - and the panic and corruption that make them worse. The Next Pandemic is a firsthand account of disasters like anthrax, bird flu, and others - and how we could do more to prevent their return. It is both a gripping story of our brushes with fate and an urgent lesson on how we can keep ourselves safe from the inevitable next pandemic.
-
-
Many Outstanding Stories about Many Scary Microbes
- By aaron on 01-24-17
By: Ali Khan, and others
-
Crisis in the Red Zone
- The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come
- By: Richard Preston
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An urgent wake-up call about the future of emerging viruses and a gripping account of the doctors and scientists fighting to protect us, told through the story of the deadly 2013-2014 Ebola epidemic. From the number-one best-selling author of The Hot Zone, now a National Geographic original miniseries....
-
-
Much thriller, not so much science
- By ahoi on 07-28-19
By: Richard Preston
-
Asleep
- The Forgotten Epidemic That Became Medicine’s Greatest Mystery
- By: Molly Caldwell Crosby
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1918, a world war raged, and a lethal strain of influenza circled the globe. In the midst of all this death, a bizarre disease appeared in Europe. Eventually known as encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, it spread worldwide, leaving millions dead or locked in institutions. Then, in 1927, it disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived. Asleep, set in 1920s and '30s New York, follows a group of neurologists through hospitals and asylums as they try to solve this epidemic and treat its victims - who learned the worst fate was not dying of it, but surviving it.
-
-
Scary, and still unsolved, medical mystery
- By joyce on 12-14-14
Publisher's Summary
When we think of plagues, we think of AIDS, Ebola, anthrax spores, and, of course, the Black Death. Influenza never makes the list. But in 1918 the Great Flu Epidemic felled the young and healthy virtually overnight. An estimated forty million people died as the pandemic raged. More American soldiers were killed by the 1918 flu than were killed in battle during World War I. And no area of the globe was safe. Eskimos living in remote outposts in the frozen tundra succumbed to the flu in such numbers that entire villages were wiped out. If such a plague returned today, taking a comparable percentage of the U.S. population with it, 1.5 million Americans would die, which is more than the number killed in a single year by heart disease, cancers, strokes, chronic pulmonary disease, AIDS, and Alzheimer's combined.
Scientists have recently discovered shards of the flu virus in human remains frozen in the Arctic tundra and in scraps of tissue preserved in a government warehouse. In Flu, Gina Kolata, an acclaimed reporter for The New York Times, unravels the mystery of the lethal virus with the high drama of a great adventure story. From Alaska to Norway, from the streets of Hong Kong to the corridors of the White House, Kolata tracks the race to recover the live pathogen and probes the fear that has impelled government policy. A gripping work of science writing, Flu addresses the prospects for a great epidemic recurring, and considers what can be done to prevent it.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about Flu
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Joanne
- 10-25-05
Fascinating science; disappointing narration.
I ordered this book in spite of other reviewers' warnings about the "mushy" reading by the author, determined to remain objective. The story of the 1918 flu and its relationship to modern flu viruses is fascinating and important, as is the drama of competing scientists' investigations. The mystery is particularly interesting in light of recent dna discoveries about bird flu, now extant and threatening. As others mentioned, I was disappointed in the narrator's apparent lisp and also her tendency to over-dramatize facts and circumstances which are rivoting on their own. Still, I am glad I stuck with the book to the end. Having worked years ago for a scientist in a competitive university department, I appreciate how individual personalities, passions, and foibles can drive scientific efforts. For someone sufficiently interested in the subject, the narration problems can be endured.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Ingo
- 09-08-04
Good Story, mediocre narrator
The story is interesting and the book is well written. But the voice of the narrator is often incomprehensible. Hence, this audiobook is hardly suited for people whose mother-tongue is not English (like me). I had a lot of problems understanding the narrator.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- L.
- 10-30-05
Disappointed
While I am VERY interested in the subject of the 1918 Flu, and have done much research on it, I found the CD to be hard to listen to due to a lisp or accent, or some sort of speech impediment, the reader has. I frequently had to back up and re-listen to long sections because the impediment causes your mind to drift away from listening.
This was the second book I've downloaded where the reader had an impediment of some sort.. While it's not the reader's fault, I do expect to be able to understand a book I've bought. A publisher wouldn't put out a book where the words and sentences are smeared.
I'll read the reviews a bit closer from now on before downloading another book.
I wish I could say the content was positive, but truthfully it's hard to tell overall with the impediment distraction.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Marilyn
- 07-23-03
overexcited
Ms. Kolata has too few facts and too many superlatives. Her writing style is labored, sprawling and cliched. Worse, her voice is not suitable for narration as she has a strong accent and slurs her words. I am very interested in this issue, but this book is intolerable.
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 06-11-03
Flu mystery
The story is very good if you like medical mysteries. It is well written and has the feel of fiction. But I had some trouble with the readers voice. I could not understand everything she said and had to go back frequently.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- G Tucker
- 04-26-03
Pulled me in
Gina Kolata has an eye for detail, and a flair for the dramatic. From the opening sentence, this book pulled me in and had me waiting for more. I talked about it with friends, even before knowing what discoveries await. This book tells the story of the spread of the virus, the devastation it brought with it, and its removal from our collective conciousness. Perhaps we were too scared by the thought of its recurrence, or perhaps the reality of AIDS or the hype of Ebola and anthrax replaced it in our memories. Fortunately, 8 decades later, some researchers have started to look into it again with some success.
If there is anything disappointing about the book, it is how the Flu of 1918 continues to defy researchers. The book read like a detective story, and I expected it to wrap up nicely with a smoking gun and conviction. Alas reality defies fiction, but this book should be on your Wish List anyway.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Dan
- 11-03-09
A real life mystery
I am a social scientist who is addicted to mystery and thriller novels. The Flu by Gina Kolata brings together my science vocation and my mystery avocation. Kolata has taken the scientific and epidemiological search for the 1918 killer flu and put it in a highly readable (aka listenable) form. She keeps you interested until the very end. The Flu is a mystery worthy of Michael Connelly at his best. The only downside of the book is the narration. The author chose to narrate it herself. Whether for economic or ego reasons, it was a bad decision. But even the narration has a silver lining in this book. It is a credit to Kolata's ability to tell a story that midway through the book I got used to her amateur narrating style and forgot that the book would have been better with a professional narrator. Anybody with an interest in the flu, or how science really gets done through long hard slogs, or loves a good mystery will enjoy reading Flu.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Roy
- 06-02-09
Informative Orientation
Gina Kolata's "Flu" will get the interested up to speed on the flu in one read. If you are interested in the Pandemic of 1918, this perhaps is not your book. It uses the great flu pandemic as a spring board to present material on influenza in general.
On the other hand, if you are seeking to understand influenza in biological and historical context this book is a great non-technical start. If you want to understand the practical health implications of the flu this is good as well. It is well written and read.
Those interested in a more detailed history of the Great Pandemic, per se, might listen to John Barry's "The Great Inluenza" also available from Audible.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Boston Harbor
- 10-09-06
Repeat: Authors should NOT read their books
This is a fascinating story, made more compelling due to the present fear of a avian flu pandemic. However, the narration is so awful, I cannot finish the book. I unfortunately underestimated how bad it would be from the prior reviews. A wasted credit is the only thing I received from this book. I doubt the author has an actual speech impediment. This type of "impediment" occurs when one records at a too low bit-rate quality--something a professional narrator would never do.
Why do authors continue to do this? With *rare* exception (Nora Ephron and David McCullough come to mind) it is a big mistake. Note to authors: check your ego at the curb. Use professional narrators--your audio book will be much more successful.
Buy another flu audio book.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Chip
- 08-20-03
Great story. Too long.
It's a really interesting story, but it does seem to go on and on rather that just providing the facts. It's written a little too much like a mystery rather than a non-fiction story for my taste. But then I often think books and articles are longer than they should be.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Martyn
- 10-19-05
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza
Easy listening, informative, balanced and thought provoking.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall

- William
- 06-01-09
Very Informative
Great book, very easy to listen to couldn't put it down till it was finished.