The wisdom of plagues: lessons from 25 years of covering pandemics

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McNeil, Donald G., Jr

McNeil, Donald G.

Duraleigh Road Community
Eva H. Perry Regional
Leesville Community
Middle Creek Community
North Regional
Northeast Regional
Oberlin Regional
Southeast Regional

Adult Non-Fiction

Duraleigh Road - Adult Non-Fiction
Eva H. Perry Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
Leesville Community - Adult Non-Fiction
Middlecreek Community - Adult Non-Fiction
North Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
Northeast Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
Oberlin Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
Southeast Regional - Adult Non-Fiction

"For millions of Americans, Donald McNeil was a comforting voice when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. He was a regular reporter on The New York Times's popular podcast The Daily and told listeners early on to prepare for the worst. He'd covered public health for twenty-five years and quickly realized that an obscure virus in Wuhan, China, was destined to grow into a global pandemic rivaling the 1918 Spanish flu. Because of his clear advice, a generation of Times readers knew the risk was real but that they might be spared by taking the right precautions. Because of his prescient work, The New York Times won the 2021 Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service. The Wisdom of Plagues is his account of what he learned over a quarter-century of reporting in over sixty countries. Many science reporters understand the basics of diseases, how a virus works, for example, or what goes into making a vaccine. But very few understand the psychology of how small outbreaks turn into pandemics, why people refuse to believe they're at risk, or why they reject protective measures like quarantine or vaccines. The COVID-19 pandemic was the story McNeil had trained his whole life to cover. His expertise and breadth of sources let him make many accurate predictions in 2020 about the course that a deadly new virus would take and how different countries would respond. By the time McNeil wrote his last New York Times stories, he had not lost his compassion, but he had grown far more stone-hearted about how governments should react. He had witnessed enough disasters and read enough history to realize that while every epidemic is different, failure was the one constant. Small case-clusters ballooned into catastrophe because weak leaders became mired in denial. Citizens refused to make even minor sacrifices for the common good. They were encouraged in that by money-hungry entrepreneurs and power-hungry populists. Science was ignored, obvious truths were denied, and the innocent too often died. McNeil offers tough, prescriptive advice on what we can do to improve global health and be better prepared for the inevitable next pandemic"--

Book

Books

6b819987-91a0-ddc0-7aa1-97f416583033

9781668001394

2025-05-11T09:20:08.194Z

-1

Non Fiction

Non Fiction

614.4 MCNEI

Wake County Public Libraries

Duraleigh Road Community
Eva H. Perry Regional
Leesville Community
Middle Creek Community
North Regional
Northeast Regional
Oberlin Regional
Southeast Regional

9781668001394

2024

Simon & Schuster

grouped_work

COVID-19 (Disease) -- History
Epidemiology
Pandemics
Preparedness
Virology

The wisdom of plagues : lessons from 25 years of covering pandemics

The wisdom of plagues : lessons from 25 years of covering pandemics / Donald G. McNeil Jr.

The wisdom of plagues

lessons from 25 years of covering pandemics

COVID-19 (Disease)
Epidemiology
History
Pandemics
Preparedness
Virology