The Premonition: A Pandemic Story

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story is a 2021 nonfiction book by Michael Lewis about an unlikely group of freethinking pandemic researchers whose work puts them at odds with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Trump administration. Their stories unfold against the backdrop of the poor US response to the threat of COVID-19.

Lewis explains in the book’s Introduction that in his 2018 novel, The Fifth Risk, he wondered what would happen if our top officials and experts, who protect us by managing existential risks, were complacent about them. At that time, no one could have predicted that a striking example of such a scenario was only months away. The Premonition gives insight into not only the pandemic’s spread in the US but also the nation’s history with pandemics—and serves as a warning to anyone concerned about preparing for the next, inevitable pandemic.

Other works by this author include Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, Liar’s Poker, and The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine.

Plot Summary

Thirteen-year-old Laura Glass begins a science project on a subject that fascinates her: infectious diseases and how they spread.