An Unmitigated Disaster

Highlighting American cultural and political contexts, this book provides an in-depth assessment of the breadth and magnitude of the United States' errors in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
An Unmitigated Disaster chronicles and explains the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency management expert Robert O. Schneider considers the quality of U.S. pandemic planning and preparedness; the quality and effectiveness of national, state, and local response efforts; and the performance of national leaders during this historic public health crisis. The book culminates in an assessment of how a predictable public health threat became an unprecedented health, economic, and security disaster. Schneider convincingly shows that conscious decisions were made by governmental authorities, beginning with the president, to ignore expert information and security intelligence in pursuit of other objectives. In other words, Schneider argues, if the U.S. was ill-prepared for or slow to respond to the crisis, it was because its leaders consciously chose to be ill-prepared or slow to respond. Readers will be fascinated by this behind-the-scenes exposé of a pandemic year.

Robert O. Schneider, PhD, is a political scientist with expertise in the field of emergency management.

Prologue
Chapter 1 COVID-19 Makes "It" Real
Chapter 2 Preparing for a Pandemic: Were We Ready?
Chapter 3 Politics, Science, and Partisan Warfare
Chapter 4 The End of Wondering: The First Wave Hits the United States
Chapter 5 The Great Reopening: Fools Rush In
Chapter 6 Failure Persists: The Dark Winter Approaches
Chapter 7 The Darkest Days
Notes
Index