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Brendan Borrell

Goodreads Author

Born

Houston, The United States

Website

http://www.thefirstshots.com

Twitter

bborrell

Genre

Nonfiction, Science, Business

Influences

Jon Krakauer, Michael Lewis, Charles Portis, David Grann, Richard Pres ...more

Member Since

August 2021

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Brendan Borrell is an award-winning journalist and the author of The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and the Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine, which tells the inside story of Operation Warp Speed.

Over the last fifteen years, Brendan's essays and reporting have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including The Atlantic, Bloomberg Businessweek, National Geographic, and the New York Times. He has tracked down the Canadian maple syrup thieves, penetrated the secretive world of British mole catchers, and come face-to-face with the most powerful man in parrot-collecting. As a correspondent for Outside magazine, he searched for a whimsical French adventurer who went missing in Alaska and participated in a survi ...more

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Brendan Borrell’s books

Average rating: 4.02 · 332 ratings · 56 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine 3.96 avg rating — 291 ratings — published 2021 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Power Soak: Invention, Obsession, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Sound 4.53 avg rating — 38 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Environment: Science, Issues, Solutions by Manuel C. Molles Jr., Brendan Borrell (Goodreads Author) 3.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2004 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Loose-leaf Version for Environment: Science, Issues, Solutions & LaunchPad for Environment: Science, Issues, Solutions by Manuel C. Molles Jr., Brendan Borrell (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	LaunchPad for Environment: Science, Issues, Solutions (1-Term Access) by Manuel C. Molles Jr., Brendan Borrell (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Environment: Science, Issues, Solutions & LaunchPad for Environment: Science, Issues, Solutions by Manuel Molles, Brendan Borrell (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Brendan Borrell's Blog

The Psychedelic Evangelist (The New York Times)

Before he died last year, Roland Griffiths was arguably the world’s most famous psychedelics researcher. Since 2006, his work has suggested that psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, can induce mystical experiences, and that those experiences, in turn, can help treat anxiety, depression, addiction and the terror of death.

Dr. Griffiths and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University received widespr

Brendan is Currently Reading

Brendan Borrell is currently reading

Hell's Angels

by Hunter S. Thompson

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Sep 21, 2023 06:19PM

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Masters of the Lost Land: The Untold Story of the Amazon and the Violent Fight for the World's Last Frontier

by Heriberto Araújo

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Jul 27, 2023 05:41PM

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The Crossing (The Border Trilogy, #2)

by Cormac McCarthy

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Jan 16, 2023 08:11PM

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Brendan Borrell has read Power Soak: Invention, Obsession, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Sound by Brendan Borrell (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 27, 2025 09:27AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Power Soak by Brendan Borrell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Power Soak by Brendan Borrell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Brendan Borrell and 1 other person liked Will Beyer's review of When We Sold God's Eye: Diamonds, Murder, and a Clash of Worlds in the Amazon: "Ripping story of our times, wild and eye opening. Should be optioned for a movie or mini series asap if you ask me"
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Brendan Borrell rated a book it was amazing The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History by Jonathan Franzen	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Brendan Borrell rated a book liked it Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by Brendan Brazier (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Brendan Borrell has read Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by Brendan Brazier (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Brendan Borrell rated a book it was amazing Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 09, 2025 06:42AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Brendan Borrell rated a book really liked it Child of God by Cormac McCarthy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Brendan Borrell rated a book it was amazing All Fours by Miranda July (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Brendan Borrell and 2 other people liked Kaitlin's review of The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine: "An interesting look at the path to developing the COVID-19 vaccines. While not written by the same author, it served as a somewhat follow-up to Michael Lewis’s The Premonition: A Pandemic Story which I also enjoyed. This one does a really good job of" Read more of this review »
May 12, 2025 02:19PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The First Shots by Brendan Borrell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The First Shots by Brendan Borrell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">