The story of viruses and humanity is a story of fear and ignorance, of grief and heartbreak, and of great bravery and sacrifice. Michael Oldstone tells all these stories as he illuminates the history of the devastating diseases that have tormented humanity, focusing mostly on the most famous viruses. Oldstone begins with smallpox, polio, and measles. Nearly 300 million people were killed by smallpox in this century alone and the author presents a vivid account of the long campaign to eradicate this lethal killer. Oldstone then describes the fascinating viruses that have captured headlines.

A #1 New York Times bestselling author and award-winning Wall Street Journal investigative journalist lauded for his “bravura storytelling” (Gary Shteyngart) and “first-rate” reporting (The New York Times), Zuckerman takes us inside the top-secret laboratories, corporate clashes, and high-stakes government negotiations that led to effective shots. Deeply reported and endlessly gripping, this is a dazzling, blow-by-blow chronicle of the most consequential scientific breakthrough of our time. It’s a story of courage, genius, and heroism. It’s also a tale of heated rivalries, unbridled ambitions, crippling insecurities, and unexpected drama. A Shot to Save the World is the story of how science saved the world.

The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a compelling account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies. The development of CRISPR and the race to create vaccines for coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution. The past half-century has been a digital age, based on the microchip, computer, and internet. Now we are entering a life-science revolution. Children who study digital coding will be joined by those who study genetic code.

Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research, The Great Influenza provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon. As Barry concludes, "The final lesson of 1918, a simple one yet one most difficult to execute, is that...those in authority must retain the public's trust. The way to do that is to distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to manipulate no one. Lincoln said that first, and best. A leader must make whatever horror exists concrete. Only then will people be able to break it apart".   

When scientists proved in 1984 that HIV causes AIDS, a vaccine race spun into action. But the sprint to develop an AIDS vaccine now more closely resembles a crawl. Jon Cohen elucidates the forces that have hindered the search: unforeseen scientific obstacles, clashing personalities, the uncertain marketplace, haphazard political organization, and serious ethical dilemmas. Beyond a powerful critique, Cohen also offers specific recommendations for accelerating the effort. "An important book not only for the now but for the future of this epidemic and those to come.", Dr. Robert Gallo.

  Franky Franklin, son of Ben Franklin

In Cotton Mather’s time (1720) inoculation was introduced in America. One such evangelist for inoculation was Benjamin Franklin. Along with several other founders — including George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson — Franklin himself was persuaded. Yet he still had a tragic relationship with smallpox inoculation.  As the disease was sweeping through Philadelphia in 1736, he and his wife, Deborah, initially decided not to inoculate their 4-year-old son Francis, known as Franky. The boy was sick with a cold and the Franklins worried that his body would not be able to handle the side effects of inoculation. Soon, though, Franky contracted smallpox and died.  “This is the great tragedy of Franklin’s life,” Burns told me. “Deborah and Benjamin Franklin were just beset by this mistake they made even though it was completely understandable.” Watch the Burns-posted six-minute “extra” film clip about Franky and inoculation. In April 2022, PBS will air Burns’s new documentary, “Benjamin Franklin.”