“In this highly readable account, [Werb] gives due to those who toiled in obscurity to avert future pandemics only to run into frustrating political roadblocks.”—The Globe and Mail
“One of the most authoritative, comprehensive and, perhaps more importantly, readable books about the behind-the-scenes science of the COVID-19 pandemic and coronaviruses at large.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune
“A fascinating, sometimes terrifying, exploration of science and viruses . . . Through vivid storytelling, we see the deep roots of both scientific discovery and viral ecology, and how these are tangled with human ingenuity and folly.”—David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees
“Through remarkable storytelling, Dan Werb illuminates the long history of the coronavirus family, how we were amply forewarned by the SARS and MERS epidemics, and how the science community has rallied to successfully take on SARS-CoV-2 and ultimately prevail over COVID.”—Eric Topol, director and founder of Scripps Research Translational Institute and author of Deep Medicine
“A page-turning and unsettling look at the history of coronaviruses . . . The light [Werb] sheds on scientists whose work has gone largely under the radar makes for a moving account. This is a unique and valuable addition to the expanding body of work on Covid-19.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)