The Plague Year: America in the Time of Covid by Lawrence Wright. He is a former reporter in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1980, Wright became a staff writer for Texas Monthly and became a contributing editor to Rolling Stone. In 1992, he joined the staff of The New Yorker.
His previous book, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 won the Pulitzer Prize is an amazing read and cannot believe it has been over 15 years since reading that book.
This book simply defines why Biden won. It is a certainly stunning read. The pandemic could not have been a slow motion fumbling any worse, and at certainly the most critical point. The months leading up to the discovery is staggering.
Lawrence clearly defines, regardless of political views how this contradicted G.W. Bush’s pandemic playbook for the country. So from the first intelligence indicators of the impact in China, he tripped over what should have been a clearly defining moment.
There is certainly little doubt the White House was downplaying the threat. Lawrence in fact reveals how policymaking was being established by insiders with little knowledge. However, Deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger lobbied the White House to take this threat more seriously. Nevertheless nothing came of his efforts. In addition, nothing was even reflected in White House press briefings.
Lawrence even stressed CDC delays in rolling out virus test kits including an initial batch that was faulty. In addition, reflecting back at the time, the lack of personal protective equipment for hospitals in major metropolitan regions led to fellow citizens producing masks for health care workers via their own personal 3D printers. The country rallied around our health care workers and first responders.