Tulane University best-selling authors Walter Isaacson, John Barry to host virtual discussion on April 29

Tulane best-selling authors Walter Isaacson and John Barry will host a virtual discussion on Wednesday, April 29 at 5 p.m.

Tulane University professors, leading thinkers and best-selling authors Walter Isaacson and John Barry, adjunct faculty at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, will host the first New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University Virtual Discussion at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29.

Isaacson, an acclaimed biographer, will interview Barry, the author of the definitive work on the 1918 flu pandemic, The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History, and discuss how that 102-year-old pandemic mirrors the current COVID-19 pandemic, among other topics. Tulane President Mike Fitts will introduce the two authors to the audience. Sign up here to register and participate in this informative and compelling discussion. The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History is available for purchase by clicking here.

Barry is an award-winning and acclaimed best-selling author whose books have also involved him in policymaking. The National Academies of Science named The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history, the outstanding book on science or medicine for 2004.

Barry’s articles have appeared in scientific journals such as Nature and Journal of Infectious Diseases and in popular media such as The New York Times, Esquire, TIME magazine, and The Washington Post. He has also been a guest on every major broadcast network in the United States.

Isaacson is the past CEO of the Aspen Institute, where he is now a Distinguished Fellow, and the former chairman of CNN and former editor of TIME magazine. His most recent biography, Leonardo da Vinci (2017), offers new discoveries about Leonardo’s life and work, weaving a narrative that connects his art to his science.