The Premonition: A Pandemic Story
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-06 12:31:17
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael Lewis
- ISBN：171363189X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Amy
，
You might be thinking it’s “too soon” for a book about the pandemic， but talk of Covid-19 doesn’t even start until 50 percent in AND Michael Lewis is just such a great storyteller。 The characters （real people） are so fascinating too。 I would definitely recommend。
Kathy Jackson
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WOW！ Somehow， you knew it was bad， but you didn't know how BAD。 Is it better not to know， or to be thankful you survived。 Everything in this country is based on GREED。 So sad。 WOW！ Somehow， you knew it was bad， but you didn't know how BAD。 Is it better not to know， or to be thankful you survived。 Everything in this country is based on GREED。 So sad。 。。。more
Judy Frabotta
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Lewis is such a good writer and there's nothing more topical。 I hope this pandemic is a wake up call because it could have been so much worse。 Also my condolences to him。 Lewis is such a good writer and there's nothing more topical。 I hope this pandemic is a wake up call because it could have been so much worse。 Also my condolences to him。 。。。more
Andrew Kaplan
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fantastic
Beverly Patterson
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Beyond what you're told。Excellent book to give the reader （and John Q Public） an inside look at the political area， the healthcare management， and greed of American businesses in regards to how our government operates。 Yet through all the lies， mismanagement and bad business， there are people ready to dig in， stand their ground and make sacrifices for our citizens。 Revealing， shocking and criminal what is allowed to happen to good people。 It left me sad about our country but optimistic that we c Beyond what you're told。Excellent book to give the reader （and John Q Public） an inside look at the political area， the healthcare management， and greed of American businesses in regards to how our government operates。 Yet through all the lies， mismanagement and bad business， there are people ready to dig in， stand their ground and make sacrifices for our citizens。 Revealing， shocking and criminal what is allowed to happen to good people。 It left me sad about our country but optimistic that we can do better。 。。。more
Scott
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It's a rare thing to pick up a book where the story is still being written。 In the years to come， there will be volumes of books examining every aspect of the Covid-19 catastrophe， which is perhaps why Lewis chose to append "A Pandemic Story" to his title。 It's not the only pandemic story， but as with everything he writes， it's a good one。 The book has all the Michael Lewis hallmarks: a cast of heroic characters that challenge the status quo， propulsive writing that exposes broken systems， and t It's a rare thing to pick up a book where the story is still being written。 In the years to come， there will be volumes of books examining every aspect of the Covid-19 catastrophe， which is perhaps why Lewis chose to append "A Pandemic Story" to his title。 It's not the only pandemic story， but as with everything he writes， it's a good one。 The book has all the Michael Lewis hallmarks: a cast of heroic characters that challenge the status quo， propulsive writing that exposes broken systems， and top notch story telling that makes him such a joy to read。 Serving as a companion piece to The Fifth Risk， rather than celebrate the role of government， Lewis shines a light on when government doesn't work at all。 In this case， the bureaucracy he burrows in on is the CDC and its inept response to the public health crisis。 The central question he asks on behalf of all of us is how could a country with the resources of the United States deliver the worst response and outcome in the world？ Spoiler alert: it's not all on Trump's shoulders。 Lewis introduces us to a half dozen or so public health crusaders to tell the story， jumping back and forth in chronology to conclude that the CDC's inaction and ineptitude was due largely to a deeply ingrained fear of taking the wrong action for which they'd later be blamed。 No matter that George W Bush， after reading a book on the 1918 influenza on his summer vacation in 2005， commissioned a $7B pandemic response strategy that basically had the blueprint for all the response actions that were required - and eventually used albeit ineffectively， inconsistently and in many cases too late。 It certainly didn't help that John Bolton， shortly after being named NSA chief， fired everyone on the bio threat team in 2018。 But Lewis makes a pretty damning case that it's not bad people， it's bad systems。If you want to quibble， the book doesn't offer any solutions， short of restoring the CDC director as a civil servant and removing the political appointment。 If anything it leaves the reader wondering if we'll be any better off when the next pandemic hits。 。。。more
Kathleen Hynes
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As a former public health nurse， I was entranced with the ability of people， from a 7th grader to top scientists and physicians， to creatively work with ways of containing and preventing a lethal disease。 What shocked me was the complete absence of a nationwide public health system and the politicalization of the CDC。 Rather than actively fighting disease， the CDC focuses on prestige and power and prevents others from updating and innovating our public health system which needs it badly。 The cha As a former public health nurse， I was entranced with the ability of people， from a 7th grader to top scientists and physicians， to creatively work with ways of containing and preventing a lethal disease。 What shocked me was the complete absence of a nationwide public health system and the politicalization of the CDC。 Rather than actively fighting disease， the CDC focuses on prestige and power and prevents others from updating and innovating our public health system which needs it badly。 The characters in the book were fascinating and made the book a real page turner。 I need to reread the book because I was so excited reading it and went over some of the scientific parts too quickly。 。。。more
Pat
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Outstanding book！I hope Charity Dean receives the Presidential Metal of Freedom。 This book clearly tells the incredible story of the many people who actually saved America from the Covid-19 pandemic。
Apoorva Choudhari
，
This book is a huge shout-out to lesser known folks of the American public health who contributed immensely to help combat the pandemic and its consequences。 All of them are silent warriors who often go unnoticed。 The book covers their past experiences with public health and their journey leading up to last year。 The stories are truly inspiring and provoke an introspection of the year that was。 Highly recommended。
Bco4
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Great read， especially on how innovative some doctors/public health officers can be。 Devastating too how government and authorities can choose to ignore good ideas。 Expect it is similar in many other countries - just remember the UK government's initial response to Covid and some of Cummings' quotes。。。 The last part seems to lose the thread a little。 Perhaps it would have been better to have waited till the research could be completed up to Biden's assumption of responsibility。 In addition， I fo Great read， especially on how innovative some doctors/public health officers can be。 Devastating too how government and authorities can choose to ignore good ideas。 Expect it is similar in many other countries - just remember the UK government's initial response to Covid and some of Cummings' quotes。。。 The last part seems to lose the thread a little。 Perhaps it would have been better to have waited till the research could be completed up to Biden's assumption of responsibility。 In addition， I found the frequent change of perspective， time and people， confusing at times。Still it had me riveted。 Recommended！ 。。。more
John Scherer
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4。5 stars。 Lewis is a master of weaving tales inhabited by "everymen and everywomen" to tackle often complicated subject matters。 Rather than provide a linear story of the pandemic， Lewis deftly tells the stories of the unsung heroes of the U。S。 response， and the frustrations and challenges they battled。 Well worth your time， especially as a summer read。 4。5 stars。 Lewis is a master of weaving tales inhabited by "everymen and everywomen" to tackle often complicated subject matters。 Rather than provide a linear story of the pandemic， Lewis deftly tells the stories of the unsung heroes of the U。S。 response， and the frustrations and challenges they battled。 Well worth your time， especially as a summer read。 。。。more
Gail
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Mind Blown！ Hard to put down but took my time to absorb what I was learning。 Easy read page turner。 Explains what was really going on behind the scenes and how the CDC went from an agency to protect us to one who was protecting itself。 Wonderful American citizens， doctors， scientists and data people who stepped in when the CDC and Federal government sat on the sidelines in denial。 Can’t even imagine where we would be today if these folks， many who volunteered hours of time and money， didn’t step Mind Blown！ Hard to put down but took my time to absorb what I was learning。 Easy read page turner。 Explains what was really going on behind the scenes and how the CDC went from an agency to protect us to one who was protecting itself。 Wonderful American citizens， doctors， scientists and data people who stepped in when the CDC and Federal government sat on the sidelines in denial。 Can’t even imagine where we would be today if these folks， many who volunteered hours of time and money， didn’t step up to the challenge。 Michael Lewis takes epidemiology and statistics and turns it into a page turner。 。。。more
Sophia Lai
，
I would recommend this book to everyone to read。 A page-turning non-fiction thriller about a group of scientific misfits who saw it coming， what nobody else did。 These are people who drive extreme tough decision by sticking out their neck and bearing the ultimate responsibility given the inherent uncertainty of the situation。 All in all， it is about bravery， a flicker of hope in a time of despair。 The hard truth about infectious disease was that there was never time to wait for more evidence。 Th I would recommend this book to everyone to read。 A page-turning non-fiction thriller about a group of scientific misfits who saw it coming， what nobody else did。 These are people who drive extreme tough decision by sticking out their neck and bearing the ultimate responsibility given the inherent uncertainty of the situation。 All in all， it is about bravery， a flicker of hope in a time of despair。 The hard truth about infectious disease was that there was never time to wait for more evidence。 The longer it takes to make decisions， the more likely people would die waiting。 Sadly bravery come with a cost。 Sins of commission vs sins of omission。 If you were to choose， which one would you take？ 。。。more
Brenton
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The Premonition reads like a good magazine article that has been unwisely stretched into a book。 The prose is excellent， and the book is easy to read — no surprise for Lewis。 But does this book have a central point， besides the quite obvious observation that we weren’t ready for the pandemic and we didn’t listen to the people who had a plan？Secondarily: While just about anything would have been better than what the Trump administration did， I think Lewis overstates the prowess of his main source The Premonition reads like a good magazine article that has been unwisely stretched into a book。 The prose is excellent， and the book is easy to read — no surprise for Lewis。 But does this book have a central point， besides the quite obvious observation that we weren’t ready for the pandemic and we didn’t listen to the people who had a plan？Secondarily: While just about anything would have been better than what the Trump administration did， I think Lewis overstates the prowess of his main sources。 What ended up working in places like South Korea and Taiwan was test-trace-isolate， not merely the school closures and physical distancing advocated by his subjects。I am glad to have learned more about Carter Mecher and Charity Dean， both of whom （unlike the other main characters of this story） have interesting lives and ideas。 A straightforward biography of either of them would have been better than this meandering effort。 。。。more
Steven Edmondson
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This is， low-key， almost a deconstructive book。 The shape it takes is so familiar at this point - it has that New Yorker long-read narrative voice， takes a group of plucky outsiders， artistic thinkers working within very much non-artistic bounds， and shows how they turned their industry upside down。 What makes The Premonition interesting is that it takes the grooves you'll know or'll have absorbed via cultural osmosis from stories like Moneyball and The Big Short， latches onto to a group of peop This is， low-key， almost a deconstructive book。 The shape it takes is so familiar at this point - it has that New Yorker long-read narrative voice， takes a group of plucky outsiders， artistic thinkers working within very much non-artistic bounds， and shows how they turned their industry upside down。 What makes The Premonition interesting is that it takes the grooves you'll know or'll have absorbed via cultural osmosis from stories like Moneyball and The Big Short， latches onto to a group of people who tried to mitigate the worst of the pandemic， who'd managed to cut through the noise and who could see a way out - but then they just totally fail。 It feels like genuine whiplash， reading one of *these* books， which always tend to affirm a certain narrative course， only for none of it to come together。 The book's interesting - worth reading even as it feels a bit premature and stunted。 The first four-fifths of the book are written as though they're inching towards a breakthrough。 The book then realises the breakthrough won't come - that the US was dead in the water from about last April on - and basically just ends。 I think in that respect actually， while there's loads interesting here， and it's a pacy and engaging read。 It does feel premature though。 And it stops too soon， kind of feels like Lewis's sources were too burned out to really reflect on what a failure state， in these conditions， properly feels like。 So， like， it feels like an interesting failed attempt to write a certain type of book about an event， for which being a plucky outsider with a different perspective on an ossified system wasn't， in the end， enough。 As opposed to properly devastating book it couldve been about failure。 It traces out a fair bit about how bad the situation is， how poorly it bodes for future political and natural crises。 But it does so fairly cursorily， just like everyone's too tired to really think about it。 Kind of interesting to think as well that had the team's plan been a success， Trump would've almost certainly won a second term。 I looked up some of the major players， the people who understood how to approach the pandemic， or at least how to effectively triage the situation， but who were frozen out or hounded out and who basically just quit。 One of them's just posting Star Wars memes now。 Episode Nine memes at that。 We are screwed。 。。。more
Josh
，
I remember reading The Fifth Risk in February of 2020， and then watching everything Lewis wrote about the neglect of governmental expertise exacerbate the pandemic， and couldn't stop thinking how prescient he was。 And this book could have easily been a victory lap， but he he manages to find even more nuance here， as the CDC， which seems like it should be a bastion of apolitical expertise， comes in for the greatest skewering rather than the Trump administration。 This is the remarkable story of a I remember reading The Fifth Risk in February of 2020， and then watching everything Lewis wrote about the neglect of governmental expertise exacerbate the pandemic， and couldn't stop thinking how prescient he was。 And this book could have easily been a victory lap， but he he manages to find even more nuance here， as the CDC， which seems like it should be a bastion of apolitical expertise， comes in for the greatest skewering rather than the Trump administration。 This is the remarkable story of a largely self-taught， self-directed group who became experts in mitigating pandemics before vaccines were developed， and how they managed to not be in places to have that advice heard in time to contain the coronavirus。 Lewis' knack for finding the most interesting people in a field shines through again - the doctors here are the kind of people we should have listened to in January and February - and his ability to breezily offer context and clarity to such intimidating fields as epidemiology and genomics makes him a masterful storyteller for the uninitiated。 。。。more
Jeff Korte
，
Who knew we had a history with this？I really enjoyed the story weaved here that incorporated history as well as current day。 The hollowing out of the federal response to crises creates an interesting conflict to explore。
Margo
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Very engaging story。 This book poses lots of questions and provides very few answers。
Liz Hobbins
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Reads like a thriller - I couldn’t put it down。Lewis tells the stories of several （initially） unconnected people in various areas of health care or technology， and how their interests/careers over time led them to be involved in pandemic planning during the Bush 2/Clinton/Obama/Trump administrations。 This book is not a lecture on what went wrong during our current pandemic， but it does lay out the inevitable path。Highly recommend！！
Peter Murray
，
Lewis shows us in his typical boots-on-the-ground journalism that our inept response to the pandemic would likely have not been much better with more competence in the White House。 Our system is simply broken at so many levels。 Important to catalogue， but as this book demonstrates knowledge of the problem and having solutions to fix it will undoubtedly change nothing。
HM
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A wonderful look at some of the unsung hero responsible for pandemic management。
Nancy Bain
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Brilliant people in dysfunctional systemsMichael Lewis finds stories of exceptional people who are able to transcend systems or situations in unique ways。 Who would have thought the botched pandemic response in the western world had many amazing people that lessened the tragedy in ways that are not readily seen。
Doug
，
First -- I really enjoyed this story。 I think I most enjoy the timing of the read。 This entire narrative was constructed by the author over the course of the pandemic and now I get to read it with the knowledge and perspective that I have after the pandemic is starting to subside and having seen everything we've done as a country。I found a lot of things extremely interesting regarding social distancing and school closures and how the key characters made comments about pandemics spreading like fi First -- I really enjoyed this story。 I think I most enjoy the timing of the read。 This entire narrative was constructed by the author over the course of the pandemic and now I get to read it with the knowledge and perspective that I have after the pandemic is starting to subside and having seen everything we've done as a country。I found a lot of things extremely interesting regarding social distancing and school closures and how the key characters made comments about pandemics spreading like fires -- if you didn't use your fire extinguishers early enough， the fire would have spread too far too fast for any of it to have made a difference。 It's extremely difficult how effective the measures would have been if only implemented sooner or how effective the measures we took actually were。 Maybe all we did by shutting down our country was throw a fire extinguisher on a wildfire。 Making decisions like this are _extremely_ difficult。I like the way Michael Lewis tells a story， and this book was no different。 One key difference was the way to reacted to some of the characters。 Some of them seemed entirely too self important， like they had all the answers -- and generally Lewis's previous narratives have painted pictures of characters I liked a lot more and enjoyed reading about。 I'm not entirely sure what gives there， but I found myself yelling at no one in particular while listening to the audiobook on my run because of something one of the characters was doing/saying。At any rate， it doesn't paint a very rosy view of our future。 Not sure that government or billionaire philanthropists are capable of saving us from ourselves。 Nasty little species we are。 But also incredibly amazing， innovative， and can accomplish amazing things together。 One day we'll get it？ 。。。more
James Pilcher
，
Great ExplanationA very good explanation of the historical past of pandemics。 The people that made this their work to help the country survive a pandemic were interesting。
Jordan
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This is an important book for the understanding of the failure of the United States to address COVID-19 in a way that minimized the loss of life of the pandemic。 Some simpler summaries are that we didn't know this could happen （Trump supporters） or that the failure was entirely because of Trump's intransigence and magical thinking （Trump detractors）。 As usual， Michael Lewis delves deeper and finds people who know the nuances。 Yes， the Trump administration had challenges， but partially as a resul This is an important book for the understanding of the failure of the United States to address COVID-19 in a way that minimized the loss of life of the pandemic。 Some simpler summaries are that we didn't know this could happen （Trump supporters） or that the failure was entirely because of Trump's intransigence and magical thinking （Trump detractors）。 As usual， Michael Lewis delves deeper and finds people who know the nuances。 Yes， the Trump administration had challenges， but partially as a result of what was seen as a failure on Swine Flu， the leadership of the CDC was made a political appointment during the Reagan administration。 Then， whichever party was in control， the job kept leadership revolving and the leadership was clearly slanted towards sycophancy， not skill。 Even well-meaning people in the role of CDC Director， and likely all of them have been， were selected because there was some level of agreement with the Administration。 Lewis also finds people at the ground level， such as Dr。 Charity Dean， who as a local health official in Santa Barbara County， California learned that no one was coming to rescue her， not the state government， not the federal government， not the CDC。 She took this knowledge to Sacramento， where as the assistant director of the California Department of Public Health， she was both close to the action leading up to the response to COVID-19， but was also told to stay out of it （though she had much more knowledge about infectious disease management than her boss。So the story that Michael Lewis details is one where the politicians （of both parties） tended to be cautious when they should be aggressive。 And it's a story of the deadliness of ineptitude and careerist caution when there is serious and risky work to be done。 。。。more
Bruce Bales
，
Michael Lewis is an excellent writer。 An interesting inside people that tried to get the government to react to the pandemic。The author really gets you to know the people of the book and very well
Suellen Darblay
，
Riveting！It’s rare that I give 5 stars， but this one certainly deserves it。 Michael Lewis has done a phenomenal job in tracking the behind the scenes events that led up to the 2020 pandemic。 Not only does the book grab and keep my attention for its page turning discoveries of what happened， who did what， and Are you kidding me moments， but it also leaves me saddened and dumbfounded about the truths in the American political machine that exist， and maybe not just during the trump era。 His ability Riveting！It’s rare that I give 5 stars， but this one certainly deserves it。 Michael Lewis has done a phenomenal job in tracking the behind the scenes events that led up to the 2020 pandemic。 Not only does the book grab and keep my attention for its page turning discoveries of what happened， who did what， and Are you kidding me moments， but it also leaves me saddened and dumbfounded about the truths in the American political machine that exist， and maybe not just during the trump era。 His ability to research the previous near-pandemic events， the people involved， and bring them all together here is pretty incredible。 。。。more
Nathan Look
，
Pretty scathing review of on the ineptitude of CDC， the somewhat negligent behaviour of the federal government， and the lack of a strong public healthcare system in the USA。 Too bad about CDC becoming a politicized government body。 Overall， I enjoyed Lewis's pulling back of the curtain to see what has been going on behind the scenes to USA's pandemic response。 He's a great storyteller。And with his storytelling chops， came a fairly one sided narrative， where his group of "protaganist" doctors com Pretty scathing review of on the ineptitude of CDC， the somewhat negligent behaviour of the federal government， and the lack of a strong public healthcare system in the USA。 Too bad about CDC becoming a politicized government body。 Overall， I enjoyed Lewis's pulling back of the curtain to see what has been going on behind the scenes to USA's pandemic response。 He's a great storyteller。And with his storytelling chops， came a fairly one sided narrative， where his group of "protaganist" doctors come out as prescient heroes， and everyone else comes off as dumb， scared， or a mixture of both。 For instance， would have loved to have heard from the CDC and Sonia Angell （basically a villain） to get 2 sides of the story， not just one。 Using one of his terms， there really seems to be a "sin of omission" here。 。。。more
Cam Hoff
，
There's a lot of really good and interesting stuff in here， but the story's just not finished yet。。。Certainly doesn't instill much confidence in the official pandemic tactics and response that's been employed。 There's a lot of really good and interesting stuff in here， but the story's just not finished yet。。。Certainly doesn't instill much confidence in the official pandemic tactics and response that's been employed。 。。。more
Kristine Sprunger
，