World war C Lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and how to prepare for the next one

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

"Despite our twenty-first-century medicine, glitzy computer modeling, and pandemic planning, we weren't ready" for Covid-19, warns CNN's chief medical correspondent Gupta (Keep Sharp) in this hope-filled survey. Gupta summarizes what the world got wrong in its response and lays out what can be done better next time--missteps include mixed-messaging from officials about mask effectiveness, a "lack of truth telling among our leaders," and a failure to enforce social distancing soon enough. The American death toll from Covid could have been much less had the right steps been taken in time, Gupta contends, and that preventable aspect adds urgency to his prescriptions for next steps, usefully framed as the acronym P.R.O.O.F.--Plan ahead, Rethink and rewire risk in your brain, Optimize health, Organize family, and Fight for the future of us. This five-point plan urges readers and governments alike: countries should make significant investments in universal vaccines that fight all coronaviruses and take a more global approach to vaccinations that prioritizes those at risk, while individuals will learn about how nutrition and eating well can arm them against pandemics. Realistic but never doom-and-gloom, this lands as a refreshing look forward. Agent: Bob Barnett, Williams & Connolly. (Oct.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

An Outside magazine correspondent whose award-winning journalism has appeared in venues ranging from the Atlantic to Wired, Borrell draws on exclusive emails and insider emails to track the race to produce The First Shots to protect against COVID-19; look for an HBO limited series. In Deep Denial, multi-award-winning CNN anchor Cuomo reflects on the fault lines in American society revealed by the pandemic--from a hobbled public health care system to a failure to commit to equality and racial justice--and more personal thoughts on home and family after he contracted COVID-19 and kept reporting from his basement (150,000-copy first printing). CNN chief medical correspondent, who's also been in the thick of COVID-19 reporting, Gupta gives us World War C, answering major questions on how the pandemic unfolded and what happens next, e.g., can we obliterate the virus and, if not, how do we live with it? (250,000-copy first printing). The pandemic has shown us the crucial work done in our communities by E.R. Nurses, and the mega-best-selling Patterson joins forces with Walk in My Combat Boots coauthor Matt Eversmann and Edgar finalist Chris Mooney to reveal the extent of our indebtedness.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A prominent physician offers timely counsel. Late in 2018, neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Gupta wrote an op-ed piece warning that a major pandemic was inevitable and calling for the development of new vaccines. While describing himself as "an eternal optimist," the author reprises that warning along with advice about how to "better predict, prepare, and respond." Gupta's overview of the U.S. response to the virus will be familiar to readers of mainstream media. With denial among many in Trump's circle and responsibility for public health spread over myriad departments, there was "division, dysfunction, and lack of truth telling among our leaders." In addition, "the general unhealthiness of Americans played a role," with chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease making people more vulnerable to Covid-19. Because the virus can be transmitted asymptomatically, testing of people who showed symptoms proved to be "too little, too late" in halting the spread. Gupta gives cogent, accessible explanations about the biology of viruses, how vaccines work, and how the immune system fights off pathogens. Yet he admits that much about coronaviruses is still unknown: about transmission, about why some people fall desperately ill while others are asymptomatic, about mutations, and about the persistence of long-term symptoms. "Can COVID hide out in the body and continue to inflict damage?" Gupta asks. "Can it persist long after the acute phase of illness has resolved?" Much of his book focuses on preparedness, including promoting digital literacy, making healthy life choices, assessing risk factors intelligently, and assembling a pandemic prep kit. He debunks anti-vaccination myths, such as that the mRNA vaccine was rushed or changes one's DNA or causes infertility. Our response to Covid-19, Gupta asserts convincingly, was a "multisystem organ failure, ranging from our poor health to our inflated sense of readiness." A wise, well-informed assessment of present and future health perils. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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