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Pandemics: Our Fears and the Facts Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Sunetra Gupta (Author), Jones Allen (Narrator), Audible Studios (Publisher)

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History books abound with accounts of large scale destruction wrought by infectious disease. As recently as 1918, a pandemic of influenza claimed over 50 million lives worldwide. The advent of drugs and vaccines led to an era of hope when we thought our battles with infectious disease were won, but our optimism has been eroded by the recognition that many pathogens have the capacity to transform themselves and escape our efforts to eradicate them. Are we now facing an inevitable repeat of a calamity such as the 1918 influenza pandemic or the Black Death? Can we anticipate and thwart such an event, or are we willfully creating the conditions that would promote the emergence of new and highly virulent human infectious disease?

Sunetra Gupta is Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford specializing in infectious diseases. She holds a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from the University of London. She has been awarded the Scientific Medal by the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award for her scientific research. She is also a novelist whose books have been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Southern Arts Literature Prize, shortlisted for the Crossword Award, and long-listed for the DSC and Orange Prizes.

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Listening Length	1 hour and 2 minutes
Author	Sunetra Gupta
Narrator	Jones Allen
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	November 25, 2013
Publisher	Audible Studios
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00GLW28QK
Best Sellers Rank	#168,636 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #755 in Epidemiology (Books) #803 in Viral Diseases (Books) #824 in Communicable Diseases (Books)

Customer reviews

5 star		57%
4 star		26%
3 star		13%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Marda K.

Clear, concise explanation of pathogens & how they have affected humanity throughout history

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

Sunetra Gupta is a gifted writer besides being an eminent scientist. This 30 page booklet conveyed scientific information in a way almost anyone could understand. She is also a voice of reason amidst the hysteria & panic over COVID. I wish she were allowed a greater voice.

3 people found this helpful

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Jason Pratt

Short, a fine read.

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021

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Clearly and succinctly educates the reader on the nature of pandemics. Rational and balanced. Recommend as it was written seven years pre-COVID-19!

3 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

"There is a general unease that we have not recently been visited by a truly devastating pandemic."

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2013

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This single explores the underlying unease we feel that a devastating pandemic is "overdue.". She explains the effects of previous outbreaks in raising the immunities of the population at large. And in fact, we have not had the virulence of the 1918 flu. The author notes that the young adults not exposed to previous flu outbreaks were the most susceptible.

I found this book to be quite instructive. I was especially impressed with the in depth coverage of the difficulty in eradicating malaria due to the mutating nature of the disease. I was disappointed not to read more about the rise in resistant TB, now becoming a scourge of poor countries and rapidly expanding. I also wish there had been an expansion of the antibiotic resistant problem we now face. The single did, however explain how the resistance develops.

This is a great introductory survey.

7 people found this helpful

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Thelma spinelli.

but I'm glad I did it

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2015

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Who wants to read about diseases and infection,but I'm glad I did it, in this book writing this lines ,poultry are main source of infection,I'm vegetarian and I love them, this book don't want to scare you,but this book teach even with highly effective vaccine we can have sources of infection,I didn't know how many people died in the 1918,1847,1729,1580,etc.I feel I went to school with this book,thanks,Thelma

One person found this helpful

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Manuel Londono R

Amazing Book!!!

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2021

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An amazing book! It is perfect for what we are going through right now and it sheds light on what should be done.

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M. Lang

Great overview of contagious disease

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2013

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Good overview of influenza and other contagious diseases, especially for those without science degrees. I admire the author for writing about a subject that inspires a lot of fear in people without creating feelings of doom and panic. It is a well written, solid piece of science journalism that educates . Well done.

3 people found this helpful

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LawAbidingCitizen

Who would think that reading about Pandemics could be enjoyable!

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2013

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The other reviewers have pretty much covered all the good points. Great how a book like this can give you a basic education without losing hair, reaching for a dictionary every 5 seconds or having to spend weeks finishing it.

3 people found this helpful

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Irio Lavagno

interesting and clear

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2013

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A concise and no-nonsense guide through misinformation and myth about pandemics and epidemics. A good source of informations to avoid being scared of ghosts but keep an eye open for real possible threats.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

ignorethepain

Short and Sweet

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

It's a quick overview of pandemics. An interesting point I got from it is that perhaps international travel is good in that it builds up some immunity in societies, possibly helping to stop the spread of more catastrophic pandemics. It's more a long article than a book but worth the read.

One person found this helpful

Foge

Short and factual

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2020

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As a basic introduction and quick read it's quite informative. For those with knowledge of the topic, it will bring nothing new. Some grammatical errors throughout text

One person found this helpful

Sally Baker

Interesting.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2020

Verified Purchase

A very relevant resume of pathogens and how we deal with them, especially as I’m reading it in 2020, with the Covid19 pandemic going on at present! It seemed a very short book. I know people who would benefit from this rounded, objective examination of viruses and their spread.

One person found this helpful

Damaskcat

Pandemics

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2013

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This is an interesting little book which attempts to cut through all the scare mongering that fills the media every time a new virus, or variant of an existing virus is discovered. It puts thing in perspective and explains, among other things how the last thing a virus or bacterium wants to do is kill its host because that means it cannot be passed on to others.

What I thought was most interesting was how genetic mutations which can produce disabilities in human beings may also confer immunity against other diseases. Sickle cell anaemia for example goes hand in hand with the ability to survive malaria.

We may actually be managing to create the conditions in which another pandemic could arise instead of preventing one occurring. Written in an layman's terms this is well worth reading by anyone who is interested in what might just be the facts behind the scaremongering.

5 people found this helpful

KarenD

An interesting read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2013

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I enjoyed reading this non- inflammatory short book on pandemics. It has taken away a lot of the mystery of how viruses spread. A particularly good thing is that it is easy to understand but not dumbed down, it has been written for the moderately educated reader.

I'd have liked a little more depth particularly in the development of anti TB agents, which is a worrying disease being made harder to treat by misuse of antibiotics in third world countries, I believe.

All in all, definitely worth reading!

6 people found this helpful

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Pandemics: Our Fears and the Facts Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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