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Spillover

Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

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Spillover

By: David Quammen
Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A gripping, timely book about the transmission of deadly viruses from animal to human populations, and how we can tackle a global pandemic.

As globalization spreads and as we destroy the ancient ecosystems, we encounter strange and dangerous infections that originate in animals but that can be transmitted to humans. Diseases that were contained are being set free and the results are potentially catastrophic.

In a journey that takes him from southern China to the Congo, from Bangladesh to Australia, David Quammen tracks these infections to their source, and asks what we can do to prevent some new pandemic spreading across the face of the earth.

As cases of Coronavirus grow across the globe, discover the book that predicted this viral disaster and the science that could stop the next one in its tracks.

‘A tremendous book...this gives you all you need to know and all you should know’ Sunday Times

‘Chilling… [A] brilliant, devastating book’ Daily Mail

2013, National Book Critics Circle Non-Fiction Award, Short-listed

2013, Society of Biology Book of the Year, Winner

©2012 Quammen (P)2020 Penguin Audio Contagious Diseases Ecology Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Physical Illness & Disease Science Africa China

Critic Reviews

A frightening and fascinating masterpiece of science reporting that reads like a detective story (Walter Isaacson)
It may have been eight years since David Quammen's Spillover was first published, but its prescience is spookily topical this plague year (Richard Dawkins)
Travelling deep into the rainforest with the scientists hoping to identify the next pandemic pathogen, Quammen's book is plotted like a detective thriller (Gaia Vince)
Quammen’s book is compelling and shows that there are many candidates out there vying to be the next pandemic (Euan Lawson)
Quammen has a wide range of knowledge, an agile pen, and a generous heart (James Gorman)
All stars
Most relevant  
Loved the content of the book, the writing, the research, the first-hand anecdotes. It was slightly marred by a narrator who, while having a pleasant-enough voice, pronounced 95% of the scientific terminology incorrectly.

Incredible book, poorly narrated

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I struggled to finish this book. It is very informative, but in the manner of a History Channel documentary, where the facts are continually compromised by a tendency to pad the narrative with unrelated detail. The folksy tone, unnecessary scene-dressing (do we really care what this or that person is wearing?), the repetitive use of tired phrases (eg “august” journals) and the awkward over-use of the thesaurus detract from the overall informational value and credibility of the book. The long, speculative passage in the HIV section is especially tedious, providing little in the way of insight except perhaps the creative aspirations of the author.
This is something of a pity since the author is very knowledgeable about his subject and clearly has much insight to share. His direct experience with many of the pathogens he describes, in all parts of the world provides a unique perspective on his subject, an overview crucial to the general understanding of the origin and implications of pandemic diseases.

Insightful but a bit fluffy

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well written and keeps pretty interesting considering the subject matter, a lot less dramatic than The Hot Zone

Impressive that it can go on for 20 hours

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David Quammen manages to distill and condense decades of the epidemiology and science of zoonosis into real life stories in a way that helps join the dots between diseases of animals and humans. The fact this was written ten years ago and is as relevant now as it was then shows how valuable a read (listen) it is!

An insight into the future from the past!

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