Ebola

Ebola

The Natural and Human History

Summary

In 1976 a deadly virus emerged from the Congo forest. As swiftly as it came, it disappeared, leaving no trace.

Over the four decades since, Ebola has emerged sporadically, each time to devastating effect. It can kill up to 90% of its victims. In between these outbreaks, it is untraceable, hiding deep in the jungle. The search is on to find Ebola’s elusive host animal. And until we find it, Ebola will continue to strike.

Acclaimed science writer and explorer David Quammen first came near the virus whilst travelling in the jungles of Gabon, accompanied by local men whose village had been devastated by a recent outbreak. Here he tells the story of Ebola, its past, present and its unknowable future.

Reviews

  • A nimble job...deeply unsettling but also sober minded...a standout in the floodlet of Ebola books
    Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

About the author

David Quammen

David Quammen's sixteen previous books include The Tangled Tree, The Song of the Dodo, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, and Spillover, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and recipient of the Premio Letterario Merck. He has written for the New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, the Atlantic, National Geographic and Outside, among other publications, and is a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award.

Quammen shares a home in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife, Betsy Gaines Quammen, author of American Zion, and with two Russian wolfhounds, a cross-eyed cat, and a rescue python.

Visit him at DavidQuammen.com
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