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Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus
Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus | David Quammen
9 posts | 6 read | 5 to read
The story of the worldwide scientific quest to decipher the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, trace its source, and make possible the vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Breathless is the story of SARS-CoV-2 and its fierce journey through the human population, as seen by the scientists who study its origin, its ever-changing nature, and its capacity to kill us. David Quammen expertly shows how strange new viruses emerge from animals into humans as we disrupt wild ecosystems, and how those viruses adapt to their human hosts, sometimes causing global catastrophe. He explains why this coronavirus will probably be a "forever virus," destined to circulate among humans and bedevil us endlessly, in one variant form or another. As scientists labor to catch it, comprehend it, and control it, with their high-tech tools and methods, the virus finds ways of escape. Based on interviews with nearly one hundred scientists, including leading virologists in China and around the world, Quammen explains that: -Infectious disease experts saw this pandemic coming -Some scientists, for more than two decades, warned that "the next big one" would be caused by a changeable new virus--very possibly a coronavirus--but such warnings were ignored for political or economic reasons -The precise origins of this virus may not be known for years, but some clues are compelling, and some suppositions can be dismissed -And much more. Breathless takes you inside the frantic international effort to understand and control SARS-CoV-2 as if we were peering over the shoulders of the brilliant scientists who led the chase.
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Amiable
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Pickpick

Book 2 ✔️ for #DiseaseoftheMonthBookClub
(Prompt: Read a book about a virus)

Fascinating look at the scientific research that was being conducted on coronaviruses after the SARS and MERS outbreaks, which enabled scientists to quickly pivot to create a vaccine when COVID-19 spilled over into the human population. A bit technical so I‘m glad I had at least a semester of college-level biology.

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Amiable
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Happy Litsyversary, @BarbaraBB ! Tagged is the book I‘ve already preordered (the paperback edition comes out in March 2024). I saw the author at a literary festival this year and was mesmerized by his commentary. And this is the type of nonfiction book that hits one of my sweet spots: #DiseaseoftheMonthBookClub 😀

@dabbe @CBee —see original post to enter!

#BBGiveaway

CBee Thanks for the tag! 😘 14mo
BarbaraBB Thanks for entering the giveaway 💕 14mo
dabbe Will do; thanks for the tag! 🧡🎃🧡 14mo
39 likes3 comments
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Amiable
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Santa Fe International Literary Festival, Day 2: Attended a presentation with David Quammen, nonfiction author of 18 books including “Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic,” “Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus” and the tagged one. He provided an edge-of-your-seat description of a trek he made in Gabon, Africa in pursuit of an article for National Geographic.

TiredLibrarian The festival sounds wonderful! I hope sometime I have a chance to attend something like that. 2y
Amiable @TiredLibrarian It was really an incredible lineup of authors! 2y
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Pedrocamacho
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I‘ve been waiting to read an analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic that has the temporal distance needed to draw real conclusions. This is the first book that I‘ve read the feels that way. There is still much to know but this is a step in the right direction.

Hooked_on_books I read this book somewhat reluctantly and it‘s really good! 2y
Pedrocamacho It really is, @Hooked_on_books. He has books focusing on other viruses as well. The one on HIV is fascinating. 2y
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kwmg40
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What I liked best about this book about COVID-19 is that its focus is on the science and the scientists. Quammen provides a lot of scientific detail, written in a way that non-specialists can understand.

5th book finished for #FabulousFebruary @Andrew65
#BookSpinBingo #BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 2y
Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 2y
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Grrlbrarian
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Picked up my #doublespin today. It was my #Jolabokaflod present to myself and worth every penny. David Quammen writes so well and accessibly that he‘s an insta-buy for me. If you have the slightest interest in how / where COVID-19 originated and spread, as well as the characteristics that made it into a pandemic, you‘ll be riveted. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hooked_on_books Yeah, this one‘s terrific. 2y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 2y
23 likes2 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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There have been a number of COVID books out already, but this is the first I‘ve read that sticks to the science. Overall, it‘s a good look at the pandemic, framed within the greater picture of recent coronavirus diseases. It is repetitive in places, which in some ways is good (he spends a lot of time showing how the science refutes the lab leak hypothesis), but it other places is just a bit sloppy. Still a strong pick.

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DrexEdit
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I knew I was going to like this book! A look at the scientists and hard science behind the hunt for the origins of the covid coronavirus. More questions than answers at this point but if you're interested at all in how viruses work, I highly recommend this book. No politics, except where it intersects with scientists doing their work. No Fauci or public health crisis stories. Just a thorough and informative science timeline, clearly explained. 5🌟

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DrexEdit
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A new book from my favorite science writer (and an expert on viruses) about the origins and implications of the COVID-19 coronavirus? Yes, please! 😊 👍