Ebola

Story of an Outbreak

By: Laurie Garrett

Narrated by: Kristin Kalbli

Length: 4 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Where does Ebola originate? How does it spread? And what should governments do to stop it? Few people understand the answers to these questions better than Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Laurie Garrett.

In this masterful account of the 1995 Ebola outbreak in Zaire, Garrett, now the Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations, shows how superstition and fear, compounded by a lack of resources, education, and clearheaded government planning have plagued our response to Ebola. In an extensive new introduction, Garrett forcefully argues that learning from past outbreaks is the key to solving the Ebola crisis of 2014.

In her account of the 1995 Zaire outbreak, first published in her best-selling book Betrayal of Trust, Garrett takes readers through the epidemic's course-beginning with the Kikwit villager who first contracted it from an animal encounter while chopping wood for charcoal deep in the forest. As she documents the outbreak in riveting detail, Garrett shows why our trust in world governments to protect people's health has been irrevocably broken. She details the international community's engagement in the epidemic's aftermath: A pattern of response and abandonment, urgency that devolves into amnesia.

Ebola: Story of an Outbreak is essential listening for anyone who wants to comprehend Ebola, one of mankind's most mysterious, malicious scourges. Garrett has issued a powerful call for governments, citizens, and the disease-fighting agencies of the wealthy world to take action.

©2014 Laurie Garrett (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Terrifying and informative

I learned a lot about problems in the global contagious disease control systems which I will hopefully put to good use.

Very good summation of Ebola

Would you listen to Ebola again? Why?

Already have listened to it twice. (Like I have read Preston's the "Hot Zone" 2-3x.) As an amateur virologist, it illustrated the epidemiological steps to diagnosing the disease, how it progresses, how it kills and various microbiological aspects of diagnosis. Unfortunately, it also shows how slow the rest of the world is to react and how quickly they forget once the outbreak tapers off. Excellent. I would recommend it to anyone interested in virology and healthcare in emerging countries.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I don't know if I had a 'favorite' character. The book was based on a collaborative effect by many people from many different countries. It did seem to minimize the potential role of United States Army's "Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease" (USAMRIID) at Ft. Derrick, Maryland could have played in staunching the epidemic. I am not sure why USAMRIID refused to get involved.

What does Kristin Kalbli bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Very good performance.

Any additional comments?

The subject of this audiobook is a smaller outbreak of Ebola in Zaire (Now, Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1995. It is NOT about the West African outbreaks in 2014.

Very Informative

What did you love best about Ebola?

It really painted a picture of the '95 outbreak; everything from where Ebola came from, how it was addressed (or not addressed), and what kind of a threat it poses.

What does Kristin Kalbli bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her pronunciations gave the book some added value. She was easy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Slightly politically charged in a couple places, but otherwise offered a vivid picture of the '95 Ebola outbreak while presenting a factual account of the events in Zaire.

Ebola ...... still uninformed

wanted more of the research and the medical aspect instead of the history of the region.... wanted to understand how we as a nation can continue to let the incidents of this outbreak go on.

Concise, but only about the '95 outbreak

Any additional comments?

Concise account of the 1995 Ebola outbreak. While well-written and informative, I was disappointed that it was solely about the '95 outbreak and did not explain the 2014 outbreak (which was my fault for not fully reading the description). Garrett, as she was in her outstanding The Coming Plague, synthesizes medical explanations with the political landscape and a large amount of human interest details.

It was a great read

absolutely loved it. it was informative, riveting and enlightening to the struggles occurring in West Africa.