For those who could read between the lines, the censored news out of China was terrifying. But the president insisted there was nothing to worry about.
Fortunately, we are still a nation of skeptics. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios. Michael Lewis’s taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The characters you will meet in these pages are as fascinating as they are unexpected. A thirteen-year-old girl’s science project on transmission of an airborne pathogen develops into a very grown-up model of disease control. A local public-health officer uses her worm’s-eye view to see what the CDC misses, and reveals great truths about American society. A secret team of dissenting doctors, nicknamed the Wolverines, has …
For those who could read between the lines, the censored news out of China was terrifying. But the president insisted there was nothing to worry about.
Fortunately, we are still a nation of skeptics. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios. Michael Lewis’s taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The characters you will meet in these pages are as fascinating as they are unexpected. A thirteen-year-old girl’s science project on transmission of an airborne pathogen develops into a very grown-up model of disease control. A local public-health officer uses her worm’s-eye view to see what the CDC misses, and reveals great truths about American society. A secret team of dissenting doctors, nicknamed the Wolverines, has everything necessary to fight the pandemic: brilliant backgrounds, world-class labs, prior experience with the pandemic scares of bird flu and swine flu…everything, that is, except official permission to implement their work.
Michael Lewis is not shy about calling these people heroes for their refusal to follow directives that they know to be based on misinformation and bad science. Even the internet, as crucial as it is to their exchange of ideas, poses a risk to them. They never know for sure who else might be listening in.
This was interesting but on some level I think I wish it was a more definitive retelling of what happened nationwide during the early days of the pandemic and didn't just focus on California. I understand Lewis had to use the sources he had, but as a New Yorker, I wanted to read about how things were unfolding on the East Coast as well. I also thought the book ended somewhat abruptly and the bit about Charity burying a piece of herself next to that patient she thought she failed was weird and seemingly out of step with the rest of the book.
4.2 stars. I had read a LOT of books on pandemics prior to our current one, as the 1918 Flu and other pandemics have always been an interest of mine. This book focuses more on the socio-political aspects of epidemiology, rather than the origins or biology of the virus, and what it says about our preparedness for the next, potentially more deadly global pandemic. This is more “novelized” than I typically prefer, with compelling main characters and a dramatic narrative, but I really enjoyed it. It did a great job of laying out how and why our state of California led the way in smart and relatively rapid response, while the federal government completely dropped the ball — and lays a lot of blame at the feet of the CDC and how it has changed in the past several decades. Highly recommended.
Certainly a page turner and full of colorful characters written in Lewis' intelligent and witty style but I wish it were more rigorous. There seems to be an entire section of this book missing, which speaks to how entertaining it is to read Michael Lewis' work but also the narrow focus of this project, which is far more interested in drawing a picture of how American institutions of public health collaborate on their dysfunction. I'll admit, the portrait of the CDC was all new for me, and very convincing. I can't help but feel, after an election where nearly half of all Americans voted for an orange, idiotic villain, that the change we really need, the profound rethinking of the role of governmental institutions in our society (from police unions to public health administration), their keeping pace with technological advancements, and the integration of new, innovative solutions which can span …
Certainly a page turner and full of colorful characters written in Lewis' intelligent and witty style but I wish it were more rigorous. There seems to be an entire section of this book missing, which speaks to how entertaining it is to read Michael Lewis' work but also the narrow focus of this project, which is far more interested in drawing a picture of how American institutions of public health collaborate on their dysfunction. I'll admit, the portrait of the CDC was all new for me, and very convincing. I can't help but feel, after an election where nearly half of all Americans voted for an orange, idiotic villain, that the change we really need, the profound rethinking of the role of governmental institutions in our society (from police unions to public health administration), their keeping pace with technological advancements, and the integration of new, innovative solutions which can span the tumult of political temperature changes, are too difficult to implement. Not design, implement. Until a decisive political stance emerges from the ashes of the last 4 years it would seem all we can do is understand how broken our state has become.
