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verity_lilolia's review against another edition
Very interesting and well told. Highly recommended. Will be reading his book Spillover in which this book first appeared as a chapter.
thisbookishcat's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
What a genuinely fascinating and entertaining read -albeit somewhat fantastical at times with the imaginings of people who may have carried and spread the HIV virus in its infancy.
This book did exactly what I was hoping it would do though - it completely tore apart all that I thought I knew about AIDS and its inception, and made me informed. I feel that I'm also reading this at an appropriate time, what with bans on homosexuals donating blood being changed and lifted, as well as the 2020 global pandemic.
I definitely recommend this if you want a fairly quick and informative read - it really was great!
This book did exactly what I was hoping it would do though - it completely tore apart all that I thought I knew about AIDS and its inception, and made me informed. I feel that I'm also reading this at an appropriate time, what with bans on homosexuals donating blood being changed and lifted, as well as the 2020 global pandemic.
I definitely recommend this if you want a fairly quick and informative read - it really was great!
ddescamps's review against another edition
2.0
I had very high expectations of this book, primarily because I loved Quammen’s book Spillover. However, I found this book to be based mainly on speculation and misinformation. The primary problem I had was that throughout the book, Quammen makes it seem as if persons can become infected with HIV through contact with fluids of SIV-positive monkeys — which is simply not correct. For approximately 75% of the book, Quammen discusses how this is a reality, often citing professionals in the field who have dispelled these myths. For persons who have not studied the virology and phylogeny of the virus, what Quammen writes could be taken as face value, and can ultimately lead to misinformation. It was an easy enough read, but read more as fiction than reality.
dajna's review against another edition
3.0
Informative, but if you're planning to read - or have read - [b:Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic|17573681|Spillover Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic|David Quammen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364847295s/17573681.jpg|19249362] you can skip it, it doesn't add any new information.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
5.0
Basically an extract of the best chapter from [b:Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic|17573681|Spillover Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic|David Quammen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364847295s/17573681.jpg|19249362], converted into a short book. Frightening and insightful. Sure the writing could have been a little less breezy, and pieces could have been a bit more in depth. But worth reading and understanding.