It was reported today Mr. Bush's reading list for his 33 day vacation (33 days?) includes John Barry`s wonderful work "The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History." Now I've read the book and I will commend Mr. Bush on his choice. I hope he learns one of the key points as to why the disease became so deadly: EVOLUTION.
Barry points out pretty clearly that the Influenza of 1917-19 was so deadly because the virus evolved. That's right, I said "evolved". Random mutations that allowed the virus to survive and become more deadly. It has been a couple years since I read the book, so I don't remember the specifics, but what I got from it was that viruses evolve and the process can often be seen over short periods of time. This is why evolution is so important. It's not just an explanation of how man came to be, but rather it is an explanation for how living things come into being and survive. I hope Mr. Bush takes the time to comprehend this, perhaps if he did his vacation would become more constructive than cutting down trees with a chain saw and hiding from a dead soldier's mother.