Minnesota, 1918: When Flu, Fire, and War Ravaged the State

Curt Brown’s “Minnesota 1918” is a page-turner based on the true stories of horror and hope in Minnesota during the last year of World War I. Readers will be glued to how Minnesotans dealt with three challenges in 1918 - all at once - including the 1918 Spanish Flu, Cloquet-Moose Lake fires and war loss. Based on extensive research by the author, you’ll find a treasure chest of stories, family interviews, black and white photos, and maps. And ironically, “Minnesota 1918” is eerily similar to the many challenges faced in 2021 with a global COVID pandemic that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of losses in America - on top of natural disasters and economic challenges. Everyone should read Brown’s historic book, especially now, to learn and be inspired by the strength of Minnesotans.

My brother encouraged me many times to read this book; I am so glad I did. I don’t believe I ever really knew of these events even though I grew up in Duluth. Yes, we had heard of the influenza and the fire but not to this magnitude.

I bought this book at the start of the pandemic. I come from the area the book is about snd found that I really didn't know much about the time and place where all of my grandparents lived at the time covered in the book. I knew about the fires, I knew about the war and I knew about the flu. But I had absolutely no idea about the effects when they all came together in 1918. The book is well written and easy to read. I highly recommend this book. It also helped me to understand why the Spanish Flu had such an effect on the lives of all citizens. It should also help us better understand why we need to be careful about this time in our world.

Good book. Tells of the political climate, raging fires, eve of war and a rampaging Pandemic. Pretty much like today during the Covid pandemic - or is it a scaredemic?

In historical terms, a hundred years isn't so very long, yet we know so little about this tragic year. I knew about the flu pandemic, but did not appreciate that in a few months it killed more Americans than WWI, WWII and the Vietnam War combined. Of course I knew about WWI, but not the terrible fires. My husband, who is from northern Minnesota, had heard the stories about people standing in the lake, throwing water on each other to keep the sparks from igniting their hair. Wow. Thanks, Curtis Brown, for this fascinating historical read.

I chose this book because I enjoy Curt Brown’s interesting Minnesota historical biographies in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I am finally reading it during the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s eerily similar and timely. This book is written in an engaging narrative way that takes me to a specific place and time.

This is a very enlightening book about an era I didn't know much about except from a cursory mention in my high school & college history books. This author brings it to life and gives one a picture of how different life in Minnesota was in early days and helps the reader understand the convergence of events that made 1918 a particularly trying year.

This was so sad I couldn’t finish. The tragic deaths of so many was too much for me.