I have gotten into the routine of listening to Slate Money every Saturday morning. Last week, the host, Felix Salmon, was promoting his new book. I find the show fun and informative and thought I'd take a chance on it and bought it on Amazon for my Kindle.
I have been expecting a series of books to start coming out on the pandemic. "September 11" and Afghanistan have produced a few good books, as well as a few forgettable coffee table dust collectors. This is the first book on covid, at least that I have noticed, that comprehensively deals with the economic, social and political ramifications of the disease.
The book is an easy read and has some information that I did not know. However, oftentimes, what is presented as fact is often closer to opinion. This book is full of Salmon's points of view. Although it tries to be somewhat encyclopedic in its breadth, I feel it shortchanges covid's effect on education. I also suspect some eyebrows were raised when he talks about the babysitting aspects of teaching.
Editor's note: Librarians also become unwilling babysitters.
