I hate to do this as I think the author is a lovely, well meaning lady, but this book wasn't ultimately novel or helpful for me. I thought by the title that it would have "cures" for modern pandemics but it's more along the lines of ecological prevention. We all know (or should know) that our modern way of life is leading to more and more risk of novel viruses like covid-19 that are jumping from animals to humans, and we know that our modern lifestyles are making things much worse due to air pollution, over-crowding, poor access to health care, etc. This book suggests important and necessary changes along the lines of our environment, social justice, etc. and these are certainly needed. I don't know who the audience is, though, as I already know all of the problems she points out and her solutions are ones that have been championed by people concerned with these issues for some time. She does not offer "cures" for pandemics in terms of how to survive them (other than some very basic stuff about health), just changes needed in the world to stem them. It's a short read and does make great points, but these may not be new to most people and the only people who wouldn't know them already are likely the types not to agree with her.

As I said, I hate to rate the book with a low rating but it was 2 stars for me -- "just okay." I have no doubts that the author is a wonderful person and I agree with her ideals. I would just suggest adding more concrete advice in actually dealing with pandemics on a personal and community level, rather than just goals for prevention.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.