A Planet of Viruses

Carl Zimmer is a New York Times columnist who has been writing for the paper since 2004. His writing has won several awards, including the Society for the Study of Evolution's Stephen Jay Gould Prize. Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive is his most recent book. His 2018 book, She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity, was named the best science book of 2018 by the Guardian and won the 2019 National Academies Communication Award. He is an adjunct professor of biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University, as well as an English lecturer. He lives in Guilford, Connecticut.

For years, scientists have warned that a pandemic was almost certain. It's finally arrived, and the rest of us have a lot to learn. Carl Zimmer, a science writer, is here to help us. In this slim volume, he tells the story of how the smallest living things known to science can bring an entire planet to a halt—and what we can learn from past defeats.

Planet of Viruses discusses threats such as Ebola, MERS, and chikungunya virus, as well as recent scientific discoveries such as a hundred-million-year-old virus that infected the common ancestor of armadillos, elephants, and humans. It also discusses why climate change may lead to even deadlier outbreaks. Zimmer's clear explanations and fascinating stories show how closely humans and viruses are linked. Viruses aided in the evolution of the first life forms, are responsible for many of our most lethal diseases, and will continue to shape our fate for centuries. A Planet of Viruses is a fascinating tour of a world we all need to better understand. It is thoroughly readable and, for all its candor about the threats, as reassuring as it is frightening.

Author: Carl Zimmer

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Viruses-Second-Carl-Zimmer/dp/022629420X/

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 398 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #45,289 in Books

#18 in Microbiology (Books)

#22 in Virology

#33 in Communicable Diseases (Books)