From the collaborators behind the modern business classic All the
Devils are Here comes a damning indictment of American capitalism--and
the leaders that left us brutally unprepared for a global pandemic
In 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic made it painfully clear that the
U.S. could not adequately protect its citizens. Millions of Americans
suffered--and over a million died--in less than two years, while
government officials blundered; prize-winning economists overlooked
devastating trade-offs; and elites escaped to isolated retreats,
unaffected by and even profiting from the pandemic.
Why and how did America, in a catastrophically enormous failure, become
the world leader in COVID deaths? In this page-turning economic,
political, and financial history, veteran journalists Bethany McLean and
Joe Nocera offer fresh and provocative answers. With laser-sharp
analysis and deep sourcing, they investigate both what really happened
when governments ran out of PPE due to snarled supply chains and the
shock to the financial system when the world's biggest economy stumbled.
They zero in on the effectiveness of wildly polarized approaches, with
governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Ron DeSantis of Florida taking
infamous turns in the spotlight. And they trace why thousands died in
hollowed-out hospital systems and nursing homes run by private equity
firms to "maximize shareholder value."
In the tradition of the authors' previous landmark exposés, The Big
Fail is an expansive, insightful account on what the pandemic did to
the economy and how American capitalism has jumped the rails--and is
essential reading to understand where we're going next.
