The Wisdom of Plagues: Lessons from 25 Years of Covering Pandemics

Award-winning New York Times reporter Donald G. McNeil, Jr. reflects on twenty-five years of covering pandemics-how governments react to them, how the media covers them, how they are exploited, and what we can do to prepare for the next one-in this “fascinating, ferocious fusillade against humanity's two deadliest enemies: disease and itself” (The Economist).

For millions of Americans, Donald G. McNeil, Jr. was a comforting voice when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. He was a regular reporte...