Pale rider

" ... traces the overlooked [Spanish flu] pandemic to reveal how the virus travelled across the globe, exposing mankind's vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. [Discusses how] the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted--and often permanently altered--global politics, race relations and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts. [Argues] it was partly responsible ... for pushing India to independence, South Africa to apartheid and Switzerland to the brink of civil war ..."--OCLC.