What's Next? discussion

Latest release by Michael Lewis, author of Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, and The Big Short. Similar in theme to one of his more recent books, The Fifth Risk, about government infrastructure (and how big gov’t is its own worst enemy), this book also reveals the inefficiencies in our government’s organizational design and the downright ineptitude in how certain people-explicitly named in the book- mishandled the covid pandemic response. As with all of his other books, Lewis constructs compelling narratives for a bevy of unsung heroes, like Carter Mecher, the brilliant army boots-with-suit-wearing doctor and problem solver who rose through the VA ranks to pioneer a pandemic policy unit during GW Bush’s administration. Charity Dean, the number 2 deputy to California’s State Health Director, the out-of-her-depths Sonia Angell, is another central figure and the originator of the quote that became book’s title. Joe DeRisi, a UCSF biophysics professor who is also a “Willy Wonka” of medical labs, able to map genomes and find cures to obscure diseases, is another behind the scenes genius who is befuddled by California state officials’ refusal to accept (free and invaluable) assistance from his team, part of the Chan-Zuckerberg initiative founded to privately fund the need for pandemic resources (too politically problematic is one reason given for their refusal).

Lewis is a brilliant storyteller who excels at making the little people come to life, while teaching readers about sometimes obscure topics through wit and dramatized anecdotes. And so while I was rooting for the three people mentioned above, I was equally skeptical that Sonia Angell was as incompetent and mean as her character was portrayed. She was too convenient a scapegoat (though in fairness, Lewis also attacks higher ups at the CDC and is scathing on his treatment of the modern, politically-honed institution itself, so Angell wasn’t alone in the attacks).

Because I knew I was being taken in by his gifted storytelling and that for dramatic flair, Lewis trades impartial journalism in order to editorialize events, I give this only 4.5 stars out of 5. But for those who don’t shy away from more “pandemic news”, and who appreciate the real-time element here (some events take place in 2021), this is a compelling and enlightening read.

Thanks. On my nightstand to read soon.

Really enjoyed the book and the background stories of the main characters and their interactions that lead up to the outbreak of the pandemic.

Its amazing how these people, who are relatively low down in the food chain, really should have played key figures in the decision making processes when handling the pandemic. Unfortunately due to politics (the author has many times specified 'the Trump administration'), they were not always being heard. I'm also surprised by how the CDC was described to be run and its actual response (instead of the what they put up as optics), especially at the initial stage of the pandemic.

To quote one of the characters on CDC

"They really should just change the name... It shouldn't be the Centers for Disease Control, It should be the Centers for Disease Observation and Reporting..."

Better than I expected, and Michael Lewis' best book since The Big Short. Behind the scenes look at what was really going in the run up to the pandemic; the heroes involved; and the colossal failure of the US govt and healthcare system to protect its own people despite having the tools and knowledge.

The addendum on the CDC was useful context for how the Center evolved to be politicized, best described as a "peacetime institution in a wartime environment."