“Karl Taro Greenfeld’s journalistic tour de force on the SARS epidemic is rich with the sights, sounds, smells, and still-sclerotic politics of today’s China…. China Syndrome is a fast-moving, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction thriller that doubles as an excellent primer of emerging infections for scientists and laypeople alike. But that’s not all. For readers more captivated by world politics than by microbiology, its chief strength, beyond the superb writing, is a detailed look at China’s culture of secrecy in the throes of a global public health crisis.”
—Los Angeles Times
“A work of riveting, relevant journalism…. A dexterous approach that recalls Randy Shilts’s AIDS history And the Band Played On.”
—Village Voice
“A compelling writer…. China Syndrome echoes the sort of gritty, breathless thriller pace that Richard Preston employed ten years ago in The Hot Zone.”
—Washington Post
“Fine reporting…. A scientific whodunnit…. [Karl] Taro Greenfeld does well to convey the sense of excitement of the hunt to identify SARS.”
—Financial Times
“A taut scientific thriller, well told.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Greenfeld moves quickly, often conjuring a thriller, and his personal and professional involvement give his account…a unique perspective. Recommended for all public libraries.”
—Library Journal
“Greenfeld does a great job of evoking the scenes and bringing all the personalities to life…. This is where the book really shines. Like a prosecutor building his case, [he] lays out how Chinese government officials kept a lid on all medical reports, labeling them top secret and keeping them not only from the rest of the world but from other Chinese doctors who might have used them to save their patients.”
—Christine Gorman, Time’s “Global Health Update”
“China Syndrome is as much about contemporary China as it is about SARS, and its reportage of the heedless, headlong transformations in the cities bristles with urgency and purpose.”
—Toronto Star (Canada)
“China Syndrome is an absolutely vital story, recounting exactly how a handful of public health heroes can—or can’t—stop a virus from vaulting across the globe.”
—Los Angeles CityBeat
“Greenfeld offers little hope that the Chinese have learned any lesson, for it’s back to business-as-usual for Shenzhen’s wild-animal trade, and he ponders the nature and purpose of viruses as he paints a rather gloomy picture of what we and the World Health Organization can expect next.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“In 1918, my grandfather, a young man in fine health, died suddenly in China, and changed our family’s fate. He was one of millions of victims of the influenza pandemic. With this in mind, I took more than a passing interest in reading Karl Taro Greenfeld’s China Syndrome. From the first page, I became the vicarious witness, caught by Greenfeld’s taut and often wry observations. China Syndrome makes it clear that SARS was merely a warning, and what is certain to happen is now beyond our capacity to stop and contain. The fate of millions will change, unless new global procedures are in place and scientific breakthroughs occur. Fair warning: If you take this book to bed, don’t expect to get any sleep.”
—Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God’s Wife
“An excellent and in-depth look at a frightening episode—a bullet that the world dodged—and not insignificantly, a fascinating and penetrating look into modern China.”
—John M. Barry, author of The Great Influenza
“Karl [Taro] Greenfeld’s China Syndrome is a sensational minute-by-minute account of fear and heroism in the battle against a pandemic that almost happened—and could happen any day now. It is also one of the best books I have read about another modern mystery, day-to-day life in China today.”
—Richard Reeves, author of President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination
“This is a thrilling, important book. With an amazing cast of characters and exciting drama, it tells the tale of the SARS epidemic and offers a stunning insight into the Chinese mind. Anyone who cares about how Avian bird flu or some other future infectious epidemic may occur, and anyone who wants to understand how China works, must read this book.”
—Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
“China Syndrome is a timely and frightening reminder that our increasingly heavily populated, high-speed, and mobile world has become one big petri dish of potential pestilence. The only antidote is an active and open media and a responsive and truthful system of public information and health. This book is both a first step towards that goal and a fascinating read.”
—Orville Schell, Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism, UC Berkeley, and author of Mandate of Heaven
“Quite impressive…moving.”
—State (Columbia, South Carolina)
“SARS needed somebody to set the era in perspective…. ChinaSyndrome rattles along in the crisp, factually rich style to be expected from the former editor of Time Asia.”
—South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)