Library Director
Fact and Fiction Reading List
Fact
The Ghost Map by Call Number: RC133.G6 J64 2006It's easier than ever for a virus to travel globally, and recently several interactive maps have been created to track COVID-19's spread. This book tells the story of one man who tracks a huge cholera epidemic in London back to a single water pump handle. Along the way, we learn much about the history of germ theory and the importance of city infrastructure.
Read this book if: You're curious about how human interconnections can lead to (and stop) disease spread.
Pandemic by Call Number: RA649 .W75 2017ISBN: 9780374122881Publication Date: 2016-02-16COVID-19 is not the first global health crisis the world has seen. Beginning with
the enormously disruptive epidemic of cholera, this book explores some of the
pathogens that have caused the largest pandemics in history.
Read this book if: You want to know what lessons from the past can prepare us
for future pandemics.
Pandemic Planning by Call Number: Available OnlineISBN: 9781439857656Publication Date: 2012-03-14Preparedness and rigorous planning on community, state, and regional levels are critical to containing the threat of pandemic illness. Steeped in research and recommendations from lessons learned, Pandemic Planning describes the processes necessary for the efficient and effective preparation, prevention, response, and recovery from a pandemic threat.
Read this book if: You want to learn about evidence-based planning to develop common strategic, ethical, and practical challenges to pandemic preparedness.
Spillover by Call Number: RA639 .Q83 2012Publication Date: 2012Spillover is the name for the phenomenon by which animal viruses cross over into humans. Though the animal source for COVID-19 has not been identified, other coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS were transmitted through contact with animals.
Read this book if: You want to know more about how COVID-19 may have emerged.
Fiction
Blindness by Call Number: PQ9281.A66 E6813 1998This meditation on the nature of humanity begins with an sudden epidemic of blindness that sweeps over the entire population of the unnamed country. As social and moral institutions decline, one eyewitness and the family she assembles demonstrate humanity's incredible resilience.
Read this book if: You are up for a tough read that dives deep in the depravity of social decay that will force you to ask questions about the value of human civilization.
A Journal of the Plague Year by Call Number: Available OnlineTechnically a work of fiction, this book provides an "eyewitness" account of the Great Plague of London beginning in 1665. Though Defoe was only 5 when the plague swept London, the narrative is full of enough shocking detail to provide a full picture of life during a plague year.
Read this book if: You want to experience the book that has directly influence of many of the other fiction novels in this list.
