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The Year the World Went Mad: A Scientific Memoir from the Pandemic
In January 2020, leading epidemiologist Professor Mark Woolhouse learned of a new virus taking hold in China. He immediately foresaw a hard road ahead for the entire world, and emailed the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland warning that the UK should urgently begin preparations. A few days later he received a polite reply stating only that everything was under control.
In this astonishing account, Mark Woolhouse shares his story as an insider, having served on advisory groups to both the Scottish and UK governments. He reveals the disregarded advice, frustration of dealing with politicians, and the missteps that led to the deaths of vulnerable people, damage to livelihoods and the disruption of education. He explains the follies of lockdown and sets out the alternatives. Finally, he warns that when the next pandemic comes, we must not dither and we must not panic; never again should we make a global crisis even worse.
The Year the World Went Mad puts our recent, devastating, history in a completely new light.
In this astonishing account, Mark Woolhouse shares his story as an insider, having served on advisory groups to both the Scottish and UK governments. He reveals the disregarded advice, frustration of dealing with politicians, and the missteps that led to the deaths of vulnerable people, damage to livelihoods and the disruption of education. He explains the follies of lockdown and sets out the alternatives. Finally, he warns that when the next pandemic comes, we must not dither and we must not panic; never again should we make a global crisis even worse.
The Year the World Went Mad puts our recent, devastating, history in a completely new light.
- GenresNonfictionScienceMedical
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 24, 2022
23 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 12, 2022
Remember 2019? Everything seemed normal back then but little did we know what was about to arrive. I can’t remember the first time that I had heard about this unusual SARS-like illness that had appeared in Wuhan in China, but I think that it was February. The last event that I went to with people was the Stanford Travel Writing Awards at the end of February. Ironic given that travel and many other things would be shut down a couple of weeks later.
I remember seeing what was happening in Italy and thinking that it might arrive here but really didn’t know what to make of it. Leading epidemiologist Professor Mark Woolhouse learned of a new virus that had appeared in China in early January. He wrote to the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland recommending that they should prepare and got a polite reply that basically said that everything was in hand.
It wasn’t…
In this book, he critiques the way that the UK government tackled the situation fairly, praising them for the things that they did well and rightly criticising them for the many things that they did poorly. He explains his reasoning for not having lockdowns and the immense damage that they cause society as a whole as the ongoing mental health issues that are going to take a long time to cure. He sets out what he considers the procedures and protocols that should have been used instead and how these could have protected people instead of ending up with the frankly horrendous death toll that we have in this country.
I thought that this was a well written and considered book about the UK response to the Covid 19 pandemic. Throughout the book, Woolhouse is very clear on his position on lockdowns and the damage that they cause and he makes a very strong case for his way of thinking. His writing is pragmatic but he occasionally ventures into fairly technical jargon, but thankfully it is not very often. He does say that next time and there will be a next time for this type of medical emergency, we need to do things much better and move much faster in our responses.
I remember seeing what was happening in Italy and thinking that it might arrive here but really didn’t know what to make of it. Leading epidemiologist Professor Mark Woolhouse learned of a new virus that had appeared in China in early January. He wrote to the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland recommending that they should prepare and got a polite reply that basically said that everything was in hand.
It wasn’t…
In this book, he critiques the way that the UK government tackled the situation fairly, praising them for the things that they did well and rightly criticising them for the many things that they did poorly. He explains his reasoning for not having lockdowns and the immense damage that they cause society as a whole as the ongoing mental health issues that are going to take a long time to cure. He sets out what he considers the procedures and protocols that should have been used instead and how these could have protected people instead of ending up with the frankly horrendous death toll that we have in this country.
I thought that this was a well written and considered book about the UK response to the Covid 19 pandemic. Throughout the book, Woolhouse is very clear on his position on lockdowns and the damage that they cause and he makes a very strong case for his way of thinking. His writing is pragmatic but he occasionally ventures into fairly technical jargon, but thankfully it is not very often. He does say that next time and there will be a next time for this type of medical emergency, we need to do things much better and move much faster in our responses.
December 13, 2022
This a super interesting critique of the UK Govt response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although at times a bit repetitive, Woolhouse provides great food for thought for those working within public health and govt policy, by analyzing the mistakes of the past to ensure we can better tackle the next emerging pandemic.
December 29, 2022
Why did we lockdown over covid when previously that was not our pandemic plan? This book is a valuable warning with sensible advice on how we should manage in the future. How to protect the vulnerable without the hate of lockdowns - something we are only just beginning to realise. But I fear this book maybe a voice that is ignored and we are destined to repeat mistakes.
August 3, 2022
The good? I'm massively sympathetic to the thesis of this book: the first lockdown was an understandable policy error made in the heat of a crisis, the second and third were near unconscionable. Woolhouse's point is not that the pandemic didn't need radical government response: it did. He just thinks (rightly in my view - whatever that's worth) that lockdown was the wrong one: cripplingly expensive, indiscriminate, incapable (once the virus had taken hold) of doing anything other than deferring the inevitable, enormously harmful. I'm hardly an expert, but it was music to my ears.
The less good? I didn't really get on with the writing style (it felt a bit pedestrian to me, not especially well written), it's a bit repetitive, the first person narrative style makes it sound a little too much like 'I told you so' (an impression Woolhouse seems to want to avoid). I reckon it could have been 100 pages shorter without much loss, and I don't think it said all that much more than I gleaned from Woolhouse's New Statesman article.
The less good? I didn't really get on with the writing style (it felt a bit pedestrian to me, not especially well written), it's a bit repetitive, the first person narrative style makes it sound a little too much like 'I told you so' (an impression Woolhouse seems to want to avoid). I reckon it could have been 100 pages shorter without much loss, and I don't think it said all that much more than I gleaned from Woolhouse's New Statesman article.
January 4, 2026
Well that was a wild ride. A highly engaging scientific account of those first years of the pandemic including a romp through epidemiology, behavioral modeling and all manner of fascinating science. Includes exploration of a number of ways the pandemic could've been managed and is, overall, very balanced. Though, quite rightly, there is a bit of I EFFING TOLD YOU SO from Mark Woolhouse towards the government and WHO.A perfect read for whilst I myself wrangled with ones very own first round of covid.
May 6, 2022
I'm going to have to abandon this one. It's a rehash and a critique of the UK gov't response to the pandemic, and I don't feel like I need to read it as I lived it. So, not a bad book but not the right choice of book to read when one is a bit weary of hearing about COVID-19.
March 13, 2022
Interesting, but could have been more concise.
The author is certain he was right about a lot of things since 2020, more than many of his peers. Which perhaps he was, but it was a bit cringy how often he emphasizes this in his book.
Given the way he warns against lockdowns, I'd expected him to have a similar stance against excessive testing. He's very much in favour however of people testing themselves every time they want to go somewhere or participate in some group activity or event.
The author is certain he was right about a lot of things since 2020, more than many of his peers. Which perhaps he was, but it was a bit cringy how often he emphasizes this in his book.
Given the way he warns against lockdowns, I'd expected him to have a similar stance against excessive testing. He's very much in favour however of people testing themselves every time they want to go somewhere or participate in some group activity or event.
July 17, 2024
Explained what happened in simple enough terms so that we could understand but understand well.
I really wish more people would read this because I really am not too good at communicating the information in this book along to people that I want to share it with. I really do think we'd all be better off if we did, as individuals and a collective.
This book was such a comfort to me. To be able to understand that covid-19 was serious but not so apocalyptic as the media was making out to us was a comfort. Woolhouse pointed out the errors of politicians, scientists, the media and society along the way and it really untangled some things I thought may never be explained. It is not something that has too many questions and uncertainties and Woolhouse points towards science and data to assert these. It removed the ignorance and assumptions I made been caught up in. I wouldn't say its unbiased as such (he outlines his argument in the opening chapter) but it is not really persuasive or propaganda and everything he said was so well supported.
For me, it brought a conclusion to a turbulent time of my life that I needed and I feel really grateful to have read this book.
I really wish more people would read this because I really am not too good at communicating the information in this book along to people that I want to share it with. I really do think we'd all be better off if we did, as individuals and a collective.
This book was such a comfort to me. To be able to understand that covid-19 was serious but not so apocalyptic as the media was making out to us was a comfort. Woolhouse pointed out the errors of politicians, scientists, the media and society along the way and it really untangled some things I thought may never be explained. It is not something that has too many questions and uncertainties and Woolhouse points towards science and data to assert these. It removed the ignorance and assumptions I made been caught up in. I wouldn't say its unbiased as such (he outlines his argument in the opening chapter) but it is not really persuasive or propaganda and everything he said was so well supported.
For me, it brought a conclusion to a turbulent time of my life that I needed and I feel really grateful to have read this book.
February 15, 2023
No conspiracy, no hyperbole - just a simple explanation from an epidemiologist and scientific advisor to the government during the pandemic, of where our government and by extension, we as a society, went wrong in dealing with this emergency, and what should have happened.
Since reading this, a lot of the decisions and implementations that didn't make a lot of sense at the time but were simply accepted as science-led and trusted to be for the greater good, now at least are understandable, even if they make no more literal sense.
This is a genuine review or evaluation of the pandemic, where no-one gets off the hook if they are responsible but equally, no half-baked, ill-thought 'theory' is used to apportion blame.
Since reading this, a lot of the decisions and implementations that didn't make a lot of sense at the time but were simply accepted as science-led and trusted to be for the greater good, now at least are understandable, even if they make no more literal sense.
This is a genuine review or evaluation of the pandemic, where no-one gets off the hook if they are responsible but equally, no half-baked, ill-thought 'theory' is used to apportion blame.
June 15, 2023
A credible review by a Scottish epidemiologist
I liked the history lesson and stories about how decisions were made in the UK about measures to combat COVID. The author makes the persuasive argument that the lock downs were too late and too long. I would highly recommend it to anyone involved in public health or public policy .
I liked the history lesson and stories about how decisions were made in the UK about measures to combat COVID. The author makes the persuasive argument that the lock downs were too late and too long. I would highly recommend it to anyone involved in public health or public policy .
March 27, 2022
Very enjoyable read, written in a nice style, and tells the story of Covid well. Mark analyses the mistakes made in the pandemic thoroughly (but in a clear, easy to understand way), and provides a better approach to tackling Covid than eternal lockdowns.
May 6, 2022
🫤 Meh! Nothing new here to anyone who read widely and followed the ONS weekly updates. Perhaps as another reviewer stated I’m a bit weary of the whole thing! Occasional smacks of “I told you so” and a bit of a Cassandra complex!
June 14, 2022
An interesting viewpoint if you didn’t enjoy the lockdown period imposed by the UK government. Very good narration!
This book highlights how dogma got in the way of science and the real data. A number of heads should be lowered in shame for some of the decisions taken by so called experts
This book highlights how dogma got in the way of science and the real data. A number of heads should be lowered in shame for some of the decisions taken by so called experts
September 17, 2022
Really interesting book, I got kind of bored at some point hearing about Corona because I lived through it and I've heard too much about it. But also really interesting to hear an actual scientist discuss this. Things got apocalyptic with the media sources for me at one point.
January 30, 2023
rational thinking about Covid, at last
Dr. Woolhouse presents a rational view of the rights and wrongs in dealing with Covid. What a contrast to the conspiracy theory crap coming from so many Americans like Robert Kennedy Jr. and others.
Dr. Woolhouse presents a rational view of the rights and wrongs in dealing with Covid. What a contrast to the conspiracy theory crap coming from so many Americans like Robert Kennedy Jr. and others.
March 13, 2022
The book
Very insightful recap on the worst year of our lives 2020. Argues that lockouts were a failure of other more appropriate measures
Very insightful recap on the worst year of our lives 2020. Argues that lockouts were a failure of other more appropriate measures
July 16, 2022
Fascinating view of how Covid was managed by our political masters from someone who served on 1 of the committees advising ministers.
September 16, 2024
This was an interesting book that offered an epidemiologist's insight into the COVID-19 pandemic from day one. The book is quite scientific, so I had to read the paragraphs a few times.
The part that piqued my interest the most was the Great Barrington Approach—protecting the vulnerable but allowing the virus to spread among the rest of society. A few chapters were also dedicated to why lockdown was a waste of time, why the money spent was useless, and how the UK ended up with such a high mortality rate compared to other countries.
I did find it interesting that the author mentioned the UK's ability to take care of its people shouldn't be compared to other countries' because there were different factors involved—rural/urban, population numbers, wildlife, etc.
The last thing I read that caught my eye was the 'positive bias' that both older governmental and scientific advisors were plagued with. Despite being warned about the virus multiple times, they never acknowledged the younger people's warnings that things were only going to get worse. They were called "pessimistic" and "fatalistic" despite publishing a scientific journal a few years earlier predicting a virus similar to COVID-19. They called this 'Disease X.'
An interesting read overall.
The part that piqued my interest the most was the Great Barrington Approach—protecting the vulnerable but allowing the virus to spread among the rest of society. A few chapters were also dedicated to why lockdown was a waste of time, why the money spent was useless, and how the UK ended up with such a high mortality rate compared to other countries.
I did find it interesting that the author mentioned the UK's ability to take care of its people shouldn't be compared to other countries' because there were different factors involved—rural/urban, population numbers, wildlife, etc.
The last thing I read that caught my eye was the 'positive bias' that both older governmental and scientific advisors were plagued with. Despite being warned about the virus multiple times, they never acknowledged the younger people's warnings that things were only going to get worse. They were called "pessimistic" and "fatalistic" despite publishing a scientific journal a few years earlier predicting a virus similar to COVID-19. They called this 'Disease X.'
An interesting read overall.
August 21, 2023
4.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews