I've not read a book like this before and I loved it. Quammen writes complicated science and zoonotic diseases in a way that everyone can understand. I learned so much from this book, such as HIV-1 was introduced in humans as early as 1908. ( )

A very nice, and long, discussion of the zoonoses. The actual information here could be put in one chapter, but the author entertains us with accounts of his field trips, history, biographies of those he met, and assorted diversions. I disliked his occasional use of common terms for bodily fluids and excreta. Sometimes these are clearly meant to be funny, i.e. when feces are called that except in the last line of a paragraph, and overall I suppose they are meant to make the story more acceptable to a broader audience, but they are unnecessary and sometimes inaccurate; do ticks drool?. He also defines the word morbidity as the frequency of illness, which must be an epidemiological definition. That is fine, but the readers who enjoy the mention of piss, etc., might be misled since morbidity is a commonly used word with another definition. The attempt to describe the mathematics of infectious disease transmission is laudable, and he gives quite good summaries of viral taxonomy and interesting conversations with experts about the infectious disease significance of the RNA viruses. ( )

Libro che ha la “fortuna” di aver “previsto” il COVID-19. Un viaggio nel mondo dei virus più terribili (Sars, Ebola, Aviaria, Aids e diversi altri) raccontato con piglio diretto e semplice, con il tipico, efficace stile di chi trasforma una disciplina in romanzo (mi ricorda Pollan). Libro che ha il merito di renderci edotti su un argomento purtroppo mai così attuale e, soprattutto, di ricordarci che siamo animali parte di una ecologia che abbiamo sconvolto, quindi la responsabilità di quanto sta accadendo e accadrà è, caso a parte, principalmente nostra. ( )

A work of science journalism by an author who is a very good writer is a joy to read. Early in the present pandemic we heard expert after expert say we knew this would happen sooner or later, it was just a matter of time. This book is proof that they really did.

Written before COVID19, this book is a thorough exploration of the factors at play in infectious diseases passing from the animal world into human infections. SO much was known SO long before Covid and yet it took the world by surprise. Ominous to hear all these experts interviewed by the author, really frightened by the unknown Next Big One. Now that we're all interested in viruses this book is an important way to fill in the details of how this has happened and maybe what the prospects are for recovery. ( )

So well written. Great message. ( )

Well researched but not overly academic presentation of of the investigation of zoonotic diseases. I am a clinician and appreciated the references. For general readers interested in developing a deeper understanding of infectious diseases and the factors that lead to spillover, this author has presented science as as well I think it could be presented! For the general healthcare services, outside of the Infectious Disease world, this book is a fairly comprehensive overview of the progressive nature of scientific investigations, findings, and innovations of modern medicine. I also appreciated the author's humility and great appreciation for the field investigators who run in to hot zones and places others fear to tread to satisfy their quest for knowledge that will lessen the human suffering of emerging infectious disease and their pandemic potential which has increased greatly as humans stretch their presence into ancient ecosystems. Well done and highly recommended! ( )

I'll just warn you right now, there's a lot of science in this book. Like, for real equations and collection methods and peer-reviewed papers science. Don't be scared though, because the author is here for you. He makes the science palatable and easy to grasp. In addition, the viruses are scary, but the writing is never sensationalist (but still, scary viruses). Finally, if you are able, do (literally) the world a favor and get your flu shot. ( )

Brilliant. Hugely informative and yet easy to read. Amongst much else explains why we could eliminate smallpox and, pretty well, polio, but not flu or malaria or the common cold. The first 2 are not hiding inside animal populations, i.e. no spillover. And of course several predictions of the current Covid drama. He was a journalist for Nat Geographic so his stories are also travel stories too. And each case is almost like a Sherlock Holmes, following clues, meeting people, sometimes just reading, but mostly it's live and personal. I'll be reading more of him. ( )

Really good research and writing that got slow at times. ( )

adult nonfiction; biology/epidemiology. I liked it, I just didn't have enough time to finish and I figured I'd pass it on to the next person in the library queue. ( )

Ein hervorragendes Beispiel für guten Wissenschaftsjournalismus! Umfassend in der Recherche, präzise aber sehr gut verständlich geschrieben. Und mit dem Maß an trockenem Humor, der einen unweigerlich für das Buch einnimmt, und der leider in deutschen Autoren und Wissenschaftlern so selten ist.
Das Buch ist von 2012 und der Autor spekuliert verschiedentlich über "The Next Big One". Ein guter Kandidat: ein Coronavirus! Und nun sitze ich zu Hause, praktiziere social distancing und draußen passiert genau dieser "Big One". Spooky! ( )

David Quammen explains that epidemics caused by RNA viruses such as Hendra, Marburg, Ebola, West Nile, SARS, Hanta, HIV, and COVID were transmitted from reservior animals such as bats to an amplifier host (apes, monkeys, goats, horses, deer) and then to humans in pattern that can be traced back for many years and has occurred on every continent. Current trends in China such as eating wildlife combined with deplorable mass warehousing of the animals (think Yulin Dog Meat Festival) and mass transit have spurred the spread of viruses like COVID-19. Cases of HIV were around during the turn of the century but didn't become an epidemic until infected apes were butchered and eaten, and the virus was spread from 3rd world countries to large metropolitan areas. The virus didn't get on a plane, an infected person did. ( )

The book in and itself would be between 2.5 and 3*

The writing is long-winded and here and there is inclining toward gossip and fiction more than science reporting

On the narrative/writing style, it was better "Congo" by Crichton (the book often make you think to that predecessor).

Nonetheless, it is informative- and gets a 3.5* mainly because... for reasons unknown, instead of sharing as a reference other books that discussed the transition from bats to humans of viruses, this book generated more interviews with the author.

In Italy, it resulted also in a new edition of the book (I read the English version).

Anyway, if you liked "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Diamond, probably this book (albeit also in this case I liked more Diamond's writing style) could add some few ideas and points.

Beside the obvious reason for reading the book now (COVID-19), it is interesting to read it also as a framework of ecological systemic thinking.

So, forgetting that it is about viruses and their cross-species lifecycle, it could be useful for other purposes and conceptual analyses

Therefore, if boring at times, worth reading

[Review released on 2020-06-06] ( )

Great book. Very informative. Lots of story-telling which helped make it more interesting, but also made it rather long. A bit too long - especially when the story-telling became a fictional story about the genisis of HIV in humans. Overall, though; very good and worth reading. ( )

This is a good explanation of how viruses move from animals to humans. The stories of how past spillovers have been detected and researched make it easier to understand the current case.

Although the subject is a scary one, Quammen isn't out to add to our fears. He stays with the facts, and by explaining them, makes things less scary.

"Yes, we are all gonna die. Yes. We are all gonna pay taxes and we are all gonna die. Most of us, though, will probably die of something more mundane than a new virus. "

And there are scientists out there trying to find the Next Big One while it is still small. ( )

When I started to read the book, I noticed that it has 115 chapters, and I thought I would die.

The book, however, is more exciting than many murder thrillers. David Quammen possesses a unique gift. He has taken a subject that can drown you with technical detail, or terrify you, and convert it into a book that enthralls the reader.

The stories are fascinating. So is the science in the book. I am not an expert in this field, but I came away with a fair understanding of how viruses and other microscopic entities can wreak havoc.

There is a fair warning that he leaves for us. We, humans, have multiplied: we are an outbreak. We have interfered with the natural order of the world. It is fair to assume that we may be visited by epidemics and pandemics more frequently in the future.

It appears that we will be playing catch up with the everchanging world of viruses and their ilk. ( )

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic is a brilliantly written book exploring various infectious diseases, many of them zoonoses, such as Hendra, Ebola, Marburg, Malaria, SARS, HIV etc. The author explores the origin, transmission, spread and effects of these diseases on human and animal populations. The book is not filled with scientific jargon, but is also not so simplified that it becomes useless. The personable writing style makes a scientific subject like this exciting and interesting, instead of boring. An excellent book which should be read by everyone.


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Too long and too detailed look at how diseases jump from animals to humans. Worth skimming, especially the chapters on the origins of HIV. ( )

What an awesome and frightening well written piece of journalistic research on zoonotic diseases and the possibility of the next big one. ( )

All a matter of when. Not if. Something is gonna mutate and take us down. Sounds like a cool job to be a virus hunter. But nor for me. Too much of a wuss. ( )

Zoonotic diseases are reminders that we are in fact made of the same stuff as the rest of the natural world- viruses hijack our cells' replication mechanisms, bacteria lurking in a rat finds a home in our bodies, etc. Quammen takes a very thorough look at these for a popular audience, with each section about different types of disease or commonality that links many.

For instance, it never occurred to me that bats could be a huge, huge vector for types of viruses. But they do explain the spread of Nipah, Marburg, and possibly Ebola (very mobile, large population density, and when they poop it goes everywhere). Part historical view, part travelogue shadowing scientists in the field makes for a comprehensive picture of what is known and where to look next.

In the epilogue Quammen considers the word 'outbreak'- a giant population influx in a short amount of time, often used for disease but also for insects (like the cicada one due any time on the east coast). Insect outbreaks are usually kept in check by viruses. As we speed past 7 billion humans, we're certainly in the middle of our own outbreak on the planet so... are we due for a pandemic? The answer is probably yes, but we can be smart about our habits and practices to prevent a larger toll. ( )

This was terrific - Quammen does a great job of turning a complex, scary subject into something comprehensible (and still scary - but not nearly as bad as it was before). It feels weird to complement the writing on a book like this, but the writing really was superb, clear and intelligible, funny sometimes, never more dramatic than the data calls for. I feel smarter after reading this, which is what good nonfiction should do. ( )

Heavy reading, but important. Mankind faces some serious
problems which are coming faster and faster. ( )

Quammen's discussion and investigation of zoonotic viruses is a fascinating ride, and reads more like a mystery or novel of intrigue than nonfiction focused into science and history. From chapter to chapter, he takes readers through the questions and the histories that surround animal-based viruses that make the jump from their host animal to humans in 'spillover' events, and does so in a fashion that any reader can follow and engage with.

Whether dealing with interviews, history, hard science, journeys to unravel questions re. hosts or nature, or speculation about what's to come, each moment of the text is frighteningly readable, and moves so quickly that the book is difficult to walk away from. This is an impressive work, and well worth reading--for anyone.

Absolutely recommended. ( )

Once I saw the subject of David Quammen's latest book, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, I was determined to get my hands on and read it as soon as possible. True - and it is worth every dollar I spent. Likely the next big pandemic will be the result of a spillover virus of some kind. A spillover describes a zoonoses, infectious diseases, that originate in animals and spread to humans.

Quammen explains:
"When a pathogen leaps from some nonhuman animal into a person, and succeeds there in establishing itself as an infectious presence, sometimes causing illness or death, the result is a zoonosis. (pg.20)" "Ebola is a zoonosis. So is bubonic plague. So was the so-called Spanish influenza of 1918-19 [which killed] as many as 50 million people...(pg. 21)"
And:
"Emergence and spillover are distinct concepts but interconnected. 'Spillover' is the term used by disease ecologists... to denote the moment when a pathogen passes from members of one species, as host, into members of another. It's a focused event. (pg. 43)"

Viruses/diseases discussed include: Ebola, Hendra, hantaviruses, influenza (H5N1, H1N1), Lyme disease, herpes B, the Black Death (perhaps), hepatitis C, AIDS, SARS, dengue, rabies, Marburg, Nipah, Marchupo, yellow fever, Lassa, HIV, and more. It's very likely that most of the virulent viruses we fear begin as a spillover zoonosis. Certainly every time we hear of a new flu virus, we will also hear where it is suspected that it originated from, be it swine or bird.

What is truly frightening is that, while the big outbreaks of these viruses seem to be limited, in reality the viruses, like Ebola, are present all the time. Predicting or anticipating when an outbreak will occur is impossible. It is helpful to know what animals carry the viruses. Add to that knowledge the reality that today an infected person or potential carrier of a deadly virus can fly across the world in a short amount of time.

It is quite interesting to read Quammen account revealing that "AIDS began with a spillover from one chimp to one human, in southeastern Cameroon, no later than 1908 (give or take a margin of error) and grew slowly but inexorably from there. (pg. 427)"

One of the many great qualities of Spillover is the accessibility of Quammen's writing. He creates a palatable sense of drama and anticipation in this very informative nonfiction account. He informs and entertains; even while imparting serious information, he includes witty, humorous comments. I enjoyed this book very much.

Get your flu shot and read Spillover. Today.

Very Highly Recommended - one of the best
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