The Premonition: A Pandemic Story

The news from China that was restricted was alarming to those who could read between the lines. However, the president emphasized that there was no need for concern.

Luckily, there are still doubters in our country. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios. Michael Lewis’s taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19.

The characters you will meet in these pages are as fascinating as they are unexpected. A thirteen-year-old girl’s science project on transmission of an airborne pathogen develops into a very grown-up model of disease control. A local public health officer uncovers important facts about American culture by using her worm's-eye perspective to notice what the CDC overlooks. A secret team of dissenting doctors, nicknamed the Wolverines, has everything necessary to fight the pandemic: brilliant backgrounds, world-class labs, prior experience with the pandemic scares of bird flu and swine flu…everything, that is, except official permission to implement their work.

Michael Lewis isn't afraid to refer to these individuals as heroes for defying orders they know to be based on false information and poor research. Even the internet, which is so important to their idea sharing, is dangerous for them. It's never certain who else may be listening in.