Conversation

Okay here we go. This will probably be the last of my pandemic reads. I picked this out of several on the Spanish Flu because it promised a global perspective. Let’s see if it delivers. Basic facts well known by now: 50-100m dead 1918-20, 2.5-5%. Lost in footnotes of WW1.
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WW1: 17m, WW2 60m, Black Death 75-200m (but much bigger in perfect terms, 1/3-1/2). Bigger than WW1+2 combined, much bigger than COVID at least so far, smaller than Black Death. Most deaths concentrated in 13 weeks in 1918, “broad in space, shallow in time” WW1 was opposite.
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