Pale rider: the Spanish Flu of 1918 and how it changed the world

Coughs and sneezes

The monads of Leibniz

Ripples on a pond

Like a thief in the night

Disease eleven

The doctors' dilemma

The wrath of God

Chalking doors with crosses

The placebo effect

Good Samaritans

The hunt for patient zero

Counting the dead

Aenigmoplasma influenzae

Beware the barnyard

The human factor

The green shoots of recovery

Alternate histories

Anti-science, science

Healthcare for all?

War and peace

Melancholy muse

Afterword : on memory.

Introduction : the elephant in the room

Part one. The unwalled city. Coughs and sneezes ; The monads of Leibniz

Part two. Anatomy of a pandemic. Ripples on a pond ; Like a thief in the night

Part three. Manhu, or What is it? Disease eleven ; The doctors' dilemma ; The wrath of God

Part four. The survival instinct. Chalking doors with crosses ; The placebo effect ; Good Samaritans

Part five. Post mortem. The hunt for patient zero ; Counting the dead

Part six. Science redeemed. Aenigmoplasma influenzae ; Beware the barnyard ; The human factor

Part seven. The post-flu world. The green shoots of recovery ; Alternate histories ; Any-science, science ; Healthcare for all ; War and peace ; Melancholy music

Part eight. Roscoe's legacy. Afterword : on memory.