Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - Printable Version
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: Emergency (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-11.html)
+--- Forum: Covid-19 (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-12.html)
+--- Thread: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' (/thread-19515.html)
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: Emergency (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-11.html)
+--- Forum: Covid-19 (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-12.html)
+--- Thread: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' (/thread-19515.html)
Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - Genuine Realist - 04-23-2020
Erik Larson's book 'The Splendid and the Vile' is recommended reading for posters with some down time.
Why? The book is a colorful social history of Great Britain under the Blitz, i.e., a society under siege. There are all sorts of parallels with the present situation. The Blitz went on for nearly a year. The quantum of social resilience was much larger than anyone would have expected. I think the same thing will prove true of the US in the present situation.
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - stupac2 - 04-23-2020
I shared an article a while ago where a epidemiologist made the same comparison to the blitz, so you're definitely not the only one to think of it. I put in a hold on the ebook, #450 in line on 120 copies! It must be a popular one.
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - Genuine Realist - 04-23-2020
(04-23-2020, 08:25 AM)stupac2 Wrote: I shared an article a while ago where a epidemiologist made the same comparison to the blitz, so you're definitely not the only one to think of it. I put in a hold on the ebook, #450 in line on 120 copies! It must be a popular one.I don't know where you're situated in life, but the Kindle paperwhite and E-version are highly recommended. Kindle prices are beyond reasonable.
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - stupac2 - 04-23-2020
(04-23-2020, 08:28 AM)Genuine Realist Wrote:(04-23-2020, 08:25 AM)stupac2 Wrote: I shared an article a while ago where a epidemiologist made the same comparison to the blitz, so you're definitely not the only one to think of it. I put in a hold on the ebook, #450 in line on 120 copies! It must be a popular one.I don't know where you're situated in life, but the Kindle paperwhite and E-version are highly recommended. Kindle prices are beyond reasonable.
Yeah I have a kindle, getting books through the library is just my default. I'm currently slowly working my way through What Hath God Wrought, so I can wait. Losing my hour a day on BART, while in some ways beneficial to my sanity, has me reading a lot less. I should start taking the kindle with me when my kid wants to run around in the back yard instead of my phone...
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - Genuine Realist - 04-23-2020
(04-23-2020, 08:52 AM)stupac2 Wrote:We are drifting a bit, but I went through nearly all of the Oxford University books on American History, on Audible during my daily walk (now in my 15th year, so that's a lot of hours.) Are you reading in sequence or by interest? All were valuable, but McPherson's book on the Civil War and Stanford's own David Kennedy on FDR were invaluable.(04-23-2020, 08:28 AM)Genuine Realist Wrote:(04-23-2020, 08:25 AM)stupac2 Wrote: I shared an article a while ago where a epidemiologist made the same comparison to the blitz, so you're definitely not the only one to think of it. I put in a hold on the ebook, #450 in line on 120 copies! It must be a popular one.I don't know where you're situated in life, but the Kindle paperwhite and E-version are highly recommended. Kindle prices are beyond reasonable.
Yeah I have a kindle, getting books through the library is just my default. I'm currently slowly working my way through What Hath God Wrought, so I can wait. Losing my hour a day on BART, while in some ways beneficial to my sanity, has me reading a lot less. I should start taking the kindle with me when my kid wants to run around in the back yard instead of my phone...
The only ones I have skipped were general surveys that were criticized as too polemical. The 'Era' books, such as' God Wrought', were all terrific.
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - stupac2 - 04-23-2020
This is my first, I bought a hard copy ages ago on the recommendation of someone or other, no idea at this point. I got about 1/4 of the way through, but then started reading primarily through kindle and set it aside. I finally broke down and bought the kindle version and started back up. I actually wondered if other books in the series were worth looking into, but at the rate I've gone through God Wrought it would take me until 2050 to finish even a handful more!
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - Goose - 04-23-2020
On another thread I recommended Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson. I believe it relates very directly to the COVID-19 epidemic response. Many of the issues are similar to ones outlined in the book, as are many of the failures to do "the right thing". I think it is very worth reading.
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - BostonCard - 04-26-2020
I wonder if this plot sounds familiar:
https://www.amazon.com/End-October-novel-Lawrence-Wright/dp/0525658653
Quote:In the year 2020, a respiratory virus with mysterious origins spreads from Asia around the world, causing panic, quarantine and lockdown. This was the highly implausible scenario devised by Lawrence Wright when he began writing “The End of October”, his first novel, released on April 28th. The protagonist, Dr Henry Parsons, is an epidemiologist at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. He races around the world, trying to halt the deadly spread of “Kongoli virus”.
It's from the author of "The Looming Tower" and looks quite prescient.
BC
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - Genuine Realist - 04-26-2020
(04-26-2020, 11:48 AM)BostonCard Wrote: I wonder if this plot sounds familiar:And you are naive enough to believe this open confession is actually a work of fiction, eh?
https://www.amazon.com/End-October-novel-Lawrence-Wright/dp/0525658653
Quote:In the year 2020, a respiratory virus with mysterious origins spreads from Asia around the world, causing panic, quarantine and lockdown. This was the highly implausible scenario devised by Lawrence Wright when he began writing “The End of October”, his first novel, released on April 28th. The protagonist, Dr Henry Parsons, is an epidemiologist at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. He races around the world, trying to halt the deadly spread of “Kongoli virus”.
It's from the author of "The Looming Tower" and looks quite prescient.
BC
Shhhh. They're all around us. . .
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - BostonCard - 04-26-2020
It did occur to me that the ultimate publicity stunt would be to write a book about a viral pandemic originating in Asia and then unleash a virus in Asia.
BC
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - Genuine Realist - 04-26-2020
(04-26-2020, 06:16 PM)BostonCard Wrote: It did occur to me that the ultimate publicity stunt would be to write a book about a viral pandemic originating in Asia and then unleash a virus in Asia.Me as well. Maybe a better novel than the actual one coming out.
BC
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - BostonCard - 04-28-2020
JAMA of all places had a list of pandemics in film:
![[Image: m_jam200003t1.png?Expires=2147483647&Sig...RDK6RD3PGA]](https://cdn.jamanetwork.com/ama/content_public/journal/jama/0/m_jam200003t1.png?Expires=2147483647&Signature=iVaeJ9PgQ6E6PfhgV~JuACW3XKlU1mbw~zBI~QNMoGkeeBWW~EOOHgIHO3cYR0E33pATaHXyDm-w0mP7M-kGlL~QmyhXmk16lMreiB8HTA18vVXENdLQKSy-HFqub0XpL1I~q2eANpQXPvbqp5zBIX6YSa~cPEs6qYO7wYbpw8DcJnfNuny6NP9JwMWUNF~XYxK9H9trNbHz8R67z-BFMdbo0t7a~tk9zBJX~htaTSdqnVIzrCtL8EXfIz3AaY3d5q0EhsJnKpVanKw1uKlRZk36zLaeR0g0kgt9I9OiIE8lCxr4h9XJBZejcEaf4CFVUxAOiqDXHQuFeST3QJsTTA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA)
(hopefully not behind a paywall)
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2765300?guestAccessKey=8c0506a7-66c7-4313-82c5-ac1fd64c0c70&utm_source=silverchair&utm_campaign=jama_network&utm_content=covid_weekly_highlights&utm_medium=email
BC
RE: Erik Larson's Book - 'The Splendid and the Vile' - SamuelMcF - 04-28-2020
(04-28-2020, 03:58 PM)BostonCard Wrote: JAMA of all places had a list of pandemics in film:
(hopefully not behind a paywall)
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2765300?guestAccessKey=8c0506a7-66c7-4313-82c5-ac1fd64c0c70&utm_source=silverchair&utm_campaign=jama_network&utm_content=covid_weekly_highlights&utm_medium=email
BC
Nice find, BC! I just had some friends asking about relevant-to-the-times movies to watch, and we couldn't come up with too many.