A READY-RECKONER ON THE CORONAVIRUS
HT’s editors offer a book recommendation every Saturday, which provides history, context, and helps understand recent news events
As India continues to battle the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, there are still many unaswered questions about the deadly virus, the disease and vaccines.
This week, we recommend, Anirban Mahapatra’s COVID-19: Separating Fact from Fiction. In his meticulusly researched book, Mahapatra, a microbiologist, demystifies the virus, offers a historical perspective and tries to answer several key questions: Where did this virus come from? Did we see it coming? If so, why weren’t we better prepared for it? How lethal is it? How can we protect ourselves from it? How will the pandemic end? What will life be like once it is over? Mahapatra’s writing is crisp, lucid, and nonjudgmental and he deftly debunks misinformation around Covid-19 and its spread. It offers clarity that enables us not only to understand the coronavirus but also how to survive it.