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Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live

Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live

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  • Create Date：2021-12-24 06:51:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Nicholas A. Christakis
  • ISBN：0316628204
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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。

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Reviews

Ryan LaZur ，

This book is so timely， I'm convinced that Dr。 Christakis brewed up this pandemic himself to boost book sales。 This book is so timely， I'm convinced that Dr。 Christakis brewed up this pandemic himself to boost book sales。 。。。more

Karen Ng ，

I read two books about the Covid pandemic this year， The Plague Year by Lawrence Wright and this one。 Both were excellent reads although Apollo's Arrow covered a longer time span。 At the time of this review， delta and omicron varieties are still raging。 I'm not sure what the future holds for our daily life and how badly our lives will be changed by the pandemic。 There definitely will be better and more thorough books about this whole ordeal in 2022。 At the mean time， if you want to read one book I read two books about the Covid pandemic this year， The Plague Year by Lawrence Wright and this one。 Both were excellent reads although Apollo's Arrow covered a longer time span。 At the time of this review， delta and omicron varieties are still raging。 I'm not sure what the future holds for our daily life and how badly our lives will be changed by the pandemic。 There definitely will be better and more thorough books about this whole ordeal in 2022。 At the mean time， if you want to read one book about Covid， read this one。 Mask up and stay healthy。Reviewed on December 18th， 2021 。。。more

Linda ，

Easy to read。 Draws everything together from the beginning。 Also answered several questions。

Anabelle K ，

Allow me to start by saying that this book is based on solid facts and offers a very robust description of the events surrounding the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic。 No quackery。 No conspiracies。 No politics。 No agenda。 No propaganda。 Just facts。 It also educates the reader on past pandemics （how they are tracked， how contagion is measured， and how fatality rates are determined） and their effects on social dynamics， the economy， human psychology， and observable， measurable trends in other Allow me to start by saying that this book is based on solid facts and offers a very robust description of the events surrounding the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic。 No quackery。 No conspiracies。 No politics。 No agenda。 No propaganda。 Just facts。 It also educates the reader on past pandemics （how they are tracked， how contagion is measured， and how fatality rates are determined） and their effects on social dynamics， the economy， human psychology， and observable， measurable trends in other population data。 Christakis' Apollo's Arrow was published in late 2020， and I listened to the audiobook in December 2021。 It reminded me of soundbites that I haven't heard it what feels like decades ago， like "flattening the curve"。 It serves the unintended consequence of revealing the lightning speed at which events have unfolded in just over a year。 The book was published before the availability of COVID vaccines and before the emergence of variants， but lots of Christakis' speculations and considerations about these events were pretty much spot on: not because he was clairvoyant， but because he is reporting the aggregate knowledge of past pandemics acquired over centuries。 Although the book feels severely outdated， I believe its content is still quite valuable as hindsight tends to be。 If you decide to pick it up， do so knowing that you will inevitably find yourself saying: "well， we know how that turned out。" The additional information provided from other more terrible and milder pandemics was fascinating to learn about， including the three ways in which pandemics come to an end。If， like me， you just want to continue to learn about the overall field of pandemics （and you are not a doctor）， you will find this book quite educational。 Hopefully， Christakis will follow-up in a few years with another book that includes the developments of the pandemic once it wanes for good， and provide us with further data collected and lessons learned。 。。。more

Konstantinos Kalampokis ，

For a book that refers to Covid-19 and was published in August 2020， its really impressive how thorough and extensive work has been done in it。Recommended to anyone that wants to learn more about Covid and pandemics in general。

Katie ，

I was browsing the American Book Center in The Hague some time before the Netherlands did away with the final coronarules in October， sometime before this current wave （the fifth？）， sometime before this current "lockdown" that we're in。 I spotted this title on the shelf and wondered how someone could already write about the enduring impact。 Then I discovered the author's pedigree and picked it up。What a fantastic read。 I was fascinated by how much information we have about previous pandemics and I was browsing the American Book Center in The Hague some time before the Netherlands did away with the final coronarules in October， sometime before this current wave （the fifth？）， sometime before this current "lockdown" that we're in。 I spotted this title on the shelf and wondered how someone could already write about the enduring impact。 Then I discovered the author's pedigree and picked it up。What a fantastic read。 I was fascinated by how much information we have about previous pandemics and how， even though our modern world is so different， this is playing out almost the same。 This book is very niche-y and won't appeal to all， but I loved it。 tl;dr: coronavirus will be around for awhile， and it depends on how society decides to live with x level of risk。 。。。more

Laura ，

Although I was initially tempted to return this book thinking it was hopelessly outdated， I’m glad I didn’t。 Some bits are outdated， but this book was about much more than just Covid-19。 It’s about epidemiology， public health policies， history， psychology。。。 it was balanced and informative without attempting to cover every topic under the sun。

Gara ，

When Covid first started to affect our lives back in March 2020， I thought that we were experiencing a unique set of events。 After reading this book， I am convinced that our recent experiences with this pandemic are not as new and different as I had once imagined。 Mr。 Christakis described the origins of the pandemic based on evidence that he researched。 As both a physician and a sociologist， I found this book refreshingly non-political as well as credible。 His description of the changes that hav When Covid first started to affect our lives back in March 2020， I thought that we were experiencing a unique set of events。 After reading this book， I am convinced that our recent experiences with this pandemic are not as new and different as I had once imagined。 Mr。 Christakis described the origins of the pandemic based on evidence that he researched。 As both a physician and a sociologist， I found this book refreshingly non-political as well as credible。 His description of the changes that have taken place in our culture since the pandemic began were accurate and comparable to changes caused by past epidemics。 By studying these historical events， he formulated some forecasts for the future when this pandemic ends or reduces to an acceptable and controllable condition of human life。 Could there be another pandemic？ Have we learned enough to be in a stronger position to fight the next virus？ In many ways， the coronavirus caught us unprepared。 Headlines today describe shut downs that are once again mandated due to rising case numbers。 I think that this book is a "must read" for everyone to understand the past and future impact of this virus on all of us。 。。。more

Joel Wentz ，

This is a shockingly wide-ranging and well-researched collection of information on both the current Covid-19 pandemic， but also the recorded history of pandemics in different eras。 If you have been slavishly following updates and developments related to Covid for the past 1。5 years， then there may not be any massive "aha！" moments contained in this book （it was written before the vaccines were developed and the Delta wave hit） but it is still a remarkable compendium of information。 Christakis is This is a shockingly wide-ranging and well-researched collection of information on both the current Covid-19 pandemic， but also the recorded history of pandemics in different eras。 If you have been slavishly following updates and developments related to Covid for the past 1。5 years， then there may not be any massive "aha！" moments contained in this book （it was written before the vaccines were developed and the Delta wave hit） but it is still a remarkable compendium of information。 Christakis is also quite nuanced in his interpretation of various issues （for example， he equivocates a bit on whether or not schools actually should close）。 I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to wrap their mind around what exactly Covid "means" for our time。 Not only does the reader gain significant insight into the medical and epidemiological data surrounding this virus， but also gains a deeper understanding of how these events （plagues， outbreaks， etc。） have played out in human history， and what this may mean for our society moving forward。 。。。more

Parker ，

It was published last year， and it shows。 A lot of the speculation about how the pandemic will go is optimistic at best， and naive at worst。 In fairness I could be bitter due to some of how the world has reacted to the pandemic in the last year， but reading this book gave me an idea of a logical and reasonable response to the pandemic that just didn't happen in reality。 Seeing a picture of how things could have been was more devastating than not - it was a tough read for sure。That being said， th It was published last year， and it shows。 A lot of the speculation about how the pandemic will go is optimistic at best， and naive at worst。 In fairness I could be bitter due to some of how the world has reacted to the pandemic in the last year， but reading this book gave me an idea of a logical and reasonable response to the pandemic that just didn't happen in reality。 Seeing a picture of how things could have been was more devastating than not - it was a tough read for sure。That being said， the book was still well researched and written， so I have to give credit where credit is due。 。。。more

PCarey ，

Very astute！

Tyler Standish ，

Although this book feels premature， as we're still dealing with this pandemic， the lessons it presents are very important and the predictions are proving to be somewhat accurate。 The author does a great job providing historical context in relation to past pandemics and a realistic， but somewhat optimistic outlook on how to approach this and other pandemics in the future。 Although this book feels premature， as we're still dealing with this pandemic， the lessons it presents are very important and the predictions are proving to be somewhat accurate。 The author does a great job providing historical context in relation to past pandemics and a realistic， but somewhat optimistic outlook on how to approach this and other pandemics in the future。 。。。more

Susan ，

Very well researched and written。 Perhaps more detail than some readers would want but I found it fascinating overall。 And scary， COVID-19 will no doubt be our last pandemic in current time。 I appreciate the author bringing up all the political and societal issues associated with the pandemic。

Ariane Seixas ，

This book has been on my list for a few months now。 Couldn’t get myself to start reading it。 I was afraid it would be too heavy and depressing - and in a lot of ways too soon for this type of book。 I couldn’t have been more wrong。 I was hooked on the very first pages。 It’s surprisingly a page-turner。 As my reading progressed the hard reality of the past 18 months really started to sink in deep。 It was not depressing or alarming just a very good， vast and well-researched portrait of what we have This book has been on my list for a few months now。 Couldn’t get myself to start reading it。 I was afraid it would be too heavy and depressing - and in a lot of ways too soon for this type of book。 I couldn’t have been more wrong。 I was hooked on the very first pages。 It’s surprisingly a page-turner。 As my reading progressed the hard reality of the past 18 months really started to sink in deep。 It was not depressing or alarming just a very good， vast and well-researched portrait of what we have been going through。 I believe that there’s a grief that we carry collectively。 The impacts of the pandemics will be felt far and wide for many years to come。 It will profoundly impact societies beyond what we can predict right now。 I can say that finishing this book has bought me both great serenity and immense sorrow。 And more than ever the strong belief the only way out of the incredible mess we are in is only going to happen collectively 。。。more

Heather ，

Highly recommend。 Very good at talking about all aspects of Covid and consequences of actions we take or don't take。 Highly recommend。 Very good at talking about all aspects of Covid and consequences of actions we take or don't take。 。。。more

Jonathan ，

Written fairly early in the COVID-19 pandemic， this book is necessarily incomplete but still educational and delivers a solid introduction to anyone wanting to learn more about the subject or the history of infectious diseases in general。 The author has a humanistic style and highlights individual heroes （some of whom are martyrs） in the field， which is a nice touch to give credit where due。 Anyone who is seeking to do their own research （e。g。 on vaccination） should add this book for review。

Laurie Walinga ，

Accessible， digestible summary of the science （epidemiology， sociology， economic） of epidemics to help understand the trajectory of the SARS-2 （COVID-19） pandemic; from the beginnings of pandemics through to how they end。 Informative， understandable， and hopeful。

白狼 ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Life will eventually return to normal and plagues will end

Gillian ，

Interesting and detailed discussion of Covid and past pandemics， particularly impressive since he was writing as of summer 2020 and could only speculate about future manifestations of the virus。 He situates our experience in the context of past epidemics， by which measure it's actually no where near as bad as it could be！ However， I'd like to hear his update one year later。 Interesting and detailed discussion of Covid and past pandemics， particularly impressive since he was writing as of summer 2020 and could only speculate about future manifestations of the virus。 He situates our experience in the context of past epidemics， by which measure it's actually no where near as bad as it could be！ However， I'd like to hear his update one year later。 。。。more

Thanawat ，

ใช้ได้เลย หนังสือเล่มนี้ให้ข้อมูลและมุมมองครอบคลุม 3 เรื่องหลักๆ1。กล่าวถึงที่มาที่ไป และ impact ของ Covid 19 แบบที่เข้าใจได้ไม่ยากเล่าถึง natural history ของการเกิด pandemic ผสมกับประวัติศาสตร์ของโรคระบาดครั้งใหญ่ๆซึ่งถ้าใครที่ติดตามเรื่องนี้ covid อยู่ ก็จะสามารถอ่านผ่านได้อย่างรวดเร็ว2。กล่าวถึงผลกระทบต่อโลกในด้านที่ก่อให้เกิดความเสียหาย ทั้งปัจเจกและภาพรวม ซึ่งชอบ part นี้มาก เพราะมันครบถ้วน ครอบคลุมด้านที่เป็นมนุษย์ได้ดีจริงๆ แน่นอนว่าจะต้องมีการสอดแทรกความผิดพลาดในการตัดสินใจของ Donald Trump ใช้ได้เลย หนังสือเล่มนี้ให้ข้อมูลและมุมมองครอบคลุม 3 เรื่องหลักๆ1。กล่าวถึงที่มาที่ไป และ impact ของ Covid 19 แบบที่เข้าใจได้ไม่ยากเล่าถึง natural history ของการเกิด pandemic ผสมกับประวัติศาสตร์ของโรคระบาดครั้งใหญ่ๆซึ่งถ้าใครที่ติดตามเรื่องนี้ covid อยู่ ก็จะสามารถอ่านผ่านได้อย่างรวดเร็ว2。กล่าวถึงผลกระทบต่อโลกในด้านที่ก่อให้เกิดความเสียหาย ทั้งปัจเจกและภาพรวม ซึ่งชอบ part นี้มาก เพราะมันครบถ้วน ครอบคลุมด้านที่เป็นมนุษย์ได้ดีจริงๆ แน่นอนว่าจะต้องมีการสอดแทรกความผิดพลาดในการตัดสินใจของ Donald Trump เอาไว้ไม่ให้โลกลืม3。มองถึง solution ที่จะออกจาก covid 19 pandemic ทั้งด้านวิทยาศาสตร์การแพทย์ และ non pharmaceutical approach ซึ่งก็เขียนได้ดีทีเดียว （ตอนที่หนังสือเล่มนี้ออกมา เหล่า vaccine และยาทั้งหลายแหล่ ยังไม่ได้ถูก launch ออกมามากนัก）ถือว่าเป็นหนังสือ covid ที่มีแนว approach ตามกระแสหลักจุดเด่นคือความเข้าใจในการเล่าประวัติที่มาที่ไป และการกล่าวถึงผลกระทบของ covid ได้ดีแม้จะมีความอ่อน （ที่หลีกเลี่ยงไม่ได้） ที่ข้อมูลจะไม่ up to date ก็ถือว่าไม่ใช่ปัญหาหลัก สามารถอ่านได้ในฐานะหนังสือ pop-sci ที่บันทึกเหตุการณ์โรคระบาดครั้งประวัติศาสตร์ได้ดี 。。。more

Daniel Noventa ，

I realized how easy it is to be optimistic。 The bool recounts the COVID 19 journey that we’ve all been in along with other historical encounters with pandemic level diseases。 Nicholas ends the book with an optimistic note that does not appear to have come to fruition just yet。

Jack ，

Reading in late 2021 it is a bit outdated but great background information and insights into past pandemics。 Also a little immunology。 Adaptive immunity is poor in the elderly but immunologic memory functions well。

TheSaint ，

I wish I'd read this when it first came out。 Now， a year after publication， it seems a tad stale; after all， we have a vaccine！ Not the author's fault -- Christakis covers all the available bases。 He must have been writing and researching past pandemics like a madman for the first 6 months of our collective woe。 I wish I'd read this when it first came out。 Now， a year after publication， it seems a tad stale; after all， we have a vaccine！ Not the author's fault -- Christakis covers all the available bases。 He must have been writing and researching past pandemics like a madman for the first 6 months of our collective woe。 。。。more

Nico Bruin ，

Apollo's arrow is a fairly factually correct and well written book that covers a lot of ground。But I can't really come up with more praise for it than that。 The book's biggest problem is that to people who've been paying attention， most of this book is old news， or even worse; not so old news， news that people still have rather fresh in their minds。It also doesn't diverge from the main narrative surrounding covid to much， which the "new york times bestseller" audience probably appreciates。 In tw Apollo's arrow is a fairly factually correct and well written book that covers a lot of ground。But I can't really come up with more praise for it than that。 The book's biggest problem is that to people who've been paying attention， most of this book is old news， or even worse; not so old news， news that people still have rather fresh in their minds。It also doesn't diverge from the main narrative surrounding covid to much， which the "new york times bestseller" audience probably appreciates。 In two places it does challenge the orthodoxy a bit， Christakis calls out the nonsensical public health messaging early on in the pandemic around masks by the various public health authorities。 He also puts his finger on the hypocrisy around the protests last summer （for those who don't recall， legacy media and the medical establishment condemned the anti-lockdown protest as dangerous but completely changed tone when the BLM protests began。）It's a rather obvious critique to make， but Christakis still deserves some credit for this in my opinion。He mostly drops the ball on the origins of the virus though。 Whilst not completely dismissing lab-leak as some have done， he regards it as unlikely， seemingly solely on the basis that all previous epidemics came from nature。I can say with relative certainty that he hasn't done much thourough research on the lab-leak hypothesis， given all that was already known at the time he wrote this book。In the end this book is not a "must must read" as advertised by Steven Pinker on the cover， it's simply okay。 People who really haven't been paying any attention the last 20 months or later generations wanting to know what happened will probably find more value in this book than I have。2。5/5 。。。more

Peter ，

After six or so months of fitful reading， I finally did finish this， but felt it’s predictions and conclusions were less on point as the year went on: vaccines arrived in record time and reduced the likelihood of hospitalization and death， but new， more contagious variants and social weariness with NPIs meant that the disease continued to spread seemingly unabated; there was little data on Long Haul haul effects at the time of the book’s publication; etc。 information about the initial response t After six or so months of fitful reading， I finally did finish this， but felt it’s predictions and conclusions were less on point as the year went on: vaccines arrived in record time and reduced the likelihood of hospitalization and death， but new， more contagious variants and social weariness with NPIs meant that the disease continued to spread seemingly unabated; there was little data on Long Haul haul effects at the time of the book’s publication; etc。 information about the initial response to the disease， details of which the author had an inside view， were interesting。 A second edition of this book would be worthwhile if it is written with further insights and data gathered over the course of the 18+ months of the pandemic。 。。。more

Ruth Anne ，

This book was a Book Group choice。 Some parts of the book aew "in over my head" type of facts （which also means， "not at all interesting"） while other parts are informative and thought provoking。 Will not finish reading this book。。。too many other more interesting books to read！！ This book was a Book Group choice。 Some parts of the book aew "in over my head" type of facts （which also means， "not at all interesting"） while other parts are informative and thought provoking。 Will not finish reading this book。。。too many other more interesting books to read！！ 。。。more

Sherry Mabry ，

As soon as I started listening to this audiobook I knew what the problem was going to be。 While well-researched and thorough， it was written in August of 2020。 It was out of date as soon as it was published。 Really not much point in writing a COVID book unless and until we finally get through COVID as the reality changes daily。

Audio Athena ，

Audiobook duration: 12 hr 17 minutesNarrator: Nicholas ChristakisAnother one narrated by the author。 He does well。This book was written around July 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic's first year， so it was interesting to listen to it a full year later and see just how much has changed。 I'm glad I didn't listen to it sooner， because by now the terror of living through a pandemic has settled down some。 He does a good job showing the parallels of previous potential pandemics like SARS and Audiobook duration: 12 hr 17 minutesNarrator: Nicholas ChristakisAnother one narrated by the author。 He does well。This book was written around July 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic's first year， so it was interesting to listen to it a full year later and see just how much has changed。 I'm glad I didn't listen to it sooner， because by now the terror of living through a pandemic has settled down some。 He does a good job showing the parallels of previous potential pandemics like SARS and bird flu and swine flu， while trying to simplify Public Health science enough for the reader to understand the data he provides。 I do wish he had spent more time on the sociological and psychological effects on the public。 He spends a short chapter on it， but really could have written a whole book that would have been more captivating and relatable than data science。 。。。more

Dan Isadore ，

Paradigm ShiftI thought I had an elementary grasp of what the pandemic was， how we should respond， and why。 I thought I knew who was to blame， and who was to praise。 I thought the "novel" coronavirus introduced a totally new situation。 And then I read Apollo's Arrow。 Whether it's your favorite politician， you're most hated NPI， or a particular effect of the virus， the simplicity of your perspective will undoubtedly lessen after listening to Christakis。 Though he wrote a year ago， this Arrow main Paradigm ShiftI thought I had an elementary grasp of what the pandemic was， how we should respond， and why。 I thought I knew who was to blame， and who was to praise。 I thought the "novel" coronavirus introduced a totally new situation。 And then I read Apollo's Arrow。 Whether it's your favorite politician， you're most hated NPI， or a particular effect of the virus， the simplicity of your perspective will undoubtedly lessen after listening to Christakis。 Though he wrote a year ago， this Arrow maintains its velocity。 "Worthwhile" doesn't begin to do it justice。 。。。more

Andres ，

This is a very thorough book about the current pandemic and lessons learned from passed pandemics。 I read almost one year after it was published and the information is still relevant; Christakis even predicted a lot of what's going while the pandemic is still happening。 My only criticism is that it would've been interesting for the author to put more weight on specific predictions of how the world will change after COVID。 Even though he somewhat includes this throughout the book， I wished he wou This is a very thorough book about the current pandemic and lessons learned from passed pandemics。 I read almost one year after it was published and the information is still relevant; Christakis even predicted a lot of what's going while the pandemic is still happening。 My only criticism is that it would've been interesting for the author to put more weight on specific predictions of how the world will change after COVID。 Even though he somewhat includes this throughout the book， I wished he would've dedicated more writing to ti。 Worth the read！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0