This is a fascinating read by the prestigious Epidemiologist Dan Web who informs us of the many qualified virologist scientist working behind the scenes for decades on Covid virus strains. The authors life work is viruses including HIV and coronaviridae. I highly recommend this book to all who question the vaccines and doubt Covid to educate them on the reality of the virus . It is a educational informative teaching of the real scientist behind studying and creating the vaccines.

The author teaches us that the virus family coronaviridae was thought to be benign. The book chronicles the history of the study and discovery of the multitude of strains of Coronaviridae . He reviews a 40 year history of highly qualified scientist working on these viruses and the progress they made. I found this a fascinating study of the virus and of the scientists working to save lives. A must read .

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. My review opinion is my own.

Written by a very qualified epidemiologist who has a background in viruses (Notably HIV), drug therapies, and addiction (and is a musician to boot!) as well as connections to many of the major players in the world of virology, The Invisible Siege is an intimate portrait of the study of a virus family that until the early 2000s was thought to be largely benign to humans. The book chronicles the history of the study and discovery of the multitude of strains of Coronavidae (The virus family that produced SARS, MERS, and Covid-19 aka SARS-Cov-2) and humanities response to it/the race for a cure.

Werb covers the more than 40 year history and various tracks of study lead by a relatively small, diverse, brilliant, and humble group of Scientists around the world to uncover, understand, and ultimately combat this family of viruses who have proven themselves capable of wreaking havoc on the human population. The chapters are laid out logically and time stamped to show the progression. Scientists most people have or had never heard of until now are highlighted-you will get both a sense of their personalities and their brilliance as well as a strong sense of how they never set out to be famous.

In addition to the mind-blowing scientific background on this virus family and others, Werb does a great job of illustrating all the other factors surrounding virology and the success, or failure, of humanity to combat the threats. He covers geographical, life style, economic, healthcare, and political events and their influence, both positive and negative, on the fight to save lives.

The book reads like a novel, the scientific terms are plentiful but are largely explained, and content will keep you interested. Anyone who wants to understand the trajectory of Cov-SARS-2 and the incredible pace of response in the form of therapeutic treatments and vaccines should read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. The writing is captivating and the book reads more like a novel than like non-fiction. While many people are familiar with Drs. Fauci, Birx, and Tam, this book is not about them. It is about other scientists, who while not as well-known, are doing the work to stem the pandemic. These include Drs. Baric, Koopmans and Brunham. Werb gives quite a bit of biographical information, adding character development to the strengths of this book. Werb does a great job of explaining the science and how science works, in a conversational and clear manner and with the use of appropriate analogies. I liked how each section is identified by time and place of events. There is also a great discussion of the philosophy of science. I enjoyed this book more than several others I read about COVID. This book is a must-read. Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the advance reader copy.