Summary of Steven Johnson's Extra Life

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The stretch of the Kansas River just north of Junction City, Kansas, has military roots that date back to 1853, when a post was established to protect travelers heading west in the years after the California gold rush. In 1917, as the United States prepared for the American entry into World War I, a small city was erected to train Midwestern soldiers headed overseas. #2 The 1918 flu was a new strain of the H1N1 virus that spread quickly throughout the American army bases in Kansas, and eventually around the world. #3 The second wave of the Spanish flu in 1918 was much more deadly than the first. It first became apparent at Camp Devens, an overcrowded military base in Boston, where one fifth of the population contracted the virus, a morbidity rate that exceeded that of the H1N1 outbreak at Camp Funston. #4 The pandemic of 1918-1919 was especially lethal among young adults, and it took its toll on life expectancy in the entire country. In England and Wales, where life expectancy had been rising for a half century, a virus amplified by war undid it all in just three years.