Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe
- Downloads：8121
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-23 06:52:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Niall Ferguson
- ISBN：0141995556
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
'Magisterial 。。。 Immensely readable' Douglas Alexander， Financial Times
'Insightful， productively provocative and downright brilliant' New York Times
A compelling history of catastrophes and their consequences， from 'the most brilliant British historian of his generation' （The Times）
Disasters are inherently hard to predict。 But when catastrophe strikes， we ought to be better prepared than the Romans were when Vesuvius erupted or medieval Italians when the Black Death struck。 We have science on our side， after all。 Yet the responses of many developed countries to a new pathogen from China were badly bungled。 Why？
While populist rulers certainly performed poorly in the face of the pandemic， Niall Ferguson argues that more profound pathologies were at work - pathologies already visible in our responses to earlier disasters。
Drawing from multiple disciplines， including economics and network science， Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe offers not just a history but a general theory of disaster。 As Ferguson shows， governments must learn to become less bureaucratic if we are to avoid the impending doom of irreversible decline。
'Stimulating， thought-provoking 。。。 Readers will find much to relish' Martin Bentham， Evening Standard
'Insightful， productively provocative and downright brilliant' New York Times
A compelling history of catastrophes and their consequences， from 'the most brilliant British historian of his generation' （The Times）
Disasters are inherently hard to predict。 But when catastrophe strikes， we ought to be better prepared than the Romans were when Vesuvius erupted or medieval Italians when the Black Death struck。 We have science on our side， after all。 Yet the responses of many developed countries to a new pathogen from China were badly bungled。 Why？
While populist rulers certainly performed poorly in the face of the pandemic， Niall Ferguson argues that more profound pathologies were at work - pathologies already visible in our responses to earlier disasters。
Drawing from multiple disciplines， including economics and network science， Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe offers not just a history but a general theory of disaster。 As Ferguson shows， governments must learn to become less bureaucratic if we are to avoid the impending doom of irreversible decline。
'Stimulating， thought-provoking 。。。 Readers will find much to relish' Martin Bentham， Evening Standard
Reviews
Matas Maldeikis
，
Kaip pasaulio pabaigos jausmas ir katastrofos lydi mus visą istoriją ir kaip mūsų protas tam nepasiruošęs。 Viena silpnesnių Nial Ferguson knygų。
Sean
，
This is intermittently interesting， as it covers "disasters" of all kinds throughout history， but it's hard to really grasp what the point of it is。 Something about humans always making things worse？ Sort of？ Ultimately it kinda feels like the learned and erudite ramblings of a historian during the 2020 lockdown as he muses on what a mess of the world his fellow humans have been making since time immemorial。 Unfortunately， Ferguson makes the mistake of spending the last 150ish pages theorizing o This is intermittently interesting， as it covers "disasters" of all kinds throughout history， but it's hard to really grasp what the point of it is。 Something about humans always making things worse？ Sort of？ Ultimately it kinda feels like the learned and erudite ramblings of a historian during the 2020 lockdown as he muses on what a mess of the world his fellow humans have been making since time immemorial。 Unfortunately， Ferguson makes the mistake of spending the last 150ish pages theorizing on the Covid pandemic--as of Aug。 '20。 Needless to say， every prediction， and every theory based on every prediction， is entirely wrong， and， here in '22， entirely boring。 。。。more
Jess
，
I thought this would be an interesting book， but this ended up being a disappointing read。 I thought the author would discuss different types of disasters， but it felt as if the main focus was pandemics。 You clearly see that they were inspired by COVID-19 so most of the material is centered around previous pandemics and is compared to COVID-19。Personally， I was hoping to discuss more than pandemics so this is why I was disappointed。 I also felt that at the time this book was published， it was st I thought this would be an interesting book， but this ended up being a disappointing read。 I thought the author would discuss different types of disasters， but it felt as if the main focus was pandemics。 You clearly see that they were inspired by COVID-19 so most of the material is centered around previous pandemics and is compared to COVID-19。Personally， I was hoping to discuss more than pandemics so this is why I was disappointed。 I also felt that at the time this book was published， it was still too early to write about COVID-19。 At times， it feels like a time capsule so for some this may of interest。 Overall， this reads like a redundant academic paper。 There were too many times when I wished the author shortened their talking points and included less examples。 The author also never added anything new so I felt like he was spouting information for jeopardy。 。。。more
Dorin
，
Cum s-o spun elegant？ Cartea asta este despre prea multe și despre nimic în același timp。 Scrisă cu pandemia în gând， în timpul pandemiei （la începutul ei， dacă judec după momentul în care mă aflu， în primăvara-vara 2020）， despre pandemie， își ratează mult ținta。 În general， sunt de părerea că o carte despre un eveniment trebuie scrisă după ce evenimentul se stinge。 Autorul a anticipat critica asta （pe care o numește „oțioasă”）， care probabil i-a venit din multe părți， și se apără spunând că „ci Cum s-o spun elegant？ Cartea asta este despre prea multe și despre nimic în același timp。 Scrisă cu pandemia în gând， în timpul pandemiei （la începutul ei， dacă judec după momentul în care mă aflu， în primăvara-vara 2020）， despre pandemie， își ratează mult ținta。 În general， sunt de părerea că o carte despre un eveniment trebuie scrisă după ce evenimentul se stinge。 Autorul a anticipat critica asta （pe care o numește „oțioasă”）， care probabil i-a venit din multe părți， și se apără spunând că „cine poate spune când se încheie o pandemie？” și că „nu e niciodată prea devreme să începem să învățăm din greșeli”。 Apărarea asta nu ține atunci când te avânți în previziuni despre efectele evenimentului care sunt deja demontate când iese cartea de sub tipar。 Autorul încearcă să înainteze un fel de teorie， o struțo-cămilă。 Conform lui， 1。 dezastrele sunt imprevizibile; 2。 nu există o separare clară între dezastre naturale și cele provocate de om （război sau pandemie， efectele dezastrelor depind mai mult de factorul politic， decât de proveniența lor， pentru că dacă la nivel politic și administrativ un dezastru – inundație， furtună， tsunami， pandemie sau război – ar fi gestionat cum trebuie， nu ar mai fi dezastru）; 3。 erorile nu se fac la vârf， ci undeva pe la mijloc （intră， într-o oarecare măsură， în contradicție cu punctul 2）， de funcționari și experți de nivel mediu; 4。 contagiunea nu se datorează doar agenților patogeni， ci și contagiunii mentale， adică știrilor false și acțiunii ostile a unor actori pe rețelele sociale。 O altă idee pe care o înaintează este că suntem mai vulnerabili la dezastre precum pandemia covid din cauza rețelelor în care trăim。 Mă rog， într-un fel globalizarea e de vină pentru pandemie。 Nu o spune direct， dar se înțelege。 Problema este că， chiar dacă a înaintat ideile de la punctele 2 și 4， autorul absolvă aproape în totalitate liderii politici de responsabilitate în privința efectelor pandemiei。 Se axează cel mai mult pe SUA și UK， spunând că Trump și Boris Johnson au făcut greșeli， dar nu au fost chiar atât de grave。 Îmi este greu să înțeleg punctul acesta de vedere。 Când definești un dezastru prin felul în care acționează oamenii cu putere de decizie și mai spui că știrile false， manipularea， conspirațiile au un efect foarte mare în răspândirea unei pandemii， nu poți să spui că Trump， președintele țării， cu zeci de milioane de adepți fideli， dar adresându-se întregii populații， nu e responsabil de felul în care a fost gestionată pandemia știind ce tâmpenii a propagat în spațiul public și ce eforturi a făcut pentru a minimiza efectele pandemiei。 Nu poți da vina doar pe birocrație， când toată lumea primea și aștepta indicații de la administrația prezidențială。 În fine， pandemia covid face obiectul a doar 1/3， poate 2/5 din carte。 Restul cărții este plină de informații， într-o ordine aproape lipsită de logică （există multe capitole， dar nu reușesc să-mi dau seama acum dacă a tratat fiecare un subiect distinct）， despre războaie， dezastre， pandemii， boli， vaccinuri， tehnologii și avertismente despre cum urmează lucruri rele， cum ar fi o confruntare rece （care deja a început） cu China。 Ciorba lui Niall Ferguson are de toate。2，5/5 。。。more
Leo Mckenzie
，
Fantastic book which slumps the slightest bit in the middle， but has some truly spectacularly valuable insights as to the machinations of contemporary disaster politics， and the general ways we handle the worst that the world seems to enjoy throwing at us。 Excellent。
Buchfreude
，
Hm。 Es hat lange gedauert， aber ich habe es heute doch noch geschafft， „Doom“ von Niall Ferguson zu lesen。 Übersetzt wurde es von Jürgen Neubauer。 Niall Ferguson ist ein Historiker。 Aber wohl nicht nur irgendein Historiker。 Nein。 Er ist laut dem Autorentext „einer der bekanntesten und renommierten Historiker unserer Zeit“。 Er schrieb bereits eine Vielzahl an Büchern， die wahrscheinlich zu seiner Bekanntheit beigetragen haben。 Eigentlich beschäftigt er sich hauptsächlich mit Finanz- und Wirtschaf Hm。 Es hat lange gedauert， aber ich habe es heute doch noch geschafft， „Doom“ von Niall Ferguson zu lesen。 Übersetzt wurde es von Jürgen Neubauer。 Niall Ferguson ist ein Historiker。 Aber wohl nicht nur irgendein Historiker。 Nein。 Er ist laut dem Autorentext „einer der bekanntesten und renommierten Historiker unserer Zeit“。 Er schrieb bereits eine Vielzahl an Büchern， die wahrscheinlich zu seiner Bekanntheit beigetragen haben。 Eigentlich beschäftigt er sich hauptsächlich mit Finanz- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte。 Nun hat er aber 2021 ein Buch über die Katastrophen der Zeit rausgebracht。 Und ich bin mir nicht sicher， ob ihm das wirklich gut gelungen ist。 Ja， es gab viele Informationen， die Katastrophen waren und auch in sich spannend。 Ja， einige Stellen fand ich auch hilfreich und haben mir neue Lehren und Theorien vorgestellt。 Aber！ Und das ist wichtig！ Aber， es war doch eine Aneinanderreihung vieler Geschichten， die in unterschiedliche Bereiche fallen und zwecks Leid und Tod Gemeinsamkeiten aufwiesen， aber dennoch die Leser:innen oft fragend zurücklässt。 Die Corona-Pandemie ist noch nicht beendet und schon wird über sie philosophiert。 Vor allem über ihre Folgen。 Ferguson gesteht im Buch， dass Historiker:innen die Zukunft nicht voraussagen können， sondern nur bestätigen， dass es so war。 Dennoch malt er nun eine düstere Zukunft voraus。 Zunächst hat er seine Voraussage aber anhand vieler Beispiele der Vergangenheit dargestellt。 Natürlich wird die Spanische Grippe erwähnt und auch die Weltkriege bleiben nicht ungenannt。 Hinzu kommt noch ein wenig die Nuklearkatastrophe von Tschernobyl， der Untergang der Titanic und der Zeppelin Hindenburg darf auch nicht fehlen。 Darüber eine Prise Kalter Krieg und schon haben wir ein Töpfchen voller Katastrophen， die alle Menschenleben gekostet haben und die Welt erklären。 Ab und an wird dann noch erklärt， wie Pandemien funktionieren。 Welche Regeln aufgestellt wurden， um sie einzudämmen （Muss ich das erwähnen？ Wir wissen es alle noch zu gut。） Viele Ansätze im Buch fand ich an sich wirklich lehrreich und auch Theorien， die vorgestellt wurden， hätte ich gerne intensiver kennengelernt。 Aber für derartig viele Katastrophen reichen 500 Seiten nun mal nicht。 Dennoch bleibt mir schleierhaft， weshalb man nicht Themen einzeln für sich betrachten kann， anstatt alles einmal zu erwähnen。 Während des Lesens war ich demnach oft sehr verwirrt und habe den Zusammenhang vermisst。 Wenn ich gedanklich noch bei technischen Fehlern war， die man mit Kontrollen beheben hätte können， platzte schon das nächste Thema herein。 Das war mir alles zu wirr。 Und Bücher über Corona während Corona gerade noch in den Babyschuhen war， brauche ich echt nicht lesen。 Vielleicht in 30 Jahren。 kostenloses Rezensionsexemplar 。。。more
Gabriel Stein
，
Excellent Another excellent and typical book by a brilliant author。 Some of the chapters and comments on Covid now seem somewhat dated， but this was bound to happen。 Overall， strongly recommended
Duncan McKinnon
，
A lot of commentary that has already become outdated as of this reading。 Whenever Ferguson tries his hand at recording history in real-time it quickly becomes outdated and seemingly ill-informed （i。e。 recording the overall impact of covid pre-vaccine as 'not as bad as expected' when the pandemic remains disruptive in 2022 and most disruption happened after vaccine availability in 2021）。 I wanted a HISTORY of disruption and black swan impact， not a premature effort at explaining how covid isn't a A lot of commentary that has already become outdated as of this reading。 Whenever Ferguson tries his hand at recording history in real-time it quickly becomes outdated and seemingly ill-informed （i。e。 recording the overall impact of covid pre-vaccine as 'not as bad as expected' when the pandemic remains disruptive in 2022 and most disruption happened after vaccine availability in 2021）。 I wanted a HISTORY of disruption and black swan impact， not a premature effort at explaining how covid isn't as bad as the flu season of 1958。。。 。。。more
Jordan A。
，
Niall Ferguson weaves together a survey course of catastrophes， disasters， plagues， and accidents throughout human history， looking at why we are getting worse at solving problems。 Taking a multidisciplinary approach， through science， sociology， literature and history， Ferguson takes us on a winding journey that is equal parts eye opening， enthralling， and terrifying。
David Cutler
，
Not one of Fergusson's more interesting books and that said understanding he has his critics。It has the feel of something done to entertain himself during the lockdown and with an odd mixture of subjects loosely tied together。 Although the rise of China is interesting and terrifying by turns it doesn't fit in especially well with the other material Perhaps 'catastrophe' is too broad a category when it includes the drivers of a new Cold War， populism and pandemics。 And if not there could do with Not one of Fergusson's more interesting books and that said understanding he has his critics。It has the feel of something done to entertain himself during the lockdown and with an odd mixture of subjects loosely tied together。 Although the rise of China is interesting and terrifying by turns it doesn't fit in especially well with the other material Perhaps 'catastrophe' is too broad a category when it includes the drivers of a new Cold War， populism and pandemics。 And if not there could do with being a more coherent （or visible） thesis。 It appears that too much blame is placed on the admittedly incompetent populist leaders of the USA and UK though its notable that South Korea and Taiwan did much better。Actually the best chapter was the Afterword， where he defends himself from the charge of having written the book too early at the same time as rather proving it。 It appears that the historic model for efficiency is how Eisenhower tackled a pandemic in 1957 by not doing very much in a way that I am not very sure I understood。 Some examples are dealt with in exhaustive detail such as Chernobyl in a way that feels rather uneven。Though Fergusson does out himself a fan of dystopian sci-fi that sometimes feels more interesting than more statistics not leading to a thesis。 。。。more
Błażej
，
Jak pływanie w oceanie。 Świetna przygoda， rozległe widoki， i przerażająca czasem głębia， ale w sumie szybko gubi się kierunek pod nieustannym naporem nowych fal。
Sergio
，
Con Niall Ferguson uno aprende mucho。 A veces me parece demasiado detallista， pero es que te transmite mucha información。 En este libro， habla de los desastres en general: naturales， políticos， etc。 Y da una mirada al nuevo orden mundial。 Un libro entretenido y atingente para analizar las consecuencias del Covid-19， que aún no se acaba。
Matthew Mechtly
，
The historical portions about previous crises were fantastic。 However， I think Ferguson did his historical analysis a disservice by including it along with an analysis of the COVID crisis， with much of the underlying assumptions turning out to be wrong within months of publication。
Валерий Калныш
，
Огляд книги на каналі "Черная лампа" https://youtu。be/fh8MXV7coA0 Огляд книги на каналі "Черная лампа" https://youtu。be/fh8MXV7coA0 。。。more
Stephen Lockett
，
There has been a colossal amount of Noise associated with Covid 19。 The U。K。 Government ministers would state one “ fact” in the morning only to be followed by a second minister in the afternoon saying the opposite was the case。Ferguson cut through this for me， it was a honest account I thought。 I hope there is a follow up as this book predates the vaccine
Rocky
，
Should be required reading for everyone。 Ferguson has a unique ability to convey incredibly bleak information in a way that makes you want to keep reading。
Dario Varese
，
"Catastrofi – Lezioni di Storia per l’Occidente”; di Nial Ferguson; titolo originale: “Doom”; Traduzione di Aldo Piccato e Gabriella Tonoli; edizioni Mondadori; Isbn 978-88-04-74260-9。Il saggio di Nial Ferguson si sofferma sull’analisi della natura dei “disastri”， siano essi incidenti dovuti a “errori umani”， scelte politiche o a eventi naturali， soffermandosi sugli effetti della loro “gestione”， o meglio， più spesso， della “mala gestione” degli stessi。L’Autore， tra l’altro， parlando delle catas "Catastrofi – Lezioni di Storia per l’Occidente”; di Nial Ferguson; titolo originale: “Doom”; Traduzione di Aldo Piccato e Gabriella Tonoli; edizioni Mondadori; Isbn 978-88-04-74260-9。Il saggio di Nial Ferguson si sofferma sull’analisi della natura dei “disastri”， siano essi incidenti dovuti a “errori umani”， scelte politiche o a eventi naturali， soffermandosi sugli effetti della loro “gestione”， o meglio， più spesso， della “mala gestione” degli stessi。L’Autore， tra l’altro， parlando delle catastrofi di natura pandemica analizza il comportamento delle autorità （e delle persone） riguardo all’epidemia di Covid， in pieno svolgimento durante la scrittura del Saggio。 Non solo cerca di venire a capo delle varie differenze che hanno caratterizzato le scelte dei principali governi ma effettua anche una comparazione con i comportamenti tenuti dalle autorità durante l’epidemia di febbre spagnola degli anni Venti e di influenza asiatica sul finire degli anni 50 del Novecento。 Alla fine， almeno a mio parere， per l’Autore， i grandi fallimenti lasciano un po’ tutti colpevoli; le autorità politiche， innanzitutto， cronicamente ignoranti rispetto alle lezioni della Storia e quindi， mai previdenti; ma anche i vari settori della burocrazia （non necessariamente “statale”）， malati di supponenza， conservatorismo， conformismo e lassismo， non vengono risparmiati; fino ai singoli individui， quasi mai migliori di chi li rappresenta。 In questa analisi， risulta interessante la riflessione che l’Autore fa sul ruolo delle “reti” come “agenti” capaci di limitare o amplificare gli effetti dei disastri。E’ interessante una delle sintesi e dei messaggi dell’Autore， proprio una sorta di parziale giustificazione a favore di governanti inetti （o anche solo sfortunati！） che tende a mettere in luce come， difficilmente， i disastri siano “veramente” causati dall’operato di un singolo decisore （parafrasando Tolstoj， l’Autore allude a Napoleone per la sua disastrosa campagna di Russia）， ma più spesso， le responsabilità siano “diffuse” e un po’， per dirla in sintesi， dipendano dal fatto che tutti （o almeno molti） membri di una “organizzazione” （sia essa uno Stato， un Ente o una Società privata） si “sforzino” di non vedere i problemi e， magari si attivino proprio per occultarli。A sentire Nial Ferguson， in pratica， c’è quasi da pensare che in molti casi possa anche andare peggio！Lettura interessante anche se， forse non il meglio di questo Autore arguto e prolifico che， comunque， incuriosisce sempre e non annoia mai。 。。。more
Okimura1170
，
one of my lowest reviews ever。 I first came to know of Niall Ferguson from his documentary The Ascent of Money （based on his book of the same title） 。。。fascinating series from pre-smart phone， pre Youtube days 。 I continue to enjoy his shorter pieces and magazine articles BUT this book meanders 。I just cannot understand what points（s） he is trying to make ， and how the story telling coheres together - whether at the book or chapter level。There are interesting facts such as some terrible historic one of my lowest reviews ever。 I first came to know of Niall Ferguson from his documentary The Ascent of Money （based on his book of the same title） 。。。fascinating series from pre-smart phone， pre Youtube days 。 I continue to enjoy his shorter pieces and magazine articles BUT this book meanders 。I just cannot understand what points（s） he is trying to make ， and how the story telling coheres together - whether at the book or chapter level。There are interesting facts such as some terrible historical famines - and being written in sept 2020， CV 19 is only partially covered。Had to skim from 1/3rd onwards or else abandon Although the 3 chapters on Plagues ， their economics， and the 3 body problem are worth reading in full （Chap 9-10-11） 。。。more
arda
，
life cycles of doomsWell written informative and a good reminder of history repeating the same things again and again must read for evetybody
Bina Ratna Devavaram
，
There are a couple of interesting postulations by the author。 However， the narrative is protracted and tedious to read at times。
Paul
，
After reading "Philosophy Between the Lines"， I am more acutely aware of implied messages。 I have no close insight into the intentions of the author since I don't really know him so I'm worried this way of reading books is dangerous since I will only pick up on messages I agree with since I'll be projecting my reasoning onto the author。 After reading "Philosophy Between the Lines"， I am more acutely aware of implied messages。 I have no close insight into the intentions of the author since I don't really know him so I'm worried this way of reading books is dangerous since I will only pick up on messages I agree with since I'll be projecting my reasoning onto the author。 。。。more
Jorge Zuluaga
，
Un libro imprescindible， con apartes insufribles。Desastre， del Historiador Niall Ferguson， hace un exhaustivo análisis de los desastres que ha sufrido la humanidad （o por lo menos de los que tenemos registros） desde el comienzo de los tiempos hasta la pandemia que no termina。 En su recorrido， el Profesor Ferguson presenta distintas teorías sobre el origen de algunos desastres y la razón por la que afectan a unas sociedades más que a otras。El libro lo hace bien hasta que empieza a hablar de la pa Un libro imprescindible， con apartes insufribles。Desastre， del Historiador Niall Ferguson， hace un exhaustivo análisis de los desastres que ha sufrido la humanidad （o por lo menos de los que tenemos registros） desde el comienzo de los tiempos hasta la pandemia que no termina。 En su recorrido， el Profesor Ferguson presenta distintas teorías sobre el origen de algunos desastres y la razón por la que afectan a unas sociedades más que a otras。El libro lo hace bien hasta que empieza a hablar de la pandemia de COVID-19 en medio de la pandemia de COVID-19 （el libro fue publicado en octubre de 2020）。Si lo van a leer pueden saltarse completos los capítulos 9-11 （inclusive） que parecen más bien una colección de columnas escritas durante la pandemia， y en tiempos en los que no se sabía que iba a pasar。 El resultado son unos análisis que， a pesar de haber pasado solo un par de meses， ya suenan completamente anacrónicos。 Me aburrí terriblemente leyéndolos。El libro tiene momentos brillantes y extremadamente clarificadores。 Su sistema de clasificación de los desastres como rinocerontes grises， cisnes negros y reyes dragón （inspirado en obras de otros autores） es excelente; su argumentación de que todos los desastres naturales en realidad son desastres humanos， el análisis del papel de las redes en la fragilidad o la anti fragilidad （otro concepto tomado de otro autor） de un sistema y en general la enseñanza de que los desastres definitivamente no se pueden predecir， lo convierten en un libro imprescindible para estos tiempos。Le doy solo 3 estrellas no solo por esos insufribles 3 capítulos finales sino también por un tonito a erudición forzada que se nota desde las primeras páginas。 Es cierto que para escribir un libro de esta magnitud hay que saber muchas cosas， pero también es cierto que nadie se la sabe todas。 Aun así el autor parece empecinado en hacérnoslo creer así y de la manera más obvia: llenando páginas enteras de tecnicismos。 Y es que algunos apartes son extremadamente técnicos。 Lo comprobé con aquello que pude entender porque eran más cercanos a mi disciplina。 Este hecho le resta innecesariamente legibilidad a muchas apartes。 No se si lo experimentarán todos pero yo sentí hasta el final un cierto tufillo conservador， a veces negacionista de la gravedad del cambio climático que no me gusto。 Finalmente， es increíble como el libro es en sí mismo una demostración de las reglas que divulga: su autor fue incapaz de predecir la guerra en Ucrania， un cisne negro con visos de convertirse en un “rey dragón”。 。。。more
Casaubon
，
Mostly a collection of anecdotes about disasters， and their various and complex causes。 Ferguson defines disasters such that， "all disasters are at some level man-made political disasters"。 Much of the book is a long string of anecdotes ranging from the sinking of the RMS Titanic to the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle to the Bengal Famine of 1943。 After that， chapters on the COVID-19 pandemic - and Ferguson's story concludes in the fall of 2020， well before the book's publication in ea Mostly a collection of anecdotes about disasters， and their various and complex causes。 Ferguson defines disasters such that， "all disasters are at some level man-made political disasters"。 Much of the book is a long string of anecdotes ranging from the sinking of the RMS Titanic to the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle to the Bengal Famine of 1943。 After that， chapters on the COVID-19 pandemic - and Ferguson's story concludes in the fall of 2020， well before the book's publication in early 2021， which now seems about two or three years ago。 Finally， there is a chapter on the roiling competition between China and the United States， which in his view will dominate the history of the 21st century。 Ferguson is staunchly a 'hawk'， and states that cooperation between the United States and China on many issues is no longer possible。 。。。more
Evan
，
I am writing this review a bit after finishing the book。As I recall， the beginning of the book was tedious - a deep dive into networks and how the modern world's increased connectivity is what allowed Covid to spread so quickly。More interesting was the remainder of the book which looked at past catastrophes and ineffectual efforts by governments to address them。 Or， how governments were able to implement measures that were effective， like quarantines， without a scientific understanding of why th I am writing this review a bit after finishing the book。As I recall， the beginning of the book was tedious - a deep dive into networks and how the modern world's increased connectivity is what allowed Covid to spread so quickly。More interesting was the remainder of the book which looked at past catastrophes and ineffectual efforts by governments to address them。 Or， how governments were able to implement measures that were effective， like quarantines， without a scientific understanding of why they were effective。 And， then， by way of comparison， points out how the American public did their best to undermine the scientific methods of limiting spread。 。。。more
Silvia
，
First half of the book gets 5 stars for an interesting review of disasters and the theory that they are all man-made （earthquakes wouldn't be disastrous if people didn't live near fault lines， etc。）。 He dives more deeply into contagious diseases with an exhaustive（ing） history。 The second half of the book， which addresses the current pandemic， was written last summer/fall， a little too soon in my opinion。 It feels rushed， and of course misses the waves of the new variants。 And in a departure for First half of the book gets 5 stars for an interesting review of disasters and the theory that they are all man-made （earthquakes wouldn't be disastrous if people didn't live near fault lines， etc。）。 He dives more deeply into contagious diseases with an exhaustive（ing） history。 The second half of the book， which addresses the current pandemic， was written last summer/fall， a little too soon in my opinion。 It feels rushed， and of course misses the waves of the new variants。 And in a departure for Ferguson， it doesn't contain any original thinking。 I wish he had waited a bit longer and spent more time drawing conclusions。 But still a worthy read。 。。。more
Brian Asalone
，
Kind of desultory with interesting chapters on various topics that relate loosely to "doom"。 As usual Niall's insight and broad references scientific， economic， literary and statistical set the background to his observations。 Kind of desultory with interesting chapters on various topics that relate loosely to "doom"。 As usual Niall's insight and broad references scientific， economic， literary and statistical set the background to his observations。 。。。more
Mark Nichols
，
Professionally researched and an enjoyable read， but it lacked an overall purpose。。。 I'm not certain of the takeaways here。 Still， full of facts and some interesting points made。 Professionally researched and an enjoyable read， but it lacked an overall purpose。。。 I'm not certain of the takeaways here。 Still， full of facts and some interesting points made。 。。。more
Jason Thorne
，
I found the book well researched， and well written。 First， the bad。 Some criticisms of the author are justified because there is quite a lot of references to mathematics， distributions and the like which to understand appropriately would take far more explanation than is given， and his coverage of aspects concerning Putin and Russia were biased and unreferenced。 Okay， now the good。 They guy is smart and multidisciplinary。 Though the maths is not well explained， I am a mathematician， and I know e I found the book well researched， and well written。 First， the bad。 Some criticisms of the author are justified because there is quite a lot of references to mathematics， distributions and the like which to understand appropriately would take far more explanation than is given， and his coverage of aspects concerning Putin and Russia were biased and unreferenced。 Okay， now the good。 They guy is smart and multidisciplinary。 Though the maths is not well explained， I am a mathematician， and I know enough to know that the author understands it。 He uses his multi disciplinary intellect to identify important failings in our current system of management as applied to government and health care。 The book is prophetic。 One example:"The danger my final chapter suggests， was that this path might lead to political crisis and geopolitical confrontation -- potentially even to war。"This was written in August 2020 。。。more
Tiffany
，
I listened to this book because Stephenson mentioned it as being an influence on Termination Shock at a talk I attended。 It was rather a slog to get through， largely because it tried to cover too much ground and included too many lists of statistics and obscure names。 It felt like he wanted to write a book about the pandemic， but because the pandemic was still underway at the time of writing， he felt like he needed to broaden his topic。 So， he threw in discussions of war， political unrest， etc r I listened to this book because Stephenson mentioned it as being an influence on Termination Shock at a talk I attended。 It was rather a slog to get through， largely because it tried to cover too much ground and included too many lists of statistics and obscure names。 It felt like he wanted to write a book about the pandemic， but because the pandemic was still underway at the time of writing， he felt like he needed to broaden his topic。 So， he threw in discussions of war， political unrest， etc ranging back hundreds of years。 Better to read a few books that focus on just one of these topics than to try to battle through this lengthy survey。 。。。more
Joe
，