The Most Important Book: The Premonition

The Premonition

By Michael Lewis

My copy

Wow! what an eye-popper. We are supposedly the greatest country in the world, really?! We the USA looked so unprepared for what was coming in 2020. Check out the video here 

 I had thought it was the Trump administration's total lack of experience and no care attitude, and political warfare.  I was shocked by what I learned in Michael  Lewis's new book.  I am not a Trump supporter. But, I am being truthful and honest. It was not all him. Before President Trump came into office there was President Obama, President Bush, Clinton, President Bush again, and then  President Reagan.....

 President Bush(2) knew we were not prepared. He had brought a team in to investigate and write a plan for what was to come. 

The Obama Administration did nothing as well. To make matters worse. Pres.  Trump-appointed Bolton. That is when the cards began to fall.  Mr. Bolton, National Security Advisor dismissed the response team, What a disaster. 

 So here we all are a year later waiting for normalcy. I hope Mr. Bolton is never, ever put in an important cabinet position again. That is all I will say about politics. 

The book doesn't have much about politics. It is about the response and failures dealing with the pandemic. 

Thank you  Michael Lewis for writing the book,  The Premonition. It is a continuation of the Fifth Risk. The book is an eye-opener for which the public has been left in the dark until now. What actually happened to the public health agencies, federally, and locally. And the top agency the CDC in our country, and around the world since Covid-19 took over our lives.

The book will open your eyes to the failures, surprises, ignorance, and shortcomings,  and shock you about our health department, and the CDC. Like most people, it was thought President Trump caused the problem, wrong! As he was publically making false statements from TV, and social media. The failures came from the US Health Department, CDC from years ago.

There are so many things I can say to fix the system. But, there is just too much to say. You will just have to read the book to see what I am talking about. I will list a few which is enough....

A group of people called The Wolverines were leading the charge (Superheroes). They were working behind the scenes without most people's knowledge. The sad thing is these people knew what was coming. But, no one listened. So here we are.

The local and federal health departments around the country must be fixed. Part of the problem is the CDC is now appointed by the president not a civil servant. This is the problem when President Trump appointed Redfield. He was at one time a well-respected CDC official. But, as we have seen he became a political figure. Whatever the Trump administration wanted. The CDC used Trump Administration talking points to talk to the American people.

During Reagan Administration, there was a crisis in the CDC. The CDC was an independent entity. Instead of elected, the person became an appointed official by the president shortly after Reagan was out of office. Elected officials felt the CDC was too powerful and made too many mistakes. The power was taken away.

Another point is many positions in the cabinet were civil service jobs. That is not the case any longer. These people are appointed every 2-4 years. Once they are put in positions they are no longer there after the administration leaves. They are just starting to get comfortable doing their job, then new appointees are put in the position.

There are many things needed to be fixed in our local as well as federal government. Everyone should read Michael Lewis's book. The book is not political. It doesn't even mention politics till the end of the book. Like I said before. My expectations were totally off. When I heard that it was misstepped on many fronts, and not blaming Pres. Trump. I was like, WHAT?! After reading, I realized the author was correct.

The book is a must-read for everyone to understand what happened. So, it doesn't happen and again. And hopefully, we can fix it. The writing is a fast read, and believe it a page-turner. The book actually feels like a continuation of the Fifth Risk. I recommend it highly.