Author:David Quammen
**A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 and FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2023**
*Shortlisted for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2023*
From the author of Spillover, the book that predicted the pandemic, Breathlessis the story of Covid-19 and its fierce journey through the human population, as seen by the scientists tasked with fighting it.
Bestelling author David Quammen draws on countless interviews with experts, including leading virologists, to take us inside the global race to understand SARS-CoV-2, it's ever-changing nature and capacity to kill. In doing so, he explains how new viruses emerge when we disrupt ecosystems and suggests why the coronavirus may be here to stay.
By peering over the shoulders of the brilliant scientists leading the chase, Breathless uncovers the warnings from infectious diseases experts that went unheeded; and which clues are the most compelling in the hunt for the virus' origin.
'A viral howdunnit that is pacy and unafraid to educate readers' Observer
'A luminous, passionate account of the defining crisis of our time' New York Times
'A classic...a masterpiece' Stanley Prusiner, Nobel Prize Winner
'As close to authoritative history as we have... It reads like a real-time thriller' Chicago Tribune
A supernova in among science journalists
—— Oprah DailyAn expert eye on Covid's past and present [and] a viral howdunnit that is pacy and unafraid to educate readers
—— Observer[A] tour de force...A luminous, passionate account of the defining crisis of our time - and the unprecedented international response to it.
—— The New York Times Book ReviewAs close to authoritative history - from the virus's origins to vaccines and variants - as we have, told through scientists involved, and the signature ease of Quammen's prose. It reads like a real-time thriller.
—— Chicago TribuneWill likely prove to be a classic in the history of science ... a masterpiece
—— Stanley Prusiner, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine[An] engrossing, at times breathless, scientific narrative of the COVID-19
—— NatureA frightening and fascinating masterpiece of science reporting that reads like a detective story
—— Walter Isaacson on SpilloverFascinating and terrifying, Spillover is a real-life thriller with an outcome that affects us all
—— Elizabeth Kolbert on SpilloverA tremendous book... this gives you all you need to know and should know. Quammen's research and analysis makes sensationalism unnecessary
—— Sunday Times on SpilloverChilling... [A] brilliant, devastating book
—— Daily Mail on SpilloverTravelling deep into the rainforest with the scientists hoping to identify the next pandemic pathogen, Quammen's book is plotted like a detective thriller
—— Gaia Vince, Guardian on SpilloverDavid Quammen might be my favourite living science writer: amiable, erudite, understated, incredibly funny, profoundly humane
—— New York Magazine on SpilloverCome for the compelling interviews with key scientists, including Anthony Fauci; stay for the deep dive into the wild and unpredictable world of viruses
—— Financial Times, *Books of the Year*A fascinating, insightful and forensic history of the NHS by a journalist who understands the politics as well as the policy of the health service. Essential reading
—— Rachel SylvesterThis remarkable and immensely readable book looks back at the highs and lows of the NHS's first 75 years, and asks critical questions about its future. Thought-provoking, despairing, eye-opening, and inspiring in equal measure
—— Sir David HaslamHardman provides an admirable account of the struggles of the [health service] . . . She is lucid, fair and unpolemical
—— Andrew Gimson , Conservative HomeA scholarly study of T. H. Huxley and his grandson [and a] guide to the history of evolutionary thinking... it's impressive that Bashford can command both these types of writing with equal authority.
—— Stefan Collini , London Review of BooksHow did a biological theory become such a central part of modern life? ... Bashford traces a cultural phenomenon that has profoundly shaped society and revolutionized our understanding of what it means to be human.
—— Stuart Mathieson , NatureIt would be difficult to overstate the debt of gratitude owed to the Huxley dynasty for our knowledge of evolution in all its forms. Bashford narrates the fascinating story of 200 years o modern science and culture through one family history.
—— Jules Stewart , Geographical MagazineBashford has crafted a masterful biography of Thomas Henry Huxley, patriarch of an evolutionary dynasty, his inheritor and grandson Julian, and the families that sustained them. Interweaving their public contributions to science and private poems, she deftly charts a generational quest to understand and articulate the human condition.
—— Erika Lorraine Milam, author of Creatures of CainAlison Bashford's intimate story of the Huxley clan reveals the ambiguities that arise if we apply modern values to past heroes. Here science, society and personalities interact to bring the past alive.
—— Peter Bowler, author of Progress Unchained: Ideas of Evolution, Human History and the FutureEd Yong's fascinating new book on the complex behaviours of creatures uncovers a universe of unfathomable beauty... Not since Oliver Morton's masterpiece of popular science Eating the Sun (2007) has a book so persuasively made the case that the Earth is greater than we know
—— New StatesmanA wonderful, wonder-full book
—— Literary ReviewBoth eye-opening and humbling
—— Radio TimesRemarkable... a delight, a book that prompts awe at the world around us
—— Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2022*A tour of our own world as we may never experience it
—— Geography, *Book of the Month*This book will reignite your sense of wonder and appreciation for our amazing planet
—— Woman's Own MagazineImmaculately researched, elegantly written, iconoclastic and compulsively readable
—— The Times Literary Supplement[Yong's] skills are on full display here, as he clearly and succinctly sketches out complex scientific and philosophical ideas in terms that are understandable for the lay reader
—— ProspectYong ... has a rare ability to break down overwhelming amounts of information into compelling, digestible detail. His An Immense World will make you question everything you thought you knew about how non-human animals perceive our shared world.
—— HeromagOne of President Barack Obama's 'favourite books of 2022'
—— President Barack ObamaRemarkable ... manages to be both a celebration of our species' genius for observation while also revealing how narrow and partial our 'sense' of things. Yong reveals how life is much greater than we can images.
—— New Statesman, *Books of the Year 2022*Yong's colourful, character-filled writing reveals a multidimensional world that has hitherto remained hidden to us
—— Guardian, *Books of the Year*This book welcomes us into previously unfathomable dimensions - the world as it is truly perceived by other animals
—— The Week Bookshop, *The best of 2022*Ed Yong's book is a celebration of sights and sounds, smells and tastes, and the ways different animals exist on the planet we all share. Yong blends scientific study and elegant prose to transform textbook fodder into an excting read
—— Time MagazineA brilliant story about life's most challenging puzzles: friendship, family, love, loss. By turns funny, poignant, wistful, and occasionally devastating
—— NATHAN HILL, author of THE NIXThe sort of book that comes around once in a decade - a magnificent feat of storytelling. It is a book about the intersection between love and friendship, work and vocation, and the impossible and relentless pull of our own west-bound destinies
—— REBECCA SERLE, author of In Five YearsSam and Sadie's relationship is pure wizardry; it's deep and complex, transcending anything we might call a love story. Whether you care about video games or not is beside the point. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the novel you've been waiting to read
—— Book Page, Chika GujarathiI feel completely changed by this book from Gabrielle Zevin. It's a book about love - about friendship, but really it transcends the borders of storytelling. My heart ached when I finished it. Truly unforgettable
—— CATHERINE CHO, author of InfernoThe perfect engrossing holiday read...beautiful and heartbreaking
—— The Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*Zevin's delight in her characters, their qualities, and their projects sprinkles a layer of fairy dust over the whole enterprise. Sure to enchant even those who have never played a video game in their lives, with instant cult status for those who have.
—— KirkusA one-of-a-kind achievement
—— Publishers WeeklyA particularly memorable and compelling kind of love story... [a] nuanced depiction of human connection over 30 years that will have you blinking back tears behind your sunglasses
—— Culture Whisper, *Summer Reads of 2022*dazzling and intricately imagined
—— B&N ReadsZevin's writing is like being put under a spell. She's kind of magical.
—— Liberty Hardy , WBEZSure to enchant even those who have never played a video game in their lives, with instant cult status for those who have.
—— Kirkusexhilarating
—— Smithsonianengrossing
—— Wall Street Journaldelightful and absorbing . . . expansive and entertaining
—— Tom Bissell , New York TimesThe go-to for your next hit of Nineties nostalgia; if you ever spent too long playing Donkey Kong, this one's for you
—— Evening Standard, *Summer Reads of 2022*This is a boy meets girl story that is never a romance - though it is romantic . . . Their relationship is a joining of minds and of worlds that is both purer and sweeter than any base physical attraction
—— Pippa Bailey , ObserverBig-hearted, generous, intelligent and open to the complexities of life
—— Irish IndependentA novel that treasures the act of play and holds it sacred . . . the world of video games and video game development is just the landscape in which life plays out . . . Tomorrow is about love, above all things
—— Sarah Maria Griffin , GuardianDelightful and absorbing
—— Tom Bissell , International New York TimesTeenagers of the 21st century are as likely to bond over video games as they are rock music or movies. Gabrielle Zevin's exhilarating, timely and emotive book is perhaps the first novel to truly get to grips with what this means
—— GuardianExhilarating... this is refreshingly original
—— PsychologiesIt is the imaginary world of a game, a world Zevin describes with the addict's ardour, which forms a universe even the sturdiest parent or antediluvian book-lover will be enticed into.
—— Big IssueFriendship, love, loyalty, violence in America and the magic of invented worlds. Gorgeous
—— PeopleTomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a special book -- one that transports readers fully, as games do their players, into its immaculately crafted world
—— The TimesWoven throughout are meditations on originality, appropriation, the similarities between video games and other forms of art, the liberating possibilities of inhabiting a virtual world, and the ways in which platonic love can be deeper and more rewarding - especially in the context of a creative partnership - than romance.
—— New YorkerZevin probes at many of the themes that energize video games as a medium: their narrative depth, their therapeutic value, their casual violence, their toxic industry. And the possibility of living a better life in a virtual world
—— WiredZevin has the ability to make you care about her creations within paragraphs of meeting them... whose fates I consistently worried about when I occasionally had to put the book aside.
—— Financial Times[An] engrossing, delightful novel... Zevin has the ability to make you care about her creations within paragraphs of meeting them... [Tomorrow] is rich with characters whose intertwined fates power the narrative
—— Financial TimesThis book, with its respect for craft-the craft of love and games, or loving games-will remind you of how abundant one life is, how lucky we are to keep each other in our memories forever.
—— Kotaku[I] raced through this pure wonder of a book in a few days
—— NINA MINGYA POWLES, author of Small Bodies of WaterA 2022 book that everyone should read
—— Pandora Sykes , Stylist LIVEA must-read
—— Neil DruckmannAnyone who reads Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow can't stop talking about it
—— StylistUtterly beautiful and endlessly hopeful, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a love letter to life, friendship, and creativity
—— The Skinny, *Books of 2022*[The] 2022 book that everyone should read
—— Pandora Sykes , Stylist LiveMy #1 book to recommend . . . incredible, like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon meets The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. It's about love and friendship and video games
—— Emma StraubIt feels right that the best video game novel out there is by a woman. Her story about the decades-long friendship and partnership between video game designers Sam and Sadie gets at so much about work, love and storytelling. It's a book that spawns great conversations.
—— Irenosen Okojie, author of NudibranchIn following Sam and Sadie's journey from Massachusetts to California and into the imagined worlds of their games, Zevin writes the most precious kind of love story
—— Time Magazine, Best Novel of the YearZevin's writing is poetic, the plot is entertaining, moving and gripping and the nods to real life video games make it all feel incredibly real
—— Skinny, *Books of the Year*Reading this is almost like an invitation from Zevin to enter a game...with every scene and moment so carefully constructed. Just brilliant
—— Skinny, *Books of the Year*I loved it
—— Sarah KeyworthA hugely enjoyable novel about lives and loves mediated by technology
—— Guardian, *Summer Reads of 2023*This playful, accomplished novel is a poignant celebration of friendship, love - and gaming
—— Daily MailAn engrossing coming-of-age story
—— Sunday Times, *Books of the Year*Epic in scale, with unforgettable characters, it breaks you heart and puts it back together
—— Daily Express, *Books of the Year*