A rather unsettling book to read during one of the worst flu seasons in years. . .

At times repetitive, I think that repetition added to the sheer massiveness of this pandemic. Jaw dropping statistics and details. I did find it difficult to keep track of the various scientists, but I think that's more me than the author.

Worth the read, especially as we approach the centennial.

This hit all the big points of 1917-1918--World War I, the suffrage movement, the influenza epidemic. And yet it didn't feel forced at all. Beautiful characters, beautiful writing. They all struggle and try to work through the big historical moments they're living through. Highly recommended! (and read the note at the end about the structure of the poetry first. Helped me think more about how it was written and glad I read it early on).

More thoughts here: http://kidlithistory.com/2018/01/16/my-feminist-winter-part-2/

Nina Simon is definitely on my list of museum thought leaders I admire, but this book didn't have the same impact on me as her first one did. It's all stuff that needs to be said to a lot of people in the field--but it's also a lot of stuff that we've been doing for years at my museum. It reinforced a lot of things I've been thinking about and working on over the last few years, but I can't say it sparked any new ideas.