A review by kahawa
Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live by Nicholas A. Christakis

5.0

This was a great overview of the covid-19 pandemic and pandemics in general, starting with the origin of the virus in Wuhan, and ending with projections about the future in regards to vaccines and co-existence. Christakis managed to keep it fairly a-political, although the latter half measuredly critiqued Trump's handling of the pandemic. I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to get an overview of what happened in the first half of 2020, from an expert's perspective, which isn't the same thing as what the rest of us were reading on Facebook and Twitter. Pandemics aren't new, as Christakis describes, even though they're new to the generation that they impact.

I thought that Christakis gave an objective reasoned analysis of many confusing and controversial issues, such as the origin of the virus (bat or lab?), the effectiveness of masks (it's not just yes or no), the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and other medical interventions, the impact of shut-downs and physical distancing on both the economy, the virus, and sociology. And more. There's something in here to annoy both the liberals and the conservatives - he doesn't take sides, he just explains the issues.

It wasn't overly academic or mathy either, but it never felt dumbed down. He's a scientist not an activist, so he's focusing on the science of covid-19.

And although he published this in August 2020, it still feels on the money and completely relevant in April 2021.