Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live
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- Create Date：2021-06-19 08:54:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Nicholas A. Christakis
- ISBN：0316628212
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Summary
A piercing and scientifically grounded look at the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic and how it will change the way we live — "excellent and timely。" （The New Yorker）
Apollo's Arrow offers a riveting account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as it swept through American society in 2020， and of how the recovery will unfold in the coming years。 Drawing on momentous （yet dimly remembered） historical epidemics， contemporary analyses， and cutting-edge research from a range of scientific disciplines， bestselling author， physician， sociologist， and public health expert Nicholas A。 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。
Unleashing new divisions in our society as well as opportunities for cooperation， this 21st-century pandemic has upended our lives in ways that will test， but not vanquish， our already frayed collective culture。 Featuring new， 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。
Apollo's Arrow offers a riveting account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as it swept through American society in 2020， and of how the recovery will unfold in the coming years。 Drawing on momentous （yet dimly remembered） historical epidemics， contemporary analyses， and cutting-edge research from a range of scientific disciplines， bestselling author， physician， sociologist， and public health expert Nicholas A。 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。
Unleashing new divisions in our society as well as opportunities for cooperation， this 21st-century pandemic has upended our lives in ways that will test， but not vanquish， our already frayed collective culture。 Featuring new， 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。
Reviews
The Inquisitive Biologist
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Full of sharp observations， but already dated in places， Apollo's Arrow sees a frontline physician examine COVID-19 and show the many parallels with past pandemics。 See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist。com/2021。。。 Full of sharp observations， but already dated in places， Apollo's Arrow sees a frontline physician examine COVID-19 and show the many parallels with past pandemics。 See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist。com/2021。。。 。。。more
Charlotte
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3。5 ⭐️ I enjoyed the book for the most part especially the beginning， but it is too long。 It is very American centric and unfortunately already so dated。
Andrecrabtree
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This is a hopeful book。 The author took a very optimistic approach to it， almost to the point of being Pollyannaish。 One particularly annoying phraseology he uses is to say things like "what the virus did"。 The virus didn't do many of the things that happened， we did。 Our response to it is what caused lockdowns， masks， massive layoffs， etc。 Not the virus itself。 The stories we choose to tell ourselves are important， one of them paints as a victim that had no choice， the other as the owner of the This is a hopeful book。 The author took a very optimistic approach to it， almost to the point of being Pollyannaish。 One particularly annoying phraseology he uses is to say things like "what the virus did"。 The virus didn't do many of the things that happened， we did。 Our response to it is what caused lockdowns， masks， massive layoffs， etc。 Not the virus itself。 The stories we choose to tell ourselves are important， one of them paints as a victim that had no choice， the other as the owner of the choices we made。 One idea I picked up from this book is not to consider our response solely in a biological sense， but also a sociological way as well。 I had been considering our collective response to this as a separate and distinct thing， but it isn't。 How we naturally react to disease， as opposed to the mainstream media scaring us， or politicians coercing us， is part of the pandemic situation just as much as infection spread， death count and ICU cases。The author is on solid ground when he sticks to medically focused things。 He gets very wobbly when the author starts to talk about things like politics， economics， business and education。 Fortunately there isn't much of that。 A number of times he draws attention to humans' ability to learn from our past， a "cumulative culture。" This is self-evidently so。 However， if this is so why didn't he see fit to mention that in 2019， pre-COVID， the WHO published their NPI Pandemic Guidance that said not to close schools and workplaces （among other things）。The author likes to talk about masks。 Not that it was in every chapter， but it was there frequently enough。 He makes bold claims that they "work。" However the WHO （in the same guidance mentioned above） looked into that and they concluded there was no evidence that face masks are effective in reducing transmission of common viruses。 I did learn one interesting thing。 That pandemics tend to hit over the course of 3 seasons。 And by "hit" I mean death spikes， not "case counts" that we all got freaked out about。 So prepare for flu season 2022 and lock down number 4 （in Ontario）。 。。。more
24Neo
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More like Monday morning ruminations。 Just like hope is an enduring part of human condition， similarly one feels there is too much blind hopefulness in the title of the book itself。 Now after finishing the book， i feel the book offers some good， but limited， scientific reasoning related to the elephant in the room event， the COVID-19 pandemic。 Beyond that the books has little to offer; it meanders in all directions， more often coming across as a zigzag collection of numerous newspaper articles。
Jim
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It started out good， giving history of pandemics and explaining how the effects can seem capricious and unpredictable， the Applo's Arrow part。 However， he began to get preachy and to inject too much politics into the narrative。 It started out good， giving history of pandemics and explaining how the effects can seem capricious and unpredictable， the Applo's Arrow part。 However， he began to get preachy and to inject too much politics into the narrative。 。。。more
Bernard Michel
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If you want a book that does an in depth breakdown of infectious diseases and the impact they have on societies， you need to get this book。 The author does a phenomenal job of explaining covid-19 and the impact it has had on our economy， politics， and health。 I highly recommend getting this book！
Jeena Patel
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Very comprehensive book about the Coronavirus。 Talks about previous pandemics/endemic。 Skimmed through the last 1/3 since it got a bit too much and I got a little bored with it。
Christa
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（Because of pandemic fatigue， I'm pretty sure I finished this but also am not sure。 I don't recall hating it， but I don't recall being particularly enthralled with it， either。 BRAIN FOG。） （Because of pandemic fatigue， I'm pretty sure I finished this but also am not sure。 I don't recall hating it， but I don't recall being particularly enthralled with it， either。 BRAIN FOG。） 。。。more
Grace
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Insightful， easily accessible， and comprehensive。 I hope there is an updated version to reflect where we are at a year plus into the pandemic。
Holdon Son
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Maybe it was because I followed the whole pandemic very intensely， especially the pharma side， but learned little if anything。
Bud
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A good review of pandemics in general and SARS-2 specifically。 The author explores all aspects of pandemics - biological， economic， social， psychological， spiritual， and so on。 Although the book was written early in the pandemic， its insights and predictions are accurate。
Karen
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I read about half （from the front， the middle， and the back）。 I have been reading a lot of articles about SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 in evidence-based， peer-reviewed science / medical journals。 I teach university classes in health care at USI and sociology at UE， so this author's blend of the two is appealing。 However， much of the material was review for me， so I ended up skimming large sections that covered aspects already familiar to me。 However， for someone who was too busy to keep up with science I read about half （from the front， the middle， and the back）。 I have been reading a lot of articles about SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 in evidence-based， peer-reviewed science / medical journals。 I teach university classes in health care at USI and sociology at UE， so this author's blend of the two is appealing。 However， much of the material was review for me， so I ended up skimming large sections that covered aspects already familiar to me。 However， for someone who was too busy to keep up with science news / research， this is a good read。 。。。more
Matthew Jordan
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COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020。 Nicholas Christakis published this book in October。 May we all aspire to that level of productivity。 And y'know what？ He did a freaking phenomenal job。This is the first time I've ever read a book about a historic event while that event was taking place。 It almost felt like an exercise in mindfulness。 Instead of just passing each day experiencing the pandemic， Apollo's Arrow forced me to actually focus and take stock of the moment I was living in。 I COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020。 Nicholas Christakis published this book in October。 May we all aspire to that level of productivity。 And y'know what？ He did a freaking phenomenal job。This is the first time I've ever read a book about a historic event while that event was taking place。 It almost felt like an exercise in mindfulness。 Instead of just passing each day experiencing the pandemic， Apollo's Arrow forced me to actually focus and take stock of the moment I was living in。 I feel like it would be as though you were a random person reading a book about World War II in， like， 1943—you would have this feeling of "oh snap， I am reading a history book about my everyday existence。。。。weird。" There's gotta be a German word for it or something。 Either way， I had two broad thoughts while reading。 First: I knew nothing about pandemics 1。5 years ago， and second: it's so much easier to learn about stuff once it's already happened。 Let me elaborate:1） In March of 2020， I did not know anything about epidemiology， virology， vaccine production， supply chains， recessions， the stock market， small business tax structure， misinformation， historic pandemics， and ICU wards， to name a few。 I continue to know next-to-nothing about all of those things， but I've certainly learned a TON over the last year。 It wasn't even on purpose。 But through conversations， Twitter scrolling， and lots of Googling to the tune of "HOW THE HECK DO THEY PRODUCE RNA STRANDS IN A LAB"， I definitely feel I got a crash courses in Pandemics 1A03。I guess the take-home message is that， since pandemics affect all aspects of life， they are an opportunity to learn a great deal about virtually everything about how our society works。 It also makes me feel like our entire elementary and high school education should focus way， way more on history。 War， plague， international unrest—these are not relics of the past; if anything， they are the default state of human society。 School should spend less time focusing on the dates historic events took place， and more time equipping us for when they recur。2） When you're in the middle of a tumultuous event， whether a pandemic， recession， war， or indeed personal crisis， it's very hard to know what is worth paying attention to and how to react on the day-to-day。 But when we step back and look at events through a historian's lens， we can see things far more clearly， learn important lessons， and focus on what actually ended up mattering （as opposed to the panic， fear， misinformation， and anxiety of the day-to-day）。 I would even say that， given the right resources， *you can understand historical events better than the people who were actually there*。 The people who participated in the War of 1812， the first Moon Landing， or the 2008 Financial crises were filled with adrenaline， confusion， and hype。 They were too busy experiencing it to truly *get* it。 I don't even know if that makes sense。 Let me come at it from a different angle。 In psychology there's the distinction between the "experiencing self" and the "remembering self"。 I guess I'm arguing that this concept extends to broad historical events， too， and that the people in charge of constructing the "remembering self" （i。e。 historians） have access to way more resources than the people experiencing those events。 As an experiencer， all you have is your own life and resources。 As a rememberer， you have the written records （diaries， letters） of everyone experiencing the event， along with news reports， scientific studies， declassified archival information and so much more。In summary: I'm not entirely sure Apollo's Arrow is a phenomenal book， but the circumstances of its publication were unique and thought-provoking。 （The only thing that doesn't hold up in May 2021 is that Nicholas Christakis was too pessimistic about when we'd get vaccines。） If you're looking to contextualize the historic year we all just lived through， I would really recommend reading it。 。。。more
Robert Sparrenberger
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This was an interesting book even though it was written in July of 2020。 Even at that time the author explores the changes that covid has brought to the planet on a whole bunch of fronts。 It’s well written and well laid out。 Recommend for an early look at the pandemic and his predictions for the future。
Victoria
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While （thankfully） a little outdated now， with the availability of vaccines， this should be required reading。
Michelle Jarc
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This book is heavy with stats， acronyms， and science （which of course I love the science part）。 Definitely more fascinating than dry。
Max
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Good history of recent pandemics and analysis of the origins of COVID and the early stages of the pandemic， as well as discussion of possible future outcomes。 Not a ton of information that went beyond what one has gathered from reading the news over the past year， but the breadth of perspective was helpful in tying together some pieces of understanding。
Blair
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“Apollo’s Arrow” was written in the summer of 2020， during the early days of the Covid19 Pandemic。 It outlines what author Nicholas Christakis predicted would the “The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live”。 I had enjoyed Christakis’ earlier book “Connected” some years ago。 And I came across this one， a few weeks ago。 While I knew it was little dated at that time – so much has changed in the nearly one year since the book was published - I also wanted to know what this n “Apollo’s Arrow” was written in the summer of 2020， during the early days of the Covid19 Pandemic。 It outlines what author Nicholas Christakis predicted would the “The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live”。 I had enjoyed Christakis’ earlier book “Connected” some years ago。 And I came across this one， a few weeks ago。 While I knew it was little dated at that time – so much has changed in the nearly one year since the book was published - I also wanted to know what this noted physician and sociologist， had to say about the Coronavirus。 The book didn’t disappoint。 It was well-researched and well-written， containing an amazing account of how the coronavirus pandemic ripped through American society during the first six months。 Medically it talked of the impact of the virus and compared it to other pandemics – both recent and historical。 Sociologically it talked of “Us and Them” （as we subsequently saw with anti-Asian sentiment） “Banding together” （as there have also been great examples of people helping others） and “How things change” （in what has been added， enhanced， reduced， and removed， during this time。） Importantly， Apollo’s Arrow also provides some well thought out predictions of what will still result from this pandemic。 While I have no quarrel with Apollo’s Arrow， I think there could be a second volume or an updated first volume to this。 Perhaps this will happen。 No matter what happens， this book will serve an important record of the effects of Covid- 19。 。。。more
Stephen Chase
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Cool ending？ To be announced， LOL！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
Viktoria
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Now out of date and painfully optimistic
L
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Informative and interesting。 I enjoyed very much， especially the history。
Drtaxsacto
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This is a pretty good book if you discount the author’s political biases。 Dr Christakis presents some very useful information about how progress。 He also has a great section at the end of the book which speculate on two issues which should be of interest to all of us - namely what is likely to be different after all the extensions of this pandemic are abated。 At the same time he offers some interesting ideas about what might happen to areas like education and health care delivery based on what w This is a pretty good book if you discount the author’s political biases。 Dr Christakis presents some very useful information about how progress。 He also has a great section at the end of the book which speculate on two issues which should be of interest to all of us - namely what is likely to be different after all the extensions of this pandemic are abated。 At the same time he offers some interesting ideas about what might happen to areas like education and health care delivery based on what we learned from COVID。 His clear description of all of the permutations about how data is collected and how the different points relate is worth the price of the book。Where I have a quibble with the book are in two assertions/assumptions which I believe are manifestations of the Pauline Kael syndrome （the legendary New Yorker writer was bewildered because Reagan was elected president - saying supposedly - I cant understand this no one in my field is voting for Reagan）。 Academics are particularly prone to the problem。 He makes what I believe are inappropriate assumptions about issues like climate change - where he assumes the “science is settled” - the problem with many issues where science is part of the public policy debate is there is a strong consensus on the notion that our climate is changing and that human behavior has an effect。 What he fails to adequately recognize is that even with that consensus there are legitimate differences even in the scientific community and especially in the broader society about how we should respond。 HE gets a bit self righteous at times at people who did not buy all of his prescriptions。 There are legitimate reasons for adding more consideration of economic consequences in decisions about how to deal with the pandemic。My second concern seems to be the assumption that scientists and public health officials check their self interest when thinking about how do deal with a problem。 His attitude is reminiscent of the FDR supporter who made the absurd claim that when experts get into government they forget their self interest。 Neither of these issues is easy。 In this pandemic as he argues， government let us down。 Many politicians including the former president and several current governors thought that holding daily press conferences substituted for getting the job done of managing the crisis。 One suggestion that I think he does not make is thinking creatively about how to inculcate interdisciplinarity into complex discussions or how to create a group of professionals who could form the notion I first encountered in CP Snow’s classic essay on the two worlds。 。。。more
John Kaufmann
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Everything you ever wanted to know about COVID-19/SARS-2 -- it's origin; pandemics in history; the science behind Covid （differences between Covid， influenzea， SARS-1; rate of spread; lethality， etc。）; possible responses and their effectiveness （masks， distancing， lockdown， etc。）; testing and contact tracing; the failure of the US; impacts on individuals and on society-at-large;， and more。 The book explains a lot of what has happened across the world over the past year。 Everything you ever wanted to know about COVID-19/SARS-2 -- it's origin; pandemics in history; the science behind Covid （differences between Covid， influenzea， SARS-1; rate of spread; lethality， etc。）; possible responses and their effectiveness （masks， distancing， lockdown， etc。）; testing and contact tracing; the failure of the US; impacts on individuals and on society-at-large;， and more。 The book explains a lot of what has happened across the world over the past year。 。。。more
Nathan
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I admit， I read this book 6 months after I should have。 It's no longer timely and at this point its main use is as a historical review of prior pandemics， including the onset of this one。Nevertheless， it is well written， the author has mountains of expertise， and I personally did find the historical perspective useful， and provoked some thinking about the world we are in today I admit， I read this book 6 months after I should have。 It's no longer timely and at this point its main use is as a historical review of prior pandemics， including the onset of this one。Nevertheless， it is well written， the author has mountains of expertise， and I personally did find the historical perspective useful， and provoked some thinking about the world we are in today 。。。more
Nathan Fast
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We’d be dealing with the pandemic much better if we could get our fellow citizens to read a book like this once in a while。
Mary Keen
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Of course， as with anyone who's followed the news in the past 1 and 1/2 years， i was familiar with most of this， but listening made me realize how many details and sadness I'd forgotten。Very current， but with almost hourly changes， i hope NC will be updating it， perhaps with a more descriptive title！Overdrive @ 1。25 and normal speed Of course， as with anyone who's followed the news in the past 1 and 1/2 years， i was familiar with most of this， but listening made me realize how many details and sadness I'd forgotten。Very current， but with almost hourly changes， i hope NC will be updating it， perhaps with a more descriptive title！Overdrive @ 1。25 and normal speed 。。。more
Alison Rini
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Really informative and clear， adding great historical and medical context to the pandemic we are currently experiencing。 He finished writing in the summer of 2020 - I would LOVE to see a couple of chapters of follow-up on the vaccination and reopening efforts of 2021。。。
Karen
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This book looks at the pandemics， and specifically COVID-19， through the lens of history and other pandemics， going back a thousand years。 I learned a lot about how to look at COVID and what to expect at time goes on。 This book is an excellent source to understand where COVID came from， what we did right/wrong， and how it will probably end， using history and science as a guide。 It is told in an understandable manner with lots of charts to help put things into perspective。Highly recommended。
Carolyn
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This book answered a lot of questions about how the pandemic became so out of control- how it was dealt differently in democratic versus autocratic countries。 The reason for 3stars， at times the statistics were a bit much。 Interesting read， published in fall 2020 so the hope we experience as vaccine distribution became reality
Ryan
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