The Premonition

A Pandemic Story

By: Michael Lewis

Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo

For those who could read between the lines, the censored news out of China was terrifying. But the president insisted there was nothing to worry about.

Fortunately, we are still a nation of skeptics. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios. Michael Lewis’ taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19.

The characters you will meet in this audiobook are as fascinating as they are unexpected. A 13-year-old girl’s science project on transmission of an airborne pathogen develops into a very grown-up model of disease control. A local public-health officer uses her worm’s-eye view to see what the CDC misses and reveals great truths about American society. A secret team of dissenting doctors, nicknamed the Wolverines, has everything necessary to fight the pandemic: brilliant backgrounds, world-class labs, prior experience with the pandemic scares of bird flu and swine flu...everything, that is, except official permission to implement their work.

Michael Lewis is not shy about calling these people heroes for their refusal to follow directives that they know to be based on misinformation and bad science. Even the internet, as crucial as it is to their exchange of ideas, poses a risk to them. They never know for sure who else might be listening in.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Michael Lewis (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

Why not Michael Lewis?

This book is the expected excellent and thorough work by Michael Lewis. After listening to the Chapter 1 excerpt released on his Against The Rules podcast, I immediately purchased the book and began listening as I drove to work. Unfortunately, the narration by Ms. Ojo sounds as if she is auditioning for work as the new Siri. It really pales in comparison to the narration done in the podcast by Mr. Lewis himself, which begs the question - why didn’t he just narrate the full book?!?

Raspy reader

Great story. The narrator is weak. Sounds like she is very tired and needs a glass of water. Her delivery distracts from the story.

Inappropriate reader

Reader would be better suited to works of fiction. Inappropriate accentuation of what is supposed to be factual reporting.

riveting story

the story should be a movie. really insightful review of the pandemic and the inept response of the government. the narrator was not good and detracts from the book.

terrible narration

I agree with so many others who point out how bad the narration is. It is so monotone that it takes you out of the story. I zoned out for entire stretches. Maybe this book is not Michael Lewis' best (that would be the Blind Side) but I had a hard time staying engaged and I really believe it was the reader's fault.

Great story, terrible narrator

Narrator makes this amazing story almost impossible to listen to. She punches every other word often changing the meaning - eg, “emergency ROOM doctor.” It is clear she’s not paying attention to the meaning behind the words she speaks or she wouldn’t do that! Please skip the audio and instead read this incredible story on your kindle.

I Knew It!

In the beginning, the experts were in such denial. They told us we should be more worried about the flu even as bodies were being stacked along streets in Wuhan. Wuhan citizens posted videos on Twitter that were terrifying, and yet the experts seemed unbothered.
I felt like nobody was in charge of doing their job. I was right. This book reveals everything that I feared was happening in January 2020, and I hope we have learned our lesson.

Michael Lewis never disappoints

This book is like a great work of fiction, except it happened!! Michael Lewis proves how deeply dysfunctional our government has become.

Sense making in the senseless era we find ourselves in

It’s begging to be a Netflix Series. It is truly a movie in your mind. The worst parts were hitting pause and the ending. It’s so prescient that the real ending hasn’t happened yet, because we’re all still living it. I can only pray that if a sequel is ever written it reads as a Rom Com and not a dystopian horror novel. #loveAudible

Must listen

Masterpiece of a story as only Michael Lewis can tell it about a few exceptional characters functioning under extraordinary circumstances.