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Title details for Breathless by David Quammen - Available

Breathless

The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus

by David Quammen
Jacques Roy
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
National Book Award finalist Breathless tells the story of the worldwide scientific race to decipher the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, trace its source, and make possible the vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic—a "luminous, passionate account of the defining crisis of our time" (The New York Times).
Breathless is a "gripping" (The Atlantic) but "clear-eyed analysis" (Time) of SARs-CoV-2 and its fierce journey through the human population, as seen by the scientists who study its origin, its ever-changing nature, and its capacity to kill us. David Quammen expertly shows how strange new viruses emerge from animals into humans as we disrupt wild ecosystems and how those viruses adapt to their human hosts, sometimes causing global catastrophe. He explains why this coronavirus will probably be a "forever virus," destined to circulate among humans and bedevil us endlessly, in one variant form or another. As scientists labor to catch it, comprehend it, and control it, with their high-tech tools and methods, the virus finds ways of escape.

Based on interviews with nearly one hundred scientists, including leading virologists in China and around the world, Quammen explains that:
-Infectious disease experts saw this pandemic coming
-Some scientists, for more than two decades, warned that "the next big one" would be caused by a changeable new virus—very possibly a coronavirus—but such warnings were ignored for political or economic reasons
-The precise origins of this virus may not be known for years, but some clues are compelling, and some suppositions can be dismissed
-And much more

Written by "one of our finest explainers of the natural world for decades" (Chicago Tribune), This "compelling and terrifying" (The New York Times) account is an unparalleled look inside the frantic international race to understand and control SARS-CoV-2—and what it might mean for the next potential global health crisis.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    October 4, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797145747
      • File size: 386963 KB
      • Duration: 13:26:10

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from August 1, 2022
      Science journalist Quammen (Spillover) recounts in page-turning detail the scientific response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many scientists, the author writes, have seen a covid-like pandemic coming for years, thanks in part to the 2003 SARS outbreak that ended up being something of “a rehearsal,” though one that made “the significance of super-spreaders... painfully clear.” But SARS-CoV-2, aka the virus that causes Covid-19, is different in its makeup, and parts of its genome made “the virus more capable of infecting humans.” As well, Quammen breaks down how viruses jump from animals to humans, explains that “this virus is going to be with us forever” as it continues to adapt, and makes a convincing case that “we should stop thinking about the ‘origin’ of SARS-CoV-2, and proceed by thinking about its origins, plural.” Terms, such as RNA, “variant,” and “herd immunity” are accessibly explained, and the narrative is punctuated with vivid portraits of such scientists as Anthony Fauci; Zhengli Shi, a senior scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology; and molecular virologist Michael Worobey, who tracked the virus’s evolution. This is a must-read for anyone looking to get a better handle on the pandemic so far. Agent: Amanda Urban, ICM Partners.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Quammen's focus is on the science of COVID-19--its nature, development, and possible origin--in a study that is complex and often technical. Narrator Jacques Roy negotiates the details deftly, maintaining the intelligent dispassion of a newsman or documentary narrator but with the amiable, intimate manner of an expert recounting a story in a personal conversation. His expressiveness and naturally varying tones convey not only the facts, but also Quammen's take on them, including occasional authorial sarcasm delivered with a muted but telling edge. His ability to engage the listener even with the denser passages makes him the perfect companion for this sometimes microscopic examination of virological science and the illness that currently plagues us. W.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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