2020

A Reckoning

Eric Klinenberg

$36.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Bodley Head
25 June 2024

Society & Social Sciences; Social impact of disasters; Illness & addiction: social aspects; Sociology & anthropology; Politics & government; Infectious & contagious diseases

Renowned sociologist Eric Klinenberg provides the ultimate overview of how different countries fared during the pandemic and why

The virus had the potential to kill, but the real threat to life came from us.

In this global overview of different countries' responses to the pandemic of 2020, we see that the key factors that determined success or failure were not to do with geography, preparedness or vaccines. They were social- how much we trust each other and our government; whether we value the collective or the individual; whose lives matter to us and who we're willing to leave in harm's way.

Through a deeply reported, character-driven account of seven lives - including a school principal, a bar manager, a transport worker and a political aide - in the global epicentre of the pandemic, New York, we see how different communities and sectors of society were affected by the decisions taken by governments and politicians. We see why some heeded the call for mask-wearing and social distancing while others rejected it, and how crucial factors such as race and age determined fates. Surrounding them is the panoramic overview- Klinenberg shows how leaders in London and Washington made the crisis so much more lethal than was necessary, while scientists, citizens and policy makers in Australia, Japan and Taiwan worked together to save lives, and how countries as various as South Korea, Germany and Brazil took their own particular paths.

This book is both mirror and roadmap- a reflection of who we are at this crucial moment in world history, and a set of principles for how we might approach the next catastrophe differently.

By: Eric Klinenberg
Imprint: Bodley Head
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 33mm
Weight: 556g
ISBN: 9781847926944
ISBN 10: 1847926940
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 25 June 2024
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Eric Klinenberg is the Helen Gould Shepard Professor in the Social Sciences and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He is the co-author of the bestseller Modern Romance and author of Palaces for the People, Going Solo, Heat Wave and Fighting for Air. He has contributed to the Guardian, New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, Atlantic, Rolling Stone and Wired. He lives in New York City.

Reviews for 2020: A Reckoning

A gripping, deeply moving account of a signal year in modern history, told through the stories of seven ordinary people trying to survive at the epicentre of the crisis. Klinenberg's narrative shows how the legacy of that year continues to shape us, our politics and our personal lives -- Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies Elegantly written and well researched . . . filled with impressive detail * Economist * A sociological investigation of an unforgettable year, 2020 compellingly reveals what the pandemic laid bare about our culture, our institutions, and ourselves -- Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted A book that's at once intimate and far-ranging, that reveals the importance of social solidarity and also its fragility -- Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction By bridging the gaps between individual, community and population, [Klinenberg] shows how pandemics alter society and exacerbate inequality. He follows the threads that connect the individual lived experience to the national phenomenon -- Laura Spinney * New Statesman *