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A history of COVID-19 and the sociopolitical crises that led to the 2020 global pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic shocked the world. It shouldn’t have. Since this century’s turn, epidemiologists have warned of new infectious diseases. Indeed, H1N1, H7N9, SARS, MERS, Ebola Makona, Zika, and a variety of lesser viruses have emerged almost annually. But what of the epidemiologists themselves? Some bravely descended into the caves where bat species hosted coronaviruses, including the strains that evolved into the COVID-19 virus. Yet, despite their own warnings, many of the researchers appear unable to understand the true nature of the disease—as if they are dead to what they’ve seen.
Dead Epidemiologists is an eclectic collection of commentaries, articles, and interviews revealing the hidden-in-plain-sight truth behind the pandemic: Global capital drove the deforestation and development that exposed us to new pathogens. Rob Wallace and his colleagues—ecologists, geographers, activists, and, yes, epidemiologists—unpack the material and conceptual origins of COVID-19. From deepest Yunnan to the boardrooms of New York City, this book offers a compelling diagnosis of the roots of COVID-19, and a stark prognosis of what—without further intervention—may come.
— Edgar Rivera Colón, co-author of Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine
"In his brilliance and in the extraordinary depth, range, and courage of his thinking, Rob Wallace is unique. Dead Epidemiologists makes sense of the COVID-19 pandemic like no other work I’ve encountered anywhere. This is radical thinking in the very best sense. Written in perfect, pissed-off, punk-rock eloquence and fury."
— Ben Ehrenreich, author, Desert Notebooks: A Road Map for the End of Time
"We are fortunate, indeed, that for so long Rob Wallace has been preparing, plunging into subjects as varied as ecology and political economy, so that he can articulate the scope of COVID-19. Read this book as if your life depended on it, because it does."
— Mindy Thompson Fullilove, author, Main Street: How a City’s Heart Connects Us All
"The breadth and depth of issues considered with authority and perspicacity in the new collection of essays makes this book essential reading. Dead Epidemiologists sets the context for understanding how neoliberal capitalism is threatening the annihilation of billions of people."
— Firoze Manji, host, ‘Organising in the Times of COVID-19,’ Daraja Press