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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
tense
medium-paced
While the topic of this book is so important and fascinating I found the pacing of the book nott the best.
It may be fine, but I just can’t finish. It’s so boring I keep falling asleep reading it. Plus after rechecking 3 times, I’ve only made it 30%. Calling it quite! My TBR is too long to waste time on books I can’t get into.
Zoonotic diseases are reminders that we are in fact made of the same stuff as the rest of the natural world- viruses hijack our cells' replication mechanisms, bacteria lurking in a rat finds a home in our bodies, etc. Quammen takes a very thorough look at these for a popular audience, with each section about different types of disease or commonality that links many.
For instance, it never occurred to me that bats could be a huge, huge vector for types of viruses. But they do explain the spread of Nipah, Marburg, and possibly Ebola (very mobile, large population density, and when they poop it goes everywhere). Part historical view, part travelogue shadowing scientists in the field makes for a comprehensive picture of what is known and where to look next.
In the epilogue Quammen considers the word 'outbreak'- a giant population influx in a short amount of time, often used for disease but also for insects (like the cicada one due any time on the east coast). Insect outbreaks are usually kept in check by viruses. As we speed past 7 billion humans, we're certainly in the middle of our own outbreak on the planet so... are we due for a pandemic? The answer is probably yes, but we can be smart about our habits and practices to prevent a larger toll.
For instance, it never occurred to me that bats could be a huge, huge vector for types of viruses. But they do explain the spread of Nipah, Marburg, and possibly Ebola (very mobile, large population density, and when they poop it goes everywhere). Part historical view, part travelogue shadowing scientists in the field makes for a comprehensive picture of what is known and where to look next.
In the epilogue Quammen considers the word 'outbreak'- a giant population influx in a short amount of time, often used for disease but also for insects (like the cicada one due any time on the east coast). Insect outbreaks are usually kept in check by viruses. As we speed past 7 billion humans, we're certainly in the middle of our own outbreak on the planet so... are we due for a pandemic? The answer is probably yes, but we can be smart about our habits and practices to prevent a larger toll.
Really good research and writing that got slow at times.
One of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Also terrifying. But I learned a lot.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
I really like David Quammen’s writing style, he does a really great job of making his writing informative yet conversational and easy to digest. Some sections felt really long and drawn out but i think he did a great job presenting the information.