Browse the best books on pandemics as recommended by authors, experts, and creators. Along with notes on why they recommend those books.
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Prep For Doom
By
ER Arroyo,
Laura Albins,
Amy Bartelloni,
Brea Behn,
Casey L. Bond,
TK Carter,
Kate Corcino,
Harlow C. Fallon,
Kelsey D. Garmendia,
Caroline A. Gill,
DelSheree Gladden,
John Gregory Hancock,
Casey Hays,
Kate L. Mary,
Jon Messenger,
Monica Enderle Pierce,
Cameo Renae,
Hilary Thompson,
Yvonne Ventresca,
Megan White
Why this book?
This collection of short stories by
twenty different authors explores how a fictional deadly disease affects a
range of people, from scientists to government officials to everyday teens. (My
contribution is chapter 13, “Escape to Orange Blossom.”) What I especially
enjoyed about this anthology is the way that the characters from one story
might appear in another. Using a single incident to drive the plot, the
collaborative nature sets this collection apart.
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Balam, Spring
By
Travis M. Riddle
Why this book?
A slice-of-life epidemiological fantasy novel set in the small town of Balam, as it deals with a mysterious illness accompanied by strange insectoid monsters intent on stealing the corpses of the victims. One of the weirder books on the list, with a setting heavily inspired by the Final Fantasy game series and lower stakes than most of the others – but still well worth a read.
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Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
By
David Quammen
Why this book?
Before the coronavirus pandemic,
Quammen investigated the science behind “spillover”—the way that animal
illnesses can mutate and infect humans. Given the grim subject matter, I found this
nonfiction account of various diseases to be surprisingly engrossing and highly
readable. Spillover was one of my inspirational resources when I created
my fictional illness for my novel. Quammen shares information about Ebola,
SARS, Lyme disease, AIDS, bird flu, and others in this well-researched book.
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Age of Pandemics (1817-1920) : How They Shaped India and the World
By
Chinmay Tumbe
Why this book?
It manages to leverage the world history of coping with pandemics over the last couple of centuries by focusing on India’s Experience with them. A readable academic book with frequent reference to the author's own life experience. It uses the history of public health to illuminate all aspects of the nation’s history
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Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures
By
Carl Zimmer
Why this book?
This is my favorite book on parasites, which I have recommended hundreds of times in international school and university classrooms worldwide. Zimmer is a science writer with a gift for making a horrific subject fascinating and memorable. Zimmer introduced me to a hidden, parallel universe where parasites control their hosts, manipulate their evolution, hide behind their host’s own bodily chemicals, and on occasion turn them into the living dead.
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Tribes of Decay: A Zombie Novel
By
Michael W. Garza
Why this book?
I love everything this author does because his world-building is simple but perfect. The post-apocalyptic world-building in this story involves not only a description of mass desolation but also how that desolation has changed humanity. Of course, people are going to be affected by their environment – especially under post-apocalyptic circumstances – and too often I feel like characters in post-apocalyptic fiction are just the same as people today.
Zombie worlds all have the same familiar feel, but I really liked the idea of how “tribes” of survivors had formed in cities and how these people had reverted to more…
