Breathless

The definitive story of the worldwide scientific quest to decipher the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, trace its source, and make possible the vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

'A luminous, passionate account of the defining crisis of our time' - New York Times

From the bestselling author of Spillover, the book that predicted the pandemic, this is the story of Covid-19 and its fierce journey through the human population, as seen by the scientists tasked with fighting it.

David Quammen draws on countless interviews with experts, including leading virologists, to take us inside the global race to understand SARS-CoV-2, its ever-changing nature and capacity to kill. In doing so, he explains how new viruses emerge when we disrupt ecosystems and suggests why the coronavirus may be here to stay.

By peering over the shoulders of the brilliant scientists leading the chase, Breathless uncovers the warnings from infectious diseases experts that went unheeded; and which clues are the most compelling in the hunt for the virus' origin.

'A classic...a masterpiece' - Stanley Prusiner, Nobel Prize Winner

'A viral howdunnit that is pacy and unafraid to educate readers' - Observer

'As close to authoritative history as we have... It reads like a real-time thriller' - Chicago Tribune