Apollo's arrow The profound and enduring impact of coronavirus on the way we live

Nicholas A. Christakis

Book - 2020

A deep, science-backed look at how the coronavirus pandemic will change the way we live forever -- from renowned physician and sociologist Nicholas Christakis. APOLLO'S ARROW offers a riveting account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on American society as it unfolded in 2020, and on how the recovery will unfold in the coming years. Drawing on a combination of fascinating case studies and cutting-edge research from a range of scientific disciplines, bestselling author, physician, and sociologist Nicholas Christakis explores what it means to live in a time of plague -- an experience that is paradoxically uncommon to the vast majority of humans who are alive, yet deeply fundamental to our species as a whole. Unleashing new divis...ions in our society and new opportunities for cooperation, this 21st century pandemic has upended our society in ways that will test, but not vanquish, our already frayed culture's capacity to endure and thrive. Featuring many novel, provocative arguments and vivid examples ranging across medicine, history, sociology, epidemiology, data science, and genetics, APOLLO'S ARROW envisions what happens when the great force of a deadly germ meets the enduring reality of our evolved social nature.

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Subjects
Published
New York : Little, Brown Spark, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc 2020.
Language
English
Main Author
Nicholas A. Christakis (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xvi, 368 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-356) and index.
ISBN
9780316628211
  • An infinitesimal thing
  • An old enemy returns
  • Pulling apart
  • Grief, fear, and lies
  • Us and them
  • Banding together
  • Things change
  • How plagues end.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Physician and sociologist Christakis (Blueprint), director of the Human Nature Lab at Yale University, delivers a comprehensive and evidence-based rundown of the Covid-19 pandemic from December 2019 to August 2020. He explains that genetic sequencing indicates Covid-19 most likely originated in bats, and details how Chinese officials "abruptly yielded to reality and changed course" after initially silencing doctors who warned of an outbreak in Wuhan. The Washington state man who was the first person to test positive in the U.S. on Jan. 20, 2020, doesn't appear to have infected anyone else, according to Christakis, and recent evidence suggests the disease was already present in other parts of the West Coast. Christakis also laments how recommendations against "universal mask adoption" undermined the credibility of U.S. authorities in the early months of the pandemic, and cites evidence of lower death rates in countries where mask wearing "had always been the norm." Taking the history of the bubonic plague in medieval Europe as a guide, he predicts that consumer spending "will come back with a vengeance" when the pandemic's "intermediate" period ends around 2024. Readers will be enlightened by this lucid, well-informed first draft of the history of Covid-19. (Oct.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

An authoritative analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic, from its beginning to its hoped-for end. Sociologist and physician Christakis, who directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale, offers a cogent, deeply informative overview of the coronavirus pandemic, taking into consideration the biology of the pathogen and the social, economic, psychological, and political impacts of the virus on society. Drawing on scientific, medical, and sociological research, he assesses the transmission of the virus, responses worldwide, and prognosis for the pandemic's end. In addition, he places Covid-19 in the context of past epidemics: plague in ancient Athens, the Black Death in medieval Europe, polio epidemics in 1916 and the 1950s, influenza in 1918, and HIV in the 1980s. "It's very important to emphasize that, as bad as COVID-19 is," writes the author, "it's not remotely as bad as epidemics of bubonic plague, cholera, or smallpox that have killed much larger fractions of the population and that have had much larger and longer-lasting effects." Nevertheless, he underscores the disastrous effect of inadequate responses, especially from the Trump administration: a "botched" rollout of early tests, lack of coherent national strategy, and repeated "denial and lies." It's inarguable, he writes, that "the lack of scientific literacy, capacity for nuance, and honest leadership hurt us." Christakis emphasizes the importance of wearing masks and enforcing social distancing, two interventions that slow the spread of the virus, which is essential while treatments and vaccines are being developed. While acknowledging "colossal uncertainty" about the future of the pandemic, he predicts that at least until 2022, Americans will live in a changed world. It will be necessary to wear masks, abstain from shaking hands, avoid crowds, and receive medical care online rather than in person. Hopefully, he writes, "one of the unexpected impacts…may be that a society that feels besieged by the threat of the virus will increasingly treat scientific information, and not just scientists, seriously." A welcome assessment of the reality of the epidemic that has changed our lives. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.