“All gods dead, all faiths in man shaken”

New York Times bestseller John M. Barry knows viruses. And pandemics. His book “The Great Influenza” is widely hailed as an outstanding contribution to science and medicine. In an exclusive interview with Die Weltwoche, Barry lays bare what we need to do, now, to protect ourselves from a pattern of viral infection that he has studied closely and knows all too well.

It’s the summer of 1918. The Spanish Flu has not yet struck the United States at full force.  Its first pass has been relatively mild.  The second wave has yet to crest and crash.  “In fact, it was more like a great tsunami that initially pulls water away from the shore,” award winning author John M. Barry describes of the yet hidden undertow.

“All gods dead, all faiths in man shaken”

Then it strikes.  Young, ...