Purple Death : The Mysterious Flu of 1918 [Hardcover]

David Getz (Author), Peter McCarty (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

It was the worst epidemic in this country's history, and the search for its cause is still one of science's most urgent quests.

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. 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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-This medical history begins by describing how the influenza of 1918 spread across the world, infecting 2 billion people and killing 20 to 40 million. Once symptoms began, death could take place within three hours, mostly from lack of oxygen that caused victims to turn purple when their lungs filled with blood due to the virus. The second half of the book is devoted to the efforts of scientists, once the pandemic subsided, to determine its cause. In 1918, no one had a microscope powerful enough to see a virus. Finding a sample of it was a challenge, and in 1951 scientists went to Alaska and Norway where diseased bodies were buried and preserved in permafrost. The author successfully relays the significance this epidemic had upon the world and the importance of continued study to prevent another occurrence. Black-and-white photographs enforce the reality of the crisis and soft, charcoal-pencil drawings capture the somber mood. The format of the book features large, inviting print with lots of white space on quality paper. 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.-Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Miamisburg, OH

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Like Virginia Aronson's The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 [BKL O 15 00], but for a younger audience, this account of the 1918 flu outbreak is like a horror story as well as a factual account of scientific research. "It was the deadliest six months in history. The flu infected nearly 2 billion people, just about everybody on the planet." In discussing what made this flu so deadly, Getz draws on his personal talks with several scientists, and his bibliography lists adult books as well as numerous recent newspaper articles. Without sensationalizing, he 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. There are occasional illustrations by David McCarty, as well as documentary photographs. And always there's the question, What if there's a pandemic today? Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (November 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080505751X
• ISBN-13: 978-0805057515
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,199,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent children's book about 1918 Flu, October 17, 2005

By 

zoomer "goldrocket" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purple Death : The Mysterious Flu of 1918 (Hardcover)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, May 27, 2008

By 

Mrs. Shannon M. Potter "Science Nerd" (Bedford, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Purple Death : The Mysterious Flu of 1918 (Hardcover)

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.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I hope it never ends, March 27, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Purple Death : The Mysterious Flu of 1918 (Hardcover)

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!