World War C: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic and How to Prepare for the Next One;
Sanjay Gupta, M.D. (Simon & Schuster Audio - 8 hrs - 44 min.) - Release Date - 10/5/2021
I know many of us feel like we have heard more than enough about COVID but, when I learned of this new book from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta I knew I wanted to listen to what he had to say.
The first thing that impressed me with a book that could have easily been way over my head was how easy it was to absorb much of what Dr. Gupta had to say. He reads the audio version of this book and his conversational style and easy pace was excellent.
The book explores what has been learned thus far about this pandemic beginning with the origins of COVID around the world up to the present. Readers get a glimpse of what went wrong and how we can better prepare for the next pandemic from the perspective of other public health experts and research scientists. Approximately half of the book focuses on what has happened to the present and then we move forward to learn how to better prepare for next virus that will come our way. Gupta tells us why COVID was fatal to certain types of individuals and how we need to focus on better physical and mental health to have a better chance of surviving another pandemic. We need to do some forward thinking about where we want to live (big cities vs rural areas), whether nursing homes are the place we should be placing our loved ones, do we have the right insurance plans for ourselves and family members and so much more. Gupta also helps us to debunk various vaccine myths and tries to help us to understand the vaccine hesitancy of some individuals.
I liked that this book was so much more than just about COVID: pandemics have happened before and will happen again. Let's learn what went wrong and how we can be ready next time.
Rating - 4.5/5 stars
Thanks go to Simon & Schuster Audio for allowing my access to this download in exchange for my unbiased review.
Thank you for the review. I follow him on CNN and very much like his style of talking to one.
ReplyDeleteYes, a very good speaker and easy to understand.
DeleteThis sounds like a very good read and I'm glad the author does a good job with the narration. I've always liked Gupta when I've heard him speak on various TV programs over the years. Adding it to my list. :)
ReplyDeleteWe thought it was quite good and most of it helpful.
DeleteSounds like an 'excellent' book to help us understand more about this whole experience. Let's hope our various governments can learn some lessons too because the next one could be so much more deadly. (I have probably read and watched too much science-fiction.)
ReplyDeleteIt was very good and yes many countries hopefully will learn from past mistakes.
DeleteI read Gupta's Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age last summer. It was very good, full of common sense and explanations of how behaviors affect the brain. I'm certainly interested in this one!
ReplyDeleteJen, I meant to get a copy of that one from the library but, I never did.
DeleteI just hope there's not another pandemic any time soon! Although I will be better prepared for the next one...I already have all my masks. ;D
ReplyDeleteYes - there one type of business that made money during COVID.
DeleteHe probably used to be a good doctor but seems more interested in being a celebrity these days.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how much neurosurgery he does but, I do like to listen to him speak.
DeleteI hope we finally do figure this thing out. Our medical experts around the world seem to have all gotten caught flat-footed on this one. We have to do better next time.
ReplyDeleteMany have done much better than us by taking charge early on IMO.
DeleteThe first necessity for handling a pandemic seems to be to have leaders who are concerned about and understand public health issues and are willing to take effective steps to address them. Countries that had such leaders have done pretty well with our current pandemic. It is to our everlasting shame that we had leaders who were more interested in enriching themselves and their friends and in maintaining their own power rather than ending the suffering of their people.
ReplyDeleteBravo! Exactly!
DeleteI like that Gupta went beyond COVID and tied it into the larger context of pandemics. He is an impressive talking head on CNN so it's nice to hear his book is also accessible.
ReplyDeleteHe is an excellent narrator for this book which often does not happen when authors read their own books.
DeleteLike Helen, I'm glad Gupta went beyond the current situation and got into applying what we've learned. I've appreciated his commentary throughout the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think he is well respected by most and I thought this was quite informative.
DeleteSounds like a great book. Good review.
ReplyDeleteIt was fascinating and easy to listen to as well. Gupta has a great speaking voice.
DeleteWhile we all may be tired of hearing about COVID, I agree with the point of let's prepare for the next one. What have we learned and how can we prevent the next one. Glad to hear this book explored that! Great review.
ReplyDeleteI agree, we are warn out but, lets hope we are ready next time.
DeleteI agree we can learn from this for the next time. But it's frustrating when many folks don't care about the common good of others around them over themselves. Can't even wear a simple mask? Not sure this bodes well, right?
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