isbn-13: 9780393881554
Audible
Michael Lewis’ book The Big Short was an eye-opening account of the financial crisis of 2008-2009 seen through the eyes of people who saw it coming and were able to profit from it.
His latest book The Premonition is a similar account of those in the US public health sector who saw this epidemic (or at least some viral epidemic) coming, in some cases many years prior. The difference is that nobody ended up profiting from it. Although much blame is rightfully placed on the Trump administration’s lack of interest in public health - they dismantled the pandemic response unit that the George W. Bush administration had created and that the Obama administration maintained - above all, this book is a sweeping indictment of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their inaction throughout the crisis.
The book points to systemic issues with the way public health is administered in the US and a sort of institutionalized cowardice at the heart of those systems.
Lots of potential heroes do surface in Lewis’ telling of our Pandemic story but a lot of the time they are just not listened to.
Highly recommended.
Publisher’s Description: “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.”