I loved the set-up of the book: a plausible scenario about a future pandemic and then text giving context and explanations. I found the book highly informative. All the science was explained crystal clearly and with a conversational tone. I also loved the chapter-ending take-home messages. This book should be read by anyone interested in public health. It provides a great roadmap that will hopefully be followed in the next pandemic, and there will be a next one. Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Spark for the advance reader copy.

Every time I see a person with a flimsy face mask on, I now think of this book. In other words, since reading it, I probably think about this book daily.

In The Big One, Michael Osterholm and Mark Olshaker present a scenario (a “thought experiment”) where an extremely deadly pandemic hits the world, something that experts expect will happen someday and that will make Covid-19 seem tame in comparison.

Although this is non-fiction, each chapter presents a fictional situation where the disaster is escalating in a realistic manner, and where the major world players are dealing with the emergency. This is a clever narrative device since it brings the situation to life, is emotionally engaging, and makes it clear just how much would be at stake. Then in each chapter, the authors leave fiction and discuss a particular part of the crisis, the background (what could happen and what has actually happened in past pandemics), and how it can be dealt with in an optimal, scientifically-based way. This is a lot of information to absorb, so the authors wisely include key takeaways at the end of every chapter.

Everyone should read this book, especially politicians and other policy makers. It’s infuriating to know that so much good advice was ignored for optics – in many countries. At the same time, this book also helped me understand what a horrible position many policy makers were put in. There is no reason that this needs to happen again in the same way, and the authors spell out how this could be done.

The authors present a clear picture of what went wrong and why, during Covid-19, and how we can learn from this. They come across as sincere, open-minded, honest, and science-based. I am not an expert so I can’t actually judge if the science they present is true or some variation of truth, but it is a starting point for discussions and I found it fascinating.

This book is in the health, mind, body and science genre! It goes over how we all went through the Covid pandemic and warns us that another pandemic is on the way and we need to be prepared! This next pandemic could be The Big One! This could be much worse than Covid! I can’t even imagine going through something like that again, yet worse! This book talks about how we weren’t prepared for that pandemic. Furthermore, the public health response was not prepared either, which made everything worse. While this book made me feel anxious at times, it was very informative and helpful. It was thought provoking, well written and science based! Overall, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, authors Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker and Little, Brown and Company | Little, Brown Spark publishing for this digital advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is set to be released on September 2, 2025!

In The Big One, Dr. Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker deliver a sobering and urgent warning: Covid-19, as devastating as it was, may only be a precursor to an even deadlier pandemic. With clear-eyed analysis, they dissect past failures in public health response, expose dangerous misconceptions about disease containment, and outline critical strategies for preparedness. This book is both a wake-up call and a roadmap for survival— a critical call to action for future global health crises.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for providing an eARC of The Big One:
How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics prior to publication.