What do you think?
Rate this book
Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-science
The last five years saw a significant return of epidemic infectious disease, culminating in COVID-19. In our new post–COVID-19 world, how do we prevent future illnesses by expanding scientific and vaccine diplomacy and cooperation, especially to combat the problems that humans have brought on ourselves? Modern diseases and viruses have been spurred anew by war and conflict as well as shifting poverty, urbanization, climate change, and a new troubling anti-science/anti-vaccination outlook. From such twenty-first-century forces, we have seen declines in previous global health gains, with sharp increases in vaccine-preventable and neglected diseases on the Arabian Peninsula, in Venezuela, in parts of Africa, and even on the Gulf Coast of the United States. In Preventing the Next Pandemic , international vaccine scientist and tropical disease and coronavirus expert Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, argues that we can―and must―rely on vaccine diplomacy to address this new world order in disease and global health. Detailing his years in the lab developing new vaccines, Hotez also recounts his travels around the world to shape vaccine partnerships with people in countries both rich and poor in an attempt to head off major health problems. Building on the legacy of Dr. Albert Sabin, who developed the oral polio vaccine with Soviet scientists at the height of the Cold War, he explains how he is still working to refresh and redirect vaccine diplomacy toward neglected and newly emerging diseases. Hotez reveals how―during his Obama-era tenure as the US Science Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa, which coincided with both the rise in these geopolitical forces and climate change―he witnessed tropical infectious diseases and established vaccine partnerships that may still combat them up close. He explores why, since 2015, we've seen the decline of global cooperation and cohesion, to the detriment of those programs that are meant to benefit the most vulnerable people in the world. Unfortunately, Hotez asserts, these negative global events kick off a never-ending loop. Problems in a country may lead to disease outbreaks, but those outbreaks can lead to further problems―such as the impact of coronavirus on China's society and economy, which has been felt around the globe. Zeroing in on the sociopolitical and environmental factors that drive our most controversial and pressing global health concerns, Hotez proposes historically proven methods to soothe fraught international relations while preparing us for a safer, healthier future. He hammers home the importance of public engagement to communicate the urgency of embracing science during troubled times. Touching on a range of disease, from leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) to COVID-19, Preventing the Next Pandemic has always been a timely goal, but it will be even more important in a COVID and post-COVID world.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published March 2, 2021
65 people are currently reading
881 people want to read
About the author
Peter J. Hotez
25 books107 followersPeter J. Hotez is an American scientist, pediatrician, and advocate in the fields of global health, vaccinology, and neglected tropical disease control. He serves as founding dean and chief of the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine in the Department of pediatrics and holds the Texas Children's Hospital Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 7, 2021
Aside from a bit too many references to colleauges he's worked with and their titles, this is a great summary of efforts here and across the world to deal with this and other pandemics. A lot of good information and awareness building on Neglected Tropical Diseases ("NTD") and their impact on poorer countries and migration to the wealthier countries associated with war, poverty, climate change, forced and voluntary migration and refugee movement, economics of vaccines and public health efforts. Vaccines as the greatest invention and outcome of pure and life science and the usefulness in workign iternationally to create peace through this very mutual interest.
Lots of duplication of material; at times reads like a collection of previous articles (is it?).
If you can read it along with "The Health Gap" by Sir Michael Marmot (all about social determinants and economic determinants), you have a pretty good picture of what must be done to build a bulwark against what's to come.
Lots of duplication of material; at times reads like a collection of previous articles (is it?).
If you can read it along with "The Health Gap" by Sir Michael Marmot (all about social determinants and economic determinants), you have a pretty good picture of what must be done to build a bulwark against what's to come.
Read
March 30, 2024DNF. The author talks about himself a lot and repeats the term "vaccine diplomacy" hundreds of times. Vaccines are good, no doubt. But in the context of diplomacy and social determinants of health, it seems bizarre, for example, to bring up cholera in Yemen and think that the solution is stockpiling cholera vaccine as opposed to providing clean water or stopping the support of wars or ...
And I may have missed it skimming over the book, but when does he get to preventing the next pandemic?
Also, I recall his saying that there is no vaccine for TB. ?? But there's BCG, which is on the WHO list of essential medicines. ????
And I may have missed it skimming over the book, but when does he get to preventing the next pandemic?
Also, I recall his saying that there is no vaccine for TB. ?? But there's BCG, which is on the WHO list of essential medicines. ????
June 11, 2021
If you watch the news channels (eg. CNN, MSNBC, FOX) you've mostly likely seen Peter Hotez over the last year and a half commenting on the pandemic. He looks kind of like Jerry Lewis's "Nutty Professor". When he's come on, I'd yell to my wife, Chris, "Hey, the Nutty Professor is on."
Well, I didn't choose this book (Chris did) so I had zero expectations. One day I saw it laying around, picked it up to give it a look see, and ended up reading the book in a day. It was compelling reading.
There is a next pandemic coming probably sooner than later, as Hotez points out with a kind of scary certainty. That in itself is enough to keep me and my penchent for dystopian predictions interested. But the real interesting story is the story of vaccine diplomacy starting with the US's and USSR's work together during the Cold War on the polio vaccine(s).
In the end it's a history of how scientists , no matter what their politics, have worked togethered as hey focused on facts and the scientific method ,and how that may onee again save us. o
Well, I didn't choose this book (Chris did) so I had zero expectations. One day I saw it laying around, picked it up to give it a look see, and ended up reading the book in a day. It was compelling reading.
There is a next pandemic coming probably sooner than later, as Hotez points out with a kind of scary certainty. That in itself is enough to keep me and my penchent for dystopian predictions interested. But the real interesting story is the story of vaccine diplomacy starting with the US's and USSR's work together during the Cold War on the polio vaccine(s).
In the end it's a history of how scientists , no matter what their politics, have worked togethered as hey focused on facts and the scientific method ,and how that may onee again save us. o
November 14, 2021
Narrative runs in parallel to Tom Nichols book “the death of expertise”.. sad that we have sank into the depths of anti-science and those whose definition of “doing their own research “ consists of Google algorithms that confirm their existing bias…
July 28, 2023
I work in public health. I appreciate Dr. Hotez as a scientist who in this book explores a need for vaccine diplomacy across the globe and to promote science. This is a good book to read if you want to learn more about about the factors that link climate change,war, poverty, and disease. I read a lot of similar books so at times it does get a bit dry, but the information is important, especially if we want to look at areas outside North America.
March 4, 2022
Before our lives turned upside down again with a land war in Europe, I had the privilege of being able to focus on reading a book by Peter Hotez titled “Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-Science”. Below, I will share what I learned from Dr. Hotez and why I recommend reading his book.
Dr. Peter Hotez is a scientist and pediatrician. He received his BA at Yale, his MD at Weill Cornell Medical College, and his Ph.D. at Rockefeller University. He is the founding Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and the Director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. Throughout his career, he focused on global health, particularly on developing vaccines for neglected tropical diseases. He successfully advocated for more investment for controlling such diseases in developing countries with little incentive for pharmaceutical companies for product development. In 2016, he published a book titled “Blue Marble Health”, arguing that the traditional view of developing vs. developed countries is obsolete. Instead, he suggested that neglected diseases spread and cause harm in pockets of poverty in most countries, requiring a unified approach globally to tackle them. He also became a staunch advocate for vaccines, taking the fight to anti-vaccine groups and organizations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he became a frequent guest on U.S. television shows across the political spectrum, dispelling misinformation and disinformation on the disease and the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines and other interventions. His steadfast dedication further solidified him as one of my personal heroes, and I’m proud to have had the opportunity to interview him in the past.
Given all of the above, I was very much looking forward to reading his newest book titled “Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-Science”. While the book did not necessarily provide a “silver bullet” about how we can prevent the next pandemic, I learned a lot from his book. First, I did not realize beforehand that infectious and tropical diseases made an unexpected emergence and return since 2015. I was fully aware of the overall increases of emerging diseases in the last 50 years, and of large outbreaks of specific diseases recently (e.g. Ebola, Zika virus disease, chikungunya, leishmaniasis, COVID-19 etc.), but Dr. Hotez helped me see the full picture. He connects the return and emergence of diseases with our new era of the Anthropocene, and identifies rising political instability, internal displacement and migrations, the rise of anti-science and nationalism, and climate change as the major forces driving this resurgence. In three separate chapters, he draws on his experience partly as the US Science Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa in 2015-16 to discuss the specific circumstances that lead to the emergence of return of specific diseases in three different regions of the world: the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and in Central America, Venezuela and its neighbors (called the Northern Triangle). Dr. Hotez expertly weaves together his vast expertise in neglected tropical diseases with the geopolitical forces and events shaping the emergence and return of such diseases, creating a coherent narrative. In a subsequent chapter titled “Sorting it Out”, he attempts to compare and contrast the major diseases and the major drivers of their emergence and return in different regions of both the New and the Old World, identifying patterns of common drivers, such as urbanization, poverty and human migration.
Another major theme of Dr. Hotez’s book is vaccine diplomacy, defined as the “simultaneous scientific and diplomatic opportunities between nations, with an overriding objective to jointly develop and test vaccines as a means to promote health, security and peace.” I learned a lot from Dr. Hotez’s book about the history of vaccine diplomacy, particularly the efforts of Dr. Albert Sabin to work together with Soviet scientists in the 1960s to develop the oral polio vaccine. Another incredible success story of vaccine diplomacy involved the collaboration of Ukrainian epidemiologist Dr. Viktor Zhdanov, Dr. Donald A. Henderson from the United States, and scientists in India in developing and scaling up the production of smallpox vaccines, allowing the eradication of this terrible disease. I also learned that the recent Ebola epidemic in the DRC in 2019 was controlled by vaccinating contacts of infected patients, and their contacts, as another example of vaccine diplomacy. Dr. Hotez describes many more examples and advocates for opportunities for more vaccine diplomacy throughout his book, including in the chapters focusing on different regions of the world.
One of the major drivers of emerging and re-emerging infectious and tropical diseases according to Dr. Hotez is the rise of anti-science sentiment. Instead of a fringe movement, Dr. Hotez describes a well-organized and well-funded campaign to discredit scientists and science in general, and spread misinformation and disinformation, often for political purposes. Dr. Hotez describes how such campaigns directly increase infectious disease spread by decreasing vaccine coverage and deliberately targeting people vulnerable to their message. He identifies the anti-science and anti-vaccine movement as a media empire, dominating the information space with mis- and dis-information, and financially benefiting from that. According to his account, anti-science and anti-vaccine groups tie themselves to populist movements, and lobby politicians to achieve their goals. He also describes his efforts to counter mis- and dis-information spread by anti-science and anti-vaccine groups, and the retaliation he suffered as a consequence. He also highlights the globalization of anti-science and anti-vaccine messages and sentiments, and the potential risk they pose to controlling emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
Finally, Dr. Hotez describes emerging new approaches for vaccine development, such as CEPI and other product development partnerships such as PATH. He details how previously developed vaccines for SARS-CoV provided the basis for the development of vaccines for COVID-19, and gave us a window into his life during the COVID-19 pandemic, consciously trying to represent science on appearances in media across the political spectrum from his bedroom. As any book written during the COVID-19 pandemic, this section of the book feels hopelessly outdated, having been written in 2021, through no fault of the author.
My favorite chapter of the book was probably the last, titled the “Broken Obelisk”. Here, Dr. Hotez summarizes his book, arguing for renewed vaccine diplomacy to counter the emergence and re-emergence of infectious and tropical diseases. Along with his collaborators, he recently made a large scientific contribution by developing and sharing a new patent-free and cheap COVID-19 vaccine called CORBEVAX, specifically for low and middle-income countries. While arguing for improved access to vaccines and universal health, he also advocates for the training of vaccine ambassadors. These are interdisciplinary scientists who understand both the science of vaccines as well as the language of diplomacy and foreign relations. The “Broken Obelisk”, a sculpture by Barnett Newman, located along his daily walk in Houston, becomes a metaphor of both “a fragmented world in need of repair and the promise of vaccine diplomacy”. Even though I wonder how much more broken the “obelisk” had become metaphorically just in the last week, given current events in Ukraine, I admire Dr. Hotez’s optimism for the potential of vaccine diplomacy to heal our world through the alliance of nations to improve all of our health. I wholeheartedly recommend his book to read for all of you!
Dr. Peter Hotez is a scientist and pediatrician. He received his BA at Yale, his MD at Weill Cornell Medical College, and his Ph.D. at Rockefeller University. He is the founding Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and the Director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. Throughout his career, he focused on global health, particularly on developing vaccines for neglected tropical diseases. He successfully advocated for more investment for controlling such diseases in developing countries with little incentive for pharmaceutical companies for product development. In 2016, he published a book titled “Blue Marble Health”, arguing that the traditional view of developing vs. developed countries is obsolete. Instead, he suggested that neglected diseases spread and cause harm in pockets of poverty in most countries, requiring a unified approach globally to tackle them. He also became a staunch advocate for vaccines, taking the fight to anti-vaccine groups and organizations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he became a frequent guest on U.S. television shows across the political spectrum, dispelling misinformation and disinformation on the disease and the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines and other interventions. His steadfast dedication further solidified him as one of my personal heroes, and I’m proud to have had the opportunity to interview him in the past.
Given all of the above, I was very much looking forward to reading his newest book titled “Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-Science”. While the book did not necessarily provide a “silver bullet” about how we can prevent the next pandemic, I learned a lot from his book. First, I did not realize beforehand that infectious and tropical diseases made an unexpected emergence and return since 2015. I was fully aware of the overall increases of emerging diseases in the last 50 years, and of large outbreaks of specific diseases recently (e.g. Ebola, Zika virus disease, chikungunya, leishmaniasis, COVID-19 etc.), but Dr. Hotez helped me see the full picture. He connects the return and emergence of diseases with our new era of the Anthropocene, and identifies rising political instability, internal displacement and migrations, the rise of anti-science and nationalism, and climate change as the major forces driving this resurgence. In three separate chapters, he draws on his experience partly as the US Science Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa in 2015-16 to discuss the specific circumstances that lead to the emergence of return of specific diseases in three different regions of the world: the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and in Central America, Venezuela and its neighbors (called the Northern Triangle). Dr. Hotez expertly weaves together his vast expertise in neglected tropical diseases with the geopolitical forces and events shaping the emergence and return of such diseases, creating a coherent narrative. In a subsequent chapter titled “Sorting it Out”, he attempts to compare and contrast the major diseases and the major drivers of their emergence and return in different regions of both the New and the Old World, identifying patterns of common drivers, such as urbanization, poverty and human migration.
Another major theme of Dr. Hotez’s book is vaccine diplomacy, defined as the “simultaneous scientific and diplomatic opportunities between nations, with an overriding objective to jointly develop and test vaccines as a means to promote health, security and peace.” I learned a lot from Dr. Hotez’s book about the history of vaccine diplomacy, particularly the efforts of Dr. Albert Sabin to work together with Soviet scientists in the 1960s to develop the oral polio vaccine. Another incredible success story of vaccine diplomacy involved the collaboration of Ukrainian epidemiologist Dr. Viktor Zhdanov, Dr. Donald A. Henderson from the United States, and scientists in India in developing and scaling up the production of smallpox vaccines, allowing the eradication of this terrible disease. I also learned that the recent Ebola epidemic in the DRC in 2019 was controlled by vaccinating contacts of infected patients, and their contacts, as another example of vaccine diplomacy. Dr. Hotez describes many more examples and advocates for opportunities for more vaccine diplomacy throughout his book, including in the chapters focusing on different regions of the world.
One of the major drivers of emerging and re-emerging infectious and tropical diseases according to Dr. Hotez is the rise of anti-science sentiment. Instead of a fringe movement, Dr. Hotez describes a well-organized and well-funded campaign to discredit scientists and science in general, and spread misinformation and disinformation, often for political purposes. Dr. Hotez describes how such campaigns directly increase infectious disease spread by decreasing vaccine coverage and deliberately targeting people vulnerable to their message. He identifies the anti-science and anti-vaccine movement as a media empire, dominating the information space with mis- and dis-information, and financially benefiting from that. According to his account, anti-science and anti-vaccine groups tie themselves to populist movements, and lobby politicians to achieve their goals. He also describes his efforts to counter mis- and dis-information spread by anti-science and anti-vaccine groups, and the retaliation he suffered as a consequence. He also highlights the globalization of anti-science and anti-vaccine messages and sentiments, and the potential risk they pose to controlling emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
Finally, Dr. Hotez describes emerging new approaches for vaccine development, such as CEPI and other product development partnerships such as PATH. He details how previously developed vaccines for SARS-CoV provided the basis for the development of vaccines for COVID-19, and gave us a window into his life during the COVID-19 pandemic, consciously trying to represent science on appearances in media across the political spectrum from his bedroom. As any book written during the COVID-19 pandemic, this section of the book feels hopelessly outdated, having been written in 2021, through no fault of the author.
My favorite chapter of the book was probably the last, titled the “Broken Obelisk”. Here, Dr. Hotez summarizes his book, arguing for renewed vaccine diplomacy to counter the emergence and re-emergence of infectious and tropical diseases. Along with his collaborators, he recently made a large scientific contribution by developing and sharing a new patent-free and cheap COVID-19 vaccine called CORBEVAX, specifically for low and middle-income countries. While arguing for improved access to vaccines and universal health, he also advocates for the training of vaccine ambassadors. These are interdisciplinary scientists who understand both the science of vaccines as well as the language of diplomacy and foreign relations. The “Broken Obelisk”, a sculpture by Barnett Newman, located along his daily walk in Houston, becomes a metaphor of both “a fragmented world in need of repair and the promise of vaccine diplomacy”. Even though I wonder how much more broken the “obelisk” had become metaphorically just in the last week, given current events in Ukraine, I admire Dr. Hotez’s optimism for the potential of vaccine diplomacy to heal our world through the alliance of nations to improve all of our health. I wholeheartedly recommend his book to read for all of you!
September 16, 2021
Much more level/less panicky and emotional than I was expecting. A solid explanation of how the pro-vaxxers are dealing with a variety of global challenges not the least of which is angry paranoid people who completely distrust rational people who study things but love listening to hyperemotional people who sell things.
May 20, 2021
This book gave me an insight into something that I had never really thought about, vaccine diplomacy. This is a groups of scientists who work on developing vaccines and sharing them with other countries who desparately need them. Scientists basically make peace between countries by helping them solve the health problems that they are fighting.
The author also talked about the factors that influence what diseases develop in a certain area. One of those factors is climate change. As climate changes, different diseases move to areas where the climate is warmer.
This book also talks about "neglected tropical diseases (NTD)." Many of these diseases only affect countries who have very little wealth to develop medicines to treat these diseases or develop vaccines.
Many disease are spreading because people in countries with political unrest are leaving their countries because they cannot live with the wars that are occuring. The diseases go with them.
The one thing that I did not like about the book, was that the author keeps going over the same material a little too frequently.
The book is fairly short . Worth a quick read.
The author also talked about the factors that influence what diseases develop in a certain area. One of those factors is climate change. As climate changes, different diseases move to areas where the climate is warmer.
This book also talks about "neglected tropical diseases (NTD)." Many of these diseases only affect countries who have very little wealth to develop medicines to treat these diseases or develop vaccines.
Many disease are spreading because people in countries with political unrest are leaving their countries because they cannot live with the wars that are occuring. The diseases go with them.
The one thing that I did not like about the book, was that the author keeps going over the same material a little too frequently.
The book is fairly short . Worth a quick read.
August 26, 2021
Dr. Hotez has been one of my sources of info in the past couple of years so I wanted to give his book a try. This book was SO interesting! While it did mention covid, it wasn’t really about that. The book focuses on vaccine diplomacy and how we can use science to build better alliances with all countries, even ones where we don’t necessarily have close ties today. He has several case studies of the Middle East, Africa, and Venezuela, and he dives into the many complexities of geopolitics, global infrastructure, regional conflicts, global warming, and current anti-science movement in the USA and how these factors affect the health care of people across the globe. He also talks specifically about Texas and the regional complexities of life here vs the rest of the USA. I learned a lot and have a lot to think about. My favorite kind of book!
April 23, 2023
A slender book that somehow feels like its 500 pages; Hotez could’ve written a pithy article in the Times and it would’ve achieved the same effect. The book is interesting enough, even if the conclusions are rather simple: bottom-up, culturally sensitive vaccine diplomacy abroad! War, instability, and urban poverty (who would’ve thought) are causing the re-emergence of diseases thought conquered; we have to pay attention to these phenomena to prevent these infectious diseases’ spread. These aren’t not the most novel ideas.
March 19, 2022
Unless you are really interested in the nitty gritty details of vaccine diplomacy and efforts in specific parts of the world, you don't have to read this book cover to cover. Instead, read chapters 1, 2 & 4 and you will have the key ideas. With that said, the key ideas of how political instability, migration, urbanization, nationalism, anti-science and climate change are all important factors that drive disease outbreaks are shared with plenty of insight and worth understanding.
April 19, 2022
Lots of information in this book, but somewhat repetitive and a glossary of the vectors and diseases along with the alphabet soup of organizations would have been helpful. I was hoping for more information on Covid. For example, there was nothing on the MRNA vaccines and their development, so I'm assuming the book was finished before they were released. Maybe he should have delayed the publication further into the pandemic.
June 15, 2022
This was a challenge to read. The names of diseases alone then keeping similar names straight requires some effort. Saying that I learned a lot. I have a better grasp of global disease issues and how the could impact me in the United States. I was shocked and how some states are already at risk. I would encourage this be read. One particular thing it explores are you he impacts of vaccine deniers and the anti- science movement. This will be tough but worth the time.
October 31, 2023
I’m probably not the right audience as I’m a public health expert. While vaccine diplomacy is an interesting concept and does show a lot of promise, I found the book depressing as the idiocracy seems to be taking over. It’s unfortunate how science has become a political tool and will likely lead to harm . I think the pro science community needs a PR blitz and we need to celebrate great scientists as hero as much as we do our athletes. I’m rooting for you Dr Hotez!
March 30, 2021
I really do admire the work of people like Peter J. Hotez and the amazing scientists that help to fight viruses and disease whilst remaining pragmatic in their approach. It's sad to see how politics and misinformation get in the way.
There's a few moments where Hotez loses his bearings on the political front failing to mention the US's responsibility in destabilising the countries he wants to help but his heart seems to be in the right place.
There's a few moments where Hotez loses his bearings on the political front failing to mention the US's responsibility in destabilising the countries he wants to help but his heart seems to be in the right place.
September 10, 2021
Hotez has had an incredible career in vaccine diplomacy. I commend him, but I was looking for something deeper on the subject. Great summary of what he did and with whom, but I was hoping for strong suggestions on how to achieve what was achieved during the Cold War now. I hope that he delves deeper into the practicality and cost of his main thesis in his next book.
November 19, 2021
Dr. Peter Hotez is a hero. In spite of death threats and constant harassment he continues to advocate and explain the clear (and sometimes not-so-clear) science behind vaccines. He also rightly labels the Anti-Science crew for who they are and challenges them to change. I admire his courage and his straight talk to anyone who will listen.
July 22, 2024
Dr. Hotez provides an excellent overview of the importance of vaccination and vaccine research. Especially for diseases that predominantly effect those who reside in less wealthy countries. He also discusses the new and expanded social determinants of health of the Anthropocene, especially the promotion of science in a time of science deniers.
May 1, 2021
Super quick, more technical discussion about vaccine preventable disease, neglected tropical disease and prevention techniques. All serious things to consider in the future, daunting to think of how we are losing ground on progress made.
May 26, 2021
I loved this book. I found the book too short, not because it lacked content, but because Dr Hotez writes so well, I could have read a much longer book. It is a pleasure to be able to read the thoughts of a great scientist. This book is a must-read.
October 19, 2023
The author touts himself throughout the book. Nevertheless, the topic is critical and Mr. Hotez has broadened my understanding about how inter-related we all are. Once we realize the planet's issues are one to be seen holistically, humans will thrive. Is that possible?
September 4, 2021
Important topic but a bit too much name-dropping and repetition.
September 15, 2021
Interesting, but if you've read Lorrie Garret's book it will seem familiar.
September 28, 2021
Not the most joyful of books, but something that is super important for everyone to read.
Read
October 14, 2021A good read but i did not learn anything new about covid , the book was interesting describing the way scientists overcome political obstacles
December 28, 2021
3.5 stars
Read
March 22, 2022The relevance of the existence of anti-science 😕
July 9, 2022
Good example of clear, understandable writing about science for nonscientists.
December 8, 2023
Read if you have some special interest in Mr Hotez. Otherwise, almost any other book about pandemics is time better spent.
July 18, 2025
I have wanted to read this for a while. I greatly admire Peter Hotez’s commitment to helping the world’s disadvantaged people.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews