The Great Influenza

So I have been reading this book titled, "The Great Influenza" every day on the train, and besides being a truly fascinating book (really you should all read it), it defines public health (which is obviously a plus)- when I read it I thought I should share the definition with all of you- I really wanted to slap a "This is Public Health" sticker on it, but I didnt have any, and then i realized that would be lame since I already know what public health is.  Anyway here is the quote, 

"Public heath  was and is where the largest number of lives are saved, usually by understanding the epidemiology  of a disease- its patterns, where and how it emerges and spreads- and attacking it at its weak points. This usually mean prevention. Science had first contained smallpox, then cholera, then typhoid, then plague, then yellow fever, all through large-scale pubic health measures, everything from filtering water to testing and killing rats to vaccination. Public health measures lack the drama of pulling someone back from the edge f death, but they save lives by the millions."

Anyway it is a really interesting book, scary and a little upsetting, but worth the time. And just an FYI for John- the author loves epidemiology, he mentions it at least once a page.