Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human PandemicSpillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
Score Modern
What it's about
David Quammen travels the world to explain zoonoses, the diseases that jump from animals to humans: Ebola and Marburg in Africa, SARS in China, Hendra and Nipah, Lyme disease, malaria and the long road of HIV from chimpanzees to the world. He follows the scientists who track them and asks where the next pandemic will come from.
Why it's worth reading
It was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, and readers in 2020 found that it had predicted much of the Covid pandemic. It's a detective story and a travelogue.
You'll love it if you liked
The Hot Zone
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
The Gene: An Intimate HistoryGood to know
It's long and detailed. It was published in 2012, before Covid, which makes it more striking.
By the numbers
- Readers96 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics24 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller22 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz1 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #48 of the 119 science and ideas books we rank
- #357 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #711 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Thought-provoking
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Is Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic worth reading?
Yes. It was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, and readers in 2020 found that it had predicted much of the Covid pandemic. It ranks #711 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 76.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic about?
David Quammen travels the world to explain zoonoses, the diseases that jump from animals to humans: Ebola and Marburg in Africa, SARS in China, Hendra and Nipah, Lyme disease, malaria and the long road of HIV from chimpanzees to the world. He follows the scientists who track them and asks where the next pandemic will come from.
How long does it take to read Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic?
About 15 hours (592 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic?
If you liked it, try The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts or The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee.