A journalist retells the story of the SARS outbreak in 2003. The book describes the banality of the factors that lead to spread, that block information sharing, that shape the background causes for future outbreaks and the lucky breaks that send it all away temporarily.

Perhaps a bit hard to separate some of the critiques of the Chinese gov from what would be the case in any government managing of difficult situations such as an outbreak. But also interesting that there are big limits on what the gov can do - it seems it can’t afford to indefinitely ban consumption of illegal wild animals. Eating culture is tougher then public health.

Very well written, with lots of empathy for actors in difficult situations. ( )

I have just finished this after sheltering in place for two weeks due to the Covid-19 virus. I wish I had read it earlier and educated myself on the subject of viruses and the Chinese government's response to them. The author is a journalist who was head of Times Asia when SARS, a highly contagious respiratory virus like Covid19, broke out in Southern China in 2003 and spread quickly to Hong Kong, Hanoi, Beijing, and then to the U.S. via international flights. In some ways the description of what happened 13 years ago with SARS is like deja vu all over again.

The book follows the efforts of international scientists who attempt to discover the cause of the outbreak (civet cats in wild animal markets). It also depicts the Chinese doctors, nearly all of whom are deemed to be every bit as accomplished as U.S. physicians, as heroes. They tended the sick under difficult conditions and tried to get the word out but were not allowed to do so by local government officials until 300 people had died. The author also admits that the news media, including his magazine, were too slow to report what they heard about the virus because it erupted on the eve of the U.S.'s invasion of Iraq. The author said that at the time the "only story that mattered was terrorism." Then, as now, as the infections and deaths increased, the problem morphed from being medical to being political.

One lesson to be learned, among many, is that while governments naturally tend to deny the existence of an epidemic, the population is often as guilty as those ruling it. How many people today are refusing to wear face masks or observe social distancing? And the wild animal markets have not ben eliminated in China, indeed some sources have pointed the finger at the so-called "wet markets" as the source of the current outbreak. According to the book, once the civet cats were removed from the wild animal markets, the chain of animal to human infection was broken, and there were no further outbreaks of SARS. You'd think the world would have learned its lesson from the SARS outbreak, but obviously it hasn't.

The book is a page turner along the lines of "Hot Zone," and like the other reviewer said, it reads somewhat like a novel. ( )

I have a soft spot for germ books and this one was a page turner. Read on a tablet and found myself cross referencing people, places and things throughout my reading. Fun to read and informative too! Particulate Respirator and Surgical Mask now on my Amazon wishlist. ( )

Fantastic description of the recent SARS epidemic and China's refusal to allow any news of the outbreak to be reported. Reads like a novel. ( )