Apollo’s Arrow Book Summary - Apollo’s Arrow Book explained in key points

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Apollo’s Arrow summary

Name: Apollo’s Arrow
Rating: 3.6 (68 reviews)
Author: Nicholas A. Christakis

Nicholas A. Christakis

The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live

3.6 (68 ratings)

26 mins

Brief summary

In 'Apollo’s Arrow', Nicholas A. Christakis examines how pandemics have shaped the course of human history and what we can learn from them. He explores the biological, social, and economic impacts of pandemics, providing insights into how we can better prepare for the next one.

Topics

Pandemic Culture

Table of Contents

Apollo’s Arrow
Summary of 8 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? A deep dive into the coronavirus pandemic.

Workplaces shuttered by lockdown measures; faces covered with medical-grade masks; social media saturated with infection statistics and political controversies: in a few short months, the current COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the world.

Now, what can we expect from the years to come? That’s still unclear. Nonetheless, this rigorously researched and scientifically grounded account teases out the multiple ways in which the coronavirus may reshape society.

These blinks draw on a huge range of disciplines from history and sociology to epidemiology and genetics to present a prescient look at the significant and subtle ways this current pandemic will impact everyday life.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why COVID-19 made the Earth stand still;
what made SARS-2 spread so fast; and
how hand washing is more important than penicillin.

SARS-2 began with a few infections in Wuhan but quickly got out of control.

December 26, 2019. Dr. Jixian Zhang, a doctor at the Hubei Provincial Hospital in Wuhan, China, reports a troubling trend. There’s been a sudden surge in cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. By the end of the month, there are 104 SARS patients. And there have already been 15 deaths.

At first, the Chinese health authorities are reluctant to raise any alarms. But patients keep being admitted, and the doctors are soon overwhelmed. In January, Beijing sends teams of expert epidemiologists to study the outbreak and orders local governments to close schools, businesses, and other public spaces. By January 25, nearly all of China shuts down to stop the spread of the disease.

On January 27, the Chinese Center for Disease Control identifies the culprit behind all this chaos: a new strain of coronavirus, dubbed SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-2 for short. In a few months, it will transform the world.

The key message here is: SARS-2 began with a few infections in Wuhan but quickly got out of control.

The first people to catch SARS-2 were most likely infected at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a “wet market” in the heart of Wuhan. Like many markets around the world, this bustling bazaar offers freshly butchered wildlife. This close contact between humans and animals makes it easy for diseases to jump from one species to another.

The SARS-2 virus likely originated in bats. However, it only became a threat to humans when it evolved the ability to infect people. This small mutation enabled it to spread among human populations with incredible speed. This type of person-to-person transmission is dangerous because the virus causes a sometimes deadly disease named COVID-19.

Scientists are still studying exactly how COVID-19 works. Its varied symptoms include cough, fever, fatigue, and – strangest of all – anosmia, the loss of one’s sense of smell. For some patients, the virus attacks the alveoli, a part of the lungs responsible for oxygen exchange, which can lead to severe breathing problems and, ultimately, death. Around 50 percent of patients display no symptoms at all, while an estimated 1 to 1.2 percent of people die from the virus.

Since its initial outbreak, SARS-2 has spread to nearly every country on earth. Along the way, governments have tried to control the spread with rigorous regulations while everyday people have adapted their work and social lives to accommodate the new threat. Still, as of July 1, 2020, more than a million people have died from the disease worldwide, and there’s no end in sight.

The SARS-2 virus has the ideal qualities to create a sustained pandemic.

In April 2020, things didn't look good for Marilee Shapiro Asher. She was 107 years old, and she’d been diagnosed with COVID-19. Doctors said her chance of survival was less than 50 percent. However, despite the odds, she pulled through.

Amazingly, this wasn’t the first time Asher had beaten a big-time virus. Way back in 1918, over a century earlier, she’d survived the Spanish flu, a particularly deadly strain of influenza. The Spanish flu killed millions around the globe, making it the deadliest pandemic in modern memory.

We can slow and stop pandemics by changing our behavior.

Measles. Scarlet fever. Typhoid. Tuberculosis. Each of these diseases once claimed thousands of lives a year. Today, thanks to the discovery of medical treatments like penicillin, isoniazid, and chloramphenicol, they no longer do. So, thank you, pharmaceuticals!

But that’s not the whole story. If you examine the death rates of each of these diseases, you’ll find a curious pattern. The largest drops in yearly deaths occurred long before the introduction of any wonder drug. So if new medicines weren’t the original solution to these awful afflictions, what was?

The coronavirus pandemic is made worse by fear and lies.

Meet Wanda DeSelle, a 76-year-old nurse from California. When she died of COVID-19 in March 2020, her grieving family had to say goodbye via video chat. The risk of infection was too high to visit in person.

Meet Richard Levitan, a doctor from New Hampshire. During New York City’s outbreak, he traveled to Manhattan to help the overwhelmed hospitals. He’d planned to stay with his brother, but when he got there, his brother’s landlord wouldn’t let him enter the apartment. The landlord worried that he might be contagious.

The SARS-2 pandemic highlights and heightens existing social divisions.

Imagine this: You’re a well-off white-collar worker living in Manhattan. When COVID-19 comes to New York City, you simply pack your bags and head to a summer home up north. After all, you can work from anywhere. And, if you do happen to get sick, your health insurance will secure you the best care.

Now, here’s a different scenario: You’re a struggling janitor from Queens. When COVID-19 hits, you have a choice. Either keep going to work and risk getting coronavirus or try quarantining in your small apartment that you share with five other people, including your elderly grandparents. In other words, you can either risk getting sick or ensure that you go broke.

The threat of COVID-19 inspired many to work together.

In March 2020, Yale University canceled all in-person classes. The school’s undergraduates returned home to wait out the virus. However, one of them, an undergraduate named Liam Elkind, was not content to spend all day merely taking notes online.

Instead, he and his friends decided to help those in need. Together, they set up Invisible Hands, an organization designed to deliver groceries and other supplies to elderly residents across Manhattan. Within four days, they had 1,200 volunteers. Within a month, they had 12,000.

The impact of the pandemic will be felt in many ways, large and small.

Some may describe the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 as a momentous event of earth-shaking proportions. However, if you ask Thomas Lecocq, a seismologist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, it was quite the opposite.

You see, Lecocq’s lab contains sensitive seismological equipment capable of capturing every minute shake and tremor around the globe. However, in March 2020, as much of Europe went into lockdown, the instruments recorded a strange tranquility. The sudden drop in human activity was so dramatic it literally made the Earth stand stiller.

The future trajectory of the SARS-2 pandemic remains uncertain.

It’s the late 1880s, and the world is racked by yet another plague. It begins in the remote city of Bukhara, in what is now Uzbekistan, and spreads into Europe via newly built rail lines. Soon people are dying in St. Petersburg, then Berlin, then Paris and Lisbon. By the time it arrives in the USA, a quarter-million people are dead.

So, what happened to this vicious disease? How did the plague end? Well, it didn’t. At least, not really. Scientists suspect the pathogen behind the pestilence was OC43, a type of coronavirus. The name may not be familiar, but you’re probably already intimately acquainted with the virus. OC43 is still among us. Today, it causes a common cold.

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What is Apollo’s Arrow about?

Apollo’s Arrow (2020) is an illuminating and timely overview of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Backed by rigorous research, this account examines the origins of the virus and the implications it has for society going forward.

Best quote from Apollo’s Arrow

A new pathogen has been introduced into our species, and in some form, it will now circulate among us forever.

—Nicholas A. Christakis

Who should read Apollo’s Arrow?

Amateur scientists wishing to understand the coronavirus
Engaged citizens concerned with the future of society
Anyone who is or has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

About the Author

Nicholas A. Christakis is a sociologist, medical doctor, and the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University. His previous works include the best-sellers Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society and Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks.

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