10 Books to Read About Infectious Disease & Pandemics

As cases of the coronavirus pandemic continue to rise globally, books on pandemics are in high demand. From historical fiction to nitty-gritty nonfiction, books have the power to reveal important insights regarding the science behind these diseases, how people have coped with them in the past, and what we can do moving forward.

Here is a list of ten books you should read on infectious diseases.

1. Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

In “Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic,” David Quammen chronicles his travels around the world investigating the origins of past infectious disease outbreaks, including Ebola and lesser-known viruses such as Nipah. Quammen tries to show how human behavior can drive destructive zoonotic virus as animals and humans are coming in contact more and more––the spillover of deadly microbes from animals to humans becomes inevitable. Buy Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic here on Amazon!

“People and gorillas, horses and duikers and pigs, monkeys and chimps and bats and viruses,” Quammen writes. “We’re all in this together.”

2. Getting to Zero: A Doctor and a Diplomat on the Ebola Frontline

Published in 2018, two people recall their experience on the frontline of the deadly 2014 Ebola outbreak that killed more than 11,300 people in west Africa. Oliver Johnson, a doctor, and Sinead Walsh, then Irish ambassador to Sierra Leone, expose the poor decision-making and failure of local and international leadership in responding to the outbreak. Walsh and Johnson call our attention to the immense courage of those who risked their lives every day to contain the disease. Buy Getting to Zero: A Doctor and a Diplomat on the Ebola Frontline here on Amazon!

3. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance

Written by Laurie Garrett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, The Coming Plague details how the modern world is full of infectious diseases including HIV, Lassa, Ebola, and others. Garrett explores the conditions that led to recurrent outbreaks of new emerging diseases.

While recent scientific and technological and social developments have greatly helped society ward off disease, Garret also examines how modern science may have led to mutated old viruses, now resistant to all or most treatment, that pose a problem for future generations. Buy The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance here on Amazon!

4. The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

This New York Times Bestseller by John M. Barry dives into the 1918 Spanish flu and how it altered the course of history. The Great Influenza highlights the importance of science and truth in combating a pandemic. Buy here on Amazon!

As Barry concludes, “The final lesson of 1918, a simple one yet one most difficult to execute, is that…those in authority must retain the public’s trust. The way to do that is to distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to manipulate no one. Lincoln said that first, and best. A leader must make whatever horror exists concrete. Only then will people be able to break it apart.” Buy The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History here on Amazon!

5. Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History

Combining science and history, Bryn Barnard details how infectious diseases began and dramatically shaped the course of human history. From influenza to smallpox, from tuberculosis to yellow fever, she explores the causes and effects of some of the world’s deadly epidemics. Buy Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History here on Amazon!

6. How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS

How to Survive a Plague follows the story of the grassroots activists who challenged government officials on their lack of scientific research into the AIDS epidemic. Inspired by the 2012 documentary with the same name, How to Survive a Plague provides an insider’s account of a pivotal moment in the history of American civil rights and medical science. Buy How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS here on Amazon!

7. The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years

In The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years, journalist Sonia Shah delivers a riveting overview of the causes, treatments, and effects of malaria which still kills about 1 million people a year. Shah tracks the historical rise of malaria from its birth in Africa through the Industrial Revolution to current global health initiatives. Buy The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years here on Amazon!

8. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

Critically acclaimed author Jim Murphy describes the spread of yellow fever and its effects on Philadelphia residents in 1793, drawing connections between 18th-century beliefs and practices to modern-day social and political events. Murphy also highlights the heroic role of Philadelphia’s free blacks in combating the disease and the effects of yellow fever on the Founding Fathers. Buy An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 here on Amazon!

9. Emerging Epidemics: The Menace of New Infections

In each chapter, science and medical journalist, Madeline Drexler, takes readers through an in-depth account of different emerging diseases. Emerging Epidemics discusses the looming risks of influenza, the potential dangers of bioterrorism, and what scientists on the front-line are doing to stop these threats before it’s too late.

Drexler warns us that “the most ceaselessly creative bioterrorist is still Mother Nature, whose microbial operatives are all around us, ready to pounce whenever conditions are right.” Buy Emerging Epidemics: The Menace of New Infections here on Amazon!

10. Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature’s Most Dangerous Creatures

Parasite Rex reveals how hidden organisms can infiltrate and control the bodies of their hosts. Through his travels, Carl Zimmer brings the reader into the world of parasites which make of the majority of life’s diversity and have the power to steer the course of evolution. As more and more diseases are transferred through species, Parasite Rex exposes the vectors of disease and teaches us how to survive in a world with these hidden yet powerful creatures. Buy Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature’s Most Dangerous Creatures here on Amazon!

Other Books

Fictional books can also provide critical insights regarding how people handled previous infectious diseases and how we could prepare for future pandemics. Check out these historical and futuristic works of fiction on deadly diseases:

• The Plague by Albert Camus (1947)
• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1985)
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (2003)
• The Children’s Hospital by Chris Adrian (2006)
• The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell (2019)

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