I was excited to read this book based on the work Dr. Bonnie Henry has been doing during this COVID pandemic. However, I was pretty disappointed with it. The content is not very insightful, accurate, or well-composed. A lot of dated terminology and misinformation pops up, and not just for historical commentary. Based on the title, I expected much more focus on prevention, but it's really more of an overview of various diseases. I was disappointed that she didn't share much from her unique personal experiences. I found the weak "Microbes Inc." metaphor particularly tiring. It's a quick read, but I don't think it's worthwhile. I would recommend going on a Wikipedia adventure in microbes and diseases over reading this book. ( )

A light, easy read. Bonnie Henry gives a quick overview of diseases and their history that in parts of the book just amounts to a list of diseases and their descriptions. The book is lacking in details and doesn't tell an interesting story about disease management, how disease spreads or how they have affected human history. Ultimately, I did not feel like I learned anything new from reading this book, however I would recommend it to someone who is totally new to the subject and looking for a starting point. ( )