First published 2019
The 2013-2014 Ebola epidemic began when a two-year-old child contracted the virus, likely through contact with a wild animal. The child's entire family quickly succumbed to the disease. Preston chronicles how this single case triggered a global health emergency that would eventually infect 30,000 people across eight countries on three continents. The author follows doctors and nurses who risked their lives treating patients in the field. He documents the frantic efforts of government officials and NGO workers attempting to contain the viral spread. Preston examines how pharmaceutical companies rushed to develop treatments while grappling with ethical questions about who would receive limited experimental drugs. The narrative reveals how the virus mutated into its most lethal form and spread faster than any previous outbreak. For the first time, Ebola crossed the Atlantic and reached American soil. Preston argues this epidemic signals future viral threats as expanding roads and settlements penetrate deeper into African jungles, releasing unknown pathogens into populated areas.
Genres: biography-memoir, 21st-century, current-affairs, africa, disease, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, real-events
Setting: Africa, America
Period: 2013-2014
375 pages · Hardcover · Random House
Content warnings: death, medical-trauma