Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As the COVID death toll approaches 600,000 in the US, it seems reasonable to ask how did it get so bad? Michael Lewis takes on this complex subject using his unique approach. He profiles several "maverick" doctors with government experience in public health who early on foresaw the potential scope of the COVID problem. They advocated swift and decisive action by government, using arguments based on good science and common sense. However, they encountered a wall of ignorance, apathy, and incompetence to a degree shocking in one of the world's most advanced countries. The CDC especially comes across as an abysmal failure. As a result, our decentralized system of hospitals had to cope with the chaos, confusion, and mounting death toll. On the plus side, Lewis excels in taking the reader into the shoes of the "mavericks," as they struggle to deal with politicians and bureaucrats unwilling or unable to learn the lessons from the 1918 global flu pandemic. Lewis' most compelling character is Dr. Charity Dean, who risks her Calif State public health job to push for effective action. This book clearly shows the tragic costs of a public health issue being politicized to such an extent. On the negative side, Lewis spends an excessive amount of time (nearly half the book) introducing his main characters, and discussing their efforts to deal with previous public health problems. In addition, this book is not (and does not pretend to be) a comprehensive analysis of the COVID crisis in the US. For example, Trump's role in the failure to contain COVID is only briefly discussed. My two main takeaways from this book are: 1) The Federal government's failure to act effectively in Jan & Feb, 2020 to contain the virus doomed the US to fight a losing battle against an enemy that multiplied at an exponential rate; 2) Without drastic overhaul, the US public health system will not be ready for the next virus, which could be much more lethal.