Reviews

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis

ugoglen's review

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informative medium-paced

3.25

"The Premonition" covers the state-level view (vs federal) of the COVID-19 pandemic is the US. 

Not my favorite of Lewis's books, but a good piece of contemporary investigative journalism nonetheless. It was much more nuanced than I expected, with respect to the various political parties' ability to handle the virus. 

bobmcbobson's review

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2.0

I'm a huge Michale Lewis fan, but this was surprisingly "meh". Way too much time spent on the biographies of the people involved and way too little on the actual pandemic response. I feel like this book picks away at the edges of the story whereas his earlier work cuts right through the heart of it.

clayalbracht's review

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3.0

DNF @ 30% it wasn’t bad. It hit too close to home. I’m still hurting from lockdown.

blankpagealex's review

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5.0

I've been pretty wary of the inevitable onslaught of COVID books but at the same time Michael Lewis rarely disappoints and his latest was absolutely worth it. It's a fascinating glimpse into how the United States was well-prepared for a pandemic. Until one actually happened.

Lewis finds fascinating, insightful, and funny characters who he captures brilliantly. This would actually make a great double feature with his preceding book The Fifth Risk.

fishan89's review

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5.0

Another fascinating tale by Michael Lewis. A brilliant read and a pertinent one that adds interesting layers to how the recent pandemic was handled from US's perspective. The characters were interesting, as they usually are in his books, and the research, immaculate. A recommended read and reread.

bsmith27's review

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4.0

A good look into the team put together by W. Bush to prepare for pandemics. It follows the key players through the COVID-19 era and introduced a few new people. It gave good stories about the people.

smithmd's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.75

ksm2501's review

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challenging dark informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

maria_mxx's review

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4.0

Very well written. Really highlights just how poor America's response was to COVID and how good it could have been, had those in power listened.