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October Mourning: A Novel of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic (Autographed)
 
 
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October Mourning: A Novel of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic (Autographed) [Paperback]

James (Author), Jr. Rada (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 12, 2005
In the midst of a World War, the true enemy was unseen.

It came with a handshake or a breath and it left behind 40 million dead.

In October 1918, World War I was winding down, but the world had yet to face the deadliest killer known. Spanish Flu would devastate the world.

In Cumberland, Maryland, Dr. Alan Keener, a young doctor fresh from medical school, suspects the flu has reached Allegany County. He wants to take steps to prevent its spread, but he is met with resistance from old-school doctors who believe that the fluÂ’s deadliness is overblown and easily treated.

They soon learn differently as the flu begins to spread throughout the county. No one is safe from its effects.

A street preacher named Kolas aids the fluÂ’s spread. During the delirium caused with his own bout with the flu, he believes he was anointed as the wrath of God and must spread to the flu to bring GodÂ’s retribu-tion on the world.

As Alan races along with other doctors trying to find some vaccine that works, he must deal with overwhelming sickness in the county. Nearly half of the residents have the flu and many are dying. Nurses and doctors are already in short supply because many are serv-ing in the war. It becomes a critical shortage now as many fall sick with the flu themselves and those left have a workload that would be overwhelming even if there had been no shortage.

The fight becomes personal for Alan as his daughter and then his wife fall victim to the flu. Can he find a treatment to keep them alive or will they become one of the millions who are dying?


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Rada is the author of seven novels. These include the historical novels Canawlers, Between Rail and River and The Rain Man. His other novels are LoganÂ’s Fire, Beast and My Little Angel.

He works as a reporter with the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, Maryland. Jim has received numerous awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, Associated Press, Maryland State Teachers Association and Community Newspapers Holdings, Inc. for his newspaper writing.

He lives with his wife, Amy, and sons, Ben and Sam, in Gettysburg, PA and is currently at work on his next novel.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 170 pages
  • Publisher: Legacy Publishing (December 12, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0971459932
  • ISBN-13: 978-0971459939
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,579,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good and very easy to read, April 17, 2006
By 
Paul Lappen (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: October Mourning: A Novel of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic (Autographed) (Paperback)
In late 1918, World War I is winding down, but America's major cities, like Boston and Philadelphia, are being decimated by Spanish Flu.

The disease hasn't yet reached Columbia, Maryland, where Dr. Alan Keener, fresh out of medical school, treats a young mother named Sarah. She is feeling sick and feverish, classic flu symptoms, for which she is told to go home and rest. Sarah is found dead the next day, her lungs full of fluid.

The local authorities are reluctant to declare a health emergency over one death. They become convinced after the local death toll starts climbing, fast. All indoor gatherings are banned. Church services are moved outside. The local bars and taverns are forcibly closed. People start acting justifiably paranoid, afraid to leave their houses unless absolutely necessary. It becomes personal for Alan when his 5-year-old becomes one of the fatalities, and his wife almost joins her.

A traveling snake-oil salesman gets the flu, and during his flu-induced delirium, he believes that he is visited by an Angel of God. Mankind is being tested; he has been given the name of Kolas, and told to spread the disease as much as possible. Those who don't die are the new Chosen of God. After nearly infecting Alan, Kolas is captured by the police, where he is "encouraged" to give up several samples of blood to be made into a vaccine. It helps to return things back to something approaching normal.

This is a very good, and very easy to read, novel about a famous, yet unknown, bit of 20th Century American history. While reading this book, in your mind, replace all mentions of "Spanish Flu" with "bird flu." Hmmm. . .
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2.0 out of 5 stars Where was his editor?, October 6, 2009
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This review is from: October Mourning: A Novel of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic (Autographed) (Paperback)
I read October Mourning with my book club. The story is so simple that it may be a good junior reader. The flu pandemic was covered well as a piece of history, but not as a good piece of literature. The language was very unsophisticated and I was astonished at the number of typos in the text.
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3.0 out of 5 stars October Mourning, October 6, 2009
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W. Stahl (Bucks County, Pa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: October Mourning: A Novel of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic (Autographed) (Paperback)
I was looking for a fictional history book about the 1918 flu that was not overwhelming in the scientific area surrounding this event. I found however that this book could have been written for a fifth grader. Sort of plain, not a grabbing story that I expected.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Spanish Flu, Board of Health, Father Wunder, Sarah Jenkins, Baltimore Street, Spanish Influenza, Allegany County, Centre Street, Pfeiffer's Bacillus, Lorene Sears, Riley's Patented Omni-Sol Health Elixir, John Carter, Joseph Lehman, Washington Street, Alan Keener, Jared Scell, Mechanic Street, Red Cross, Louis Stein, Cow Lewis, Cumberland Evening Times, Great War, Harriet Dinning, Virginia Avenue, Columbia Street
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