

The reader is never left struggling to separate what is known from what are educated guesses. Quannen is careful to distinguish between fact, hypotheses, and supposition when laying out these compelling stories. What results may be the best work of its type I have ever read. It's presented with clarity of thought and an English major's gift with language. The book is based on 12 years of careful research coupled with field-work and discussions with primary investigators. First captivated by my surgeon-father's 1934 copy of Hans Zinsser's Rats, Lice and History and sustained by books like Eleven Blue Men, The Hot Zone, and The Great Influenza, I jumped at the chance to sink into Spillover by David Quammen.

I must confess a chronic addiction to fact-based medical detective stories.

