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How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics
by Michael T. Osterholm PhD MPH, Mark Olshaker
As bad as Covid-19 was, the next pandemic could be worse—but we have the tools to prepare, as revealed in this urgent, gripping warning by the New York Times bestselling authors of Deadliest Enemy.
The Covid-19 pandemic was the most devastating natural event of the last century, killing more than 7 million people around the globe, straining the fabric of societies internationally, and shaking the foundations of the global economy. And yet, as horrifying as the experience was, Covid-19 was not actually "The Big One" — the dreaded potential pandemic that haunts the nightmares of epidemiologists and public health officials everywhere, and which will alter life across the world on every meaningful level unless we are ready to deal with it. Indeed, even as we learn to live with Covid-19 and continue to recover from its worst effects, the next pandemic is already lurking around the corner—and it may very well be worse.
In The Big One, founding director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker examine past pandemics, highlighting the ways societies both succeeded and failed to address them; trace the Covid-19 pandemic and evaluate how it was handled; and look to the future, projecting what the next pandemics might look like and what must be done to mitigate them. Drawing on years of high-level research as well as cutting-edge analysis and an innovative hypothetical scenario threaded throughout each chapter, The Big One is a gripping, comprehensive, and urgent wake-up call. Because Covid-19 was just a taste of what's to come. If we're going to survive the next big pandemic, we need to be prepared.
"A clear-eyed examination of pandemic fault lines and what must be done to fix them….Osterholm [and] Olshaker weave a tale that at time borders on horror, interspersing the gripping story of the fictional virus with historical accounts of global pandemics and the experience of preparation and mitigation. But the story never veers too far into darkness without returning practical advice." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A powerful and persuasive rallying cry." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"With his unique blend of knowledge, communications skills, and Midwestern forthrightness, Michael Osterholm has made himself indispensable in the fight to understand and overcome global infections. In The Big One, he marshals this depth and breadth to prepare us for the struggle that surely will come." ―Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, author of The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science
"If there was one person to turn for future pandemic readiness, it would be Michael Osterholm, one of the world's leading epidemiologists. In The Big One, a landmark book, he, along with Mark Olshaker, provide a remarkably clear-eyed, science-driven, and comprehensive preventive approach." ―Eric Topol, MD, author of Deep Medicine and Super Agers
This information about The Big One was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dr. Michael Osterholm is Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, and the founding director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota. An internationally renowned epidemiologist, he has been at the forefront of public health preparedness, has led many outbreak investigations of international importance, and advises world leaders on the ever-growing list of microbial threats. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Living Terrors. His podcast series, "Osterholm Update: COVID-19," has been downloaded by more than 8 million listeners.
Mark Olshaker is a journalist, Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, and a New York Times bestselling author of five novels and twelve books of nonfiction. His books with FBI profiling pioneer John Douglas, including Mindhunter, the basis for the hit Netflix series, have sold millions of copies and offer a unique and intriguing perspective into behavioral science and criminal investigative analysis. He is also the coauthor with Dr. C.J. Peters of Virus Hunter.
Together, Dr. Michael Osterholm and Mark Olshaker are the authors of the New York Times bestseller Deadliest Enemy.
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