Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918

By David Getz

Book Overview

The Spanish Flu was the worst epidemic in this country's history, and the search for its cause is still one of science's most urgent quests. In this riveting account, acclaimed nonfiction author David Getz tells young readers the story of the mysterious flu known as the Purple Death--the virus responsible for the worst epidemic in American history.

It was 1918, the last year of World War 1. Thousands of men lived in the crowded army training camps that were scattered all across the United States. That spring, a strange flu struck the soldiers at a camp in the Midwest. Healthy young men went to the hospital complaining of sore throats and fevers. Within hours they had suffocated, their skin taking on a terrible purplish hue.

The devastating flu spread like wildfire across the country, infecting soldiers and civilians alike. It killed more than half a million people in a matter of months, then disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

To this day, no one knows what caused a common flu to become so deadly, but scientists are still searching for answers. What they discover could save millions of lives if another common flu virus suddenly turns into a killer.

Praise for Purple Death: The Mysterious Spanish Flu of 1918:

"Combining cogent accounts both of a worldwide tragedy and some classic medical detective work, this is certain to please and to sober a wide audience." --Kirkus Reviews

"Illustrated with riveting black-and-white photographs as well as haunting pencil sketches, this short and easily accessible book traces the desperate search for the cause of and cure for the flu. Especially intriguing are the descriptions of efforts to obtain 'live' samples of the virus." --VOYA

"Soft, charcoal-pencil drawings capture the somber mood. . . . The painstaking and heroic deeds scientists must take on in order to identify a disease and develop a cure will be interesting to budding scientists." --School Library Journal

"With the same mysterious, intriguing style of his previous books about frozen mummies, the author tells a gripping story of the influenza pandemic of 1918 that infected two billion people." --Children's Literature

"[Getz] writes clearly and dramatically, whether he's describing how vaccines work, how pneumonia was treated before the discovery of antibiotics, or what today's researchers are doing to find the flu virus preserved in the lungs of frozen bodies. . . . And always there's the question, What if there's a pandemic today?" --Booklist

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250139090
• ISBN13: 9781250139092
• Release Date: September 2017
• Publisher: Square Fish
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

Great Book

Ok, so I ordered this book because I'm an idiot and didn't read the product description and see that it was actually a children's book. But, that doesn't mean I didn't read it.... I actually loved the book. It's a quick read for an adult, but it's also a great book. The information is accurate and well written. It would be easy for a child that is interested in science or history to understand. So, if you're a middle school science teacher or history teacher this would be a great assignment for a book report.

Excellent children's book about 1918 Flu

I have a copy of this book in my library. It is an accurate and well written book that explains in detail the Pandemic Influenza that gripped our world in 1918-1919. If you purchase this book for a child, be aware of the nature of the topic presented. Between 20 million and 100 million people perished from the great Spanish Influenza. Since the book is simple to understand and easy to read, I strongly urge you buy copies for politicians at every level of government.

I hope it never ends

This is one of the books I took out of the library yesterday, and I am so glad I did! This book its one of the best medical books geared for children I have ever read! I wish for tw othings, one, it will never end, and two, that there were more books in this series of unknown viruses. Thanks fo r a great read!