I found this book hard to read especially after everything has been in my opinion blown out of proportion. This is still going on and people read into it. Everything in the book has been headlined to death and you really get tired of hearing it. Follow the science as we are told from the very beginning when the pandemic broke. Didn't learn anything new and this book is written from her view which I respect.

The Enablers is a look at the US Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health policy, and lack of leadership which has led to more than 600,000 deaths in the USA alone. Due out 31st Aug 2021 from Cambridge University Press, it's 330 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is a layman accessible book, written by a policy and leadership academic with impeccable credentials (from Harvard, 3x Fulbright scholar, with a doctorate from Yale and decades of experience on the dynamics of power between leaders and their followers). I was fascinated by how clearly and early on in the text, the author clearly states that although Donald Trump was -a- significant piece on the playing board, rushing to lay -everything- at his feet alone is too convenient and gives an incomplete understanding of the whole "perfect storm" of incompetence and misunderstanding which led to the situation and fallout we see today. There was real and lasting damage done and it wasn't all on Trump.

The author makes her points and builds up her arguments meticulously with copious annotations. I had to read the book in small sessions because I really found myself getting angry at the utter senselessness of the situation and the mind blowing amount of anguish that the "cult of personality" unleashed on millions of people who were simply trying to live their lives (and many of whom lost their lives).

I was impressed by the author's neutrality. There's nothing sensationalist or muckraking in her writing. She chooses her sources very very carefully for their objectively factual basis and neutrality. If I hadn't been so seethingly angry for most of the read, I'd have likely thought the subject was a bit dry and academic. (I'm a science nerd, not a politics/policy/business nerd).

As it is, there's more than enough blame to go around and smarter people than I will be spending many decades sorting it out.

Four and a half stars. This would be a good choice for library acquisitions, book clubs, fans of business/politics/policy, and similar.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I found this FASCINATING.

Kellerman offers an insight into everything (and there's a lot) that Team Trump did wrong when attempting to subdue to the coronavirus pandemic - covering how it was not only the faults of the dreadful man in power, but everybody who surrounded him.

I did like this book though I would have liked to have more information on what a mess Trump and his administration made of C19. I've read a number of books on the plague and earlier catastrophes.

Another Trump book, oh joy. I have read many books about Trump and his administration as well as several COVID-19 books. The author does a good job trying to be remain objective/neutral in the book while citing many examples of how Trump, his administration and inner circle have failed to protect the American people during a pandemic. My biggest issue with this book is that I felt I did not learn/read about anything new; all the content and argument or observations. Not impressed with this although there were a few good points. Hard to tell if the author is a Trump sympathizer or not.

An ok read but nothing new learned. Cannot recommend but well written.

Thanks tp Netgalley, Barbara Kellerman and Cambridge University Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/31/21

An ok look at the Trump years. A lot of the people mentioned were too obvious. No surprises or deep research