Breathless

<p><b>**A <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 and <i>FINANCIAL TIMES</i> BEST BOOK OF 2023**<br><br>**Shortlisted for the Royal Science Society Book Prize 2023**<br><br>From the author of the prescient <i>Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic</i></b><br><br><b><i>Breathless</i> is the story of the scientific quest to decipher control and fight Covid-19.</b><br><br><i>Breathless</i> traces SARS-CoV-2's fierce journey through the human population as seen by the scientists who study its origin ever-changing nature and capacity to kill. It shows how strange viruses emerge as we disrupt wild ecosystems - sometimes causing global catastrophe - and suggests this coronavirus could be a 'forever virus' that's destined to bedevil us endlessly.<br><br>Quammen also explains that experts saw this pandemic coming; that scientists warned 'the next big one' would be caused by a changeable new virus but were ignored for political or economic reasons; and that while the origins of this virus may not be known for years some suppositions are compelling and others can be dismissed.<br><br><b><i>Breathless</i> takes us inside the frantic international effort to control SARS-CoV-2 as if peering over the shoulders of the brilliant scientists who led the chase.</b><br><br><b>Praise for <i>Spillover</i>:</b><br><br>'A frightening and fascinating masterpiece of science reporting' Walter Isaacson<br><br>'A real-life thriller with an outcome that affects us all' Elizabeth Kolbert</p>