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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
Awesome! Very readable account of current work on infectious diseases which reads like a thriller without being sensationalist.
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
H.O.L.Y. F*ck.
Reading this from the "other side" of SARS-CoV-2 and reading about just how much of a near miss we had with SARS itself is... breathtaking.
(Not that we are out of the woods with Covid-19 entirely yet, but the WHO *has* declared the "pandemic" phase over).
Thoroughly researched, directly interviewing involved scientist. Yet also eminently readable. Quammen can WRITE. The science is made interesting, personal, detailed enough to learn things without being bogged down in detail. Phenomenal.
And despite how relentlessly BAD the news is, there are moments of levity (The Ugandan Cave Rescue comment in particular, as other reviews has noted). The story telling of the possible development of HIV back into the start of the 20th century is a lovely, different touch.
I'm also left wondering whether the native bats here in NZ are harbouring anything we should know about. Given they've evolved alone for millions of years, who knows??? Is it being researched?
Reading this from the "other side" of SARS-CoV-2 and reading about just how much of a near miss we had with SARS itself is... breathtaking.
(Not that we are out of the woods with Covid-19 entirely yet, but the WHO *has* declared the "pandemic" phase over).
Thoroughly researched, directly interviewing involved scientist. Yet also eminently readable. Quammen can WRITE. The science is made interesting, personal, detailed enough to learn things without being bogged down in detail. Phenomenal.
And despite how relentlessly BAD the news is, there are moments of levity (The Ugandan Cave Rescue comment in particular, as other reviews has noted). The story telling of the possible development of HIV back into the start of the 20th century is a lovely, different touch.
I'm also left wondering whether the native bats here in NZ are harbouring anything we should know about. Given they've evolved alone for millions of years, who knows??? Is it being researched?
A very interesting book for someone who likes epidemiology, and also very timely for our current pandemic. This book goes through various outbreaks and pandemics throughout history, tracing how these viruses could have entered the human population through contact with infected animals. These viruses are harder to eradicate and can be devastating.
The first 200 or so pages went by really quickly for me, but after that it started to drag a bit. There was a lot of description about his travels, and I found myself skimming over some of it. I also wasn’t a fan of how he described some of the food he was offered on these travels.
Overall, a good read for anyone interested in epidemiology.
The first 200 or so pages went by really quickly for me, but after that it started to drag a bit. There was a lot of description about his travels, and I found myself skimming over some of it. I also wasn’t a fan of how he described some of the food he was offered on these travels.
Overall, a good read for anyone interested in epidemiology.
informative
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Atruky captivating book, especially during the SARS-COVID19 Outbreak. Around pages 420-460 it gets weird when the author tries to create a story around a fictional Patient Zero with AIDS; it helps to describe the sheer luck/fluke that still affects us to this date. But I'm especially impressed by how the end of the story focuses on influenza virus. We've known about coronavirus' for decades, and yet we are still blindsided by their effects
Wow, I didn't want this book to end. This type of book is right up my alley. I've always been fascinated by virology, epidemiology and apocalyptic topics, and as a veterinary technician student, zoonotic diseases are of special concern to me. Spillover is a big book but at no point did my interest wane. I took a microbiology class last semester which definitely helped me better comprehend the content....I already had a sound knowledge of DNA, RNA, retroviruses, structure and replication, PCR etc. going into the book.