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David Quammen
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Chimp & the River: How AIDS Emerged from an African Forest 1st Edition

by David Quammen (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 410 ratings
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In this "frightening and fascinating masterpiece" (Walter Isaacson), David Quammen explores the true origins of HIV/AIDS.

The real story of AIDS―how it originated with a virus in a chimpanzee, jumped to one human, and then infected more than 60 million people―is very different from what most of us think we know. Recent research has revealed dark surprises and yielded a radically new scenario of how AIDS began and spread. Excerpted and adapted from the book Spillover, with a new introduction by the author, Quammen's hair-raising investigation tracks the virus from chimp populations in the jungles of southeastern Cameroon to laboratories across the globe, as he unravels the mysteries of when, where, and under what circumstances such a consequential "spillover" can happen. An audacious search for answers amid more than a century of data, The Chimp and the River tells the haunting tale of one of the most devastating pandemics of our time.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0393350843
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0393350845
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    February 16, 2015
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
  8. Print length
    176 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Compelling…[an] utterly gripping story."
― Abigail Zuger, The New York Times

"To call David Quammen one of our greatest science writers is to belittle him. He is one of our greatest writers, period."
― Hampton Sides, best-selling narrative historian and editor at large at Outside magazine

"[An] intense study of the origins of AIDS. With Sherlockian verve… Quammen’s portrait of the real ‘Patient Zero’… is a masterful summing-up of the evidence."
― Nathan Wolfe, Nature

About the Author

David Quammen is the author of The Song of the Dodo, among other books. He has been honored with the John Burroughs Medal for nature writing, an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an award in the art of the essay from PEN, and (three times) the National Magazine Award. Quammen is also a contributing writer for National Geographic. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (February 16, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393350843
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393350845
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 410 ratings

About the author

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David Quammen

David Quammen

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David Quammen is the author of a dozen fiction and nonfiction books, including Blood Line and The Song of the Dodo. Spillover, his most recent book, was shortlisted for several major awards. A three-time National Magazine Award winner, he is a contributing writer for National Geographic and has written also for Harper’s, Outside, Esquire, The Atlantic, Powder, and Rolling Stone. He travels widely on assignment, usually to jungles, mountains, remote islands, and swamps.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
410 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

R.H.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Finely Woven Story
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2015
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As the book "The Band Played On" (Randy Shilts) came out in the late eighties and hyped on "patient zero"....it frankly didn't work for me, and left a large open mystery to the origin of AIDS. This book by David Quammen takes most of the mystery out and redefines patient zero (a hunter).

The first thirty-percent of the book covers the science and efforts of the past twenty years to establish facts. It's an excellent collection of stories and accomplishments. Toward the middle.....we get what I consider to be a fictional account of this meeting between the diseased chimp and a local hunter, and how the hunter's path led to a small number of infected people. What Quammen then layers into the whole account is the kind efforts of west medicine to bring vaccinations to Africa, but by reusing needles....they helped to spread the disease further. Toss in the Haiti connection, where it was brought back to the isle and an American medical company helped to import the 'bad blood' into the US and continue the spread.

I would recommend the book to anyone who is doing foundation work or medical type work in Africa because there is a strong story here about consequences. Western medicine felt it was doing Africa a great favor with vaccinations, and it's probably not going to be written down that way in the future. The book also touches on beliefs within African culture which hinder progress.

It's a three-hour book (roughly 180 pages), and can be finished on a long afternoon. Finely written. I probably would recommend that as you finish each chapter....put the book down and ponder over events. Quammen opens up more discussions, if you ask me. It could very well be that some rat is going to emerge out of some Peruvian valley one day, passing some previously unknown disease onto someone, and within a few short years find ourselves with another AIDS-like situation.
8 people found this helpful
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Adam
5.0 out of 5 stars A short and concise tale everyone needs to know.
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2015
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This is an excellent book. In a little over 100 pages Quammen tells the origin story of one of the most serious health threats in the modern world. The book is very clear and concise. Only an elementary background in the biological sciences is necessary to understand the book. However if you have already read the author's book Spillover there isn't much new information her so don't bother buying it. Towards the end of the book he mentions another book which is also very good, (The origin of AIDS, by Pepin). If one want's a far more detailed look at the story of the origin of AIDS i would I highly recommend Pepin's book but a much stronger background in biology is needed to fully appreciate it. If one want's to read more about the political and social history of the disease in the US in the early 80's I would highly recommend "And The Band Played On" by Randy Shilts. All in all this is a terrific short read.
5 people found this helpful
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David B. Thomas
4.0 out of 5 stars The origins of human HIV Infections.
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2016
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What we know regarding the origin of HIV infections in humans. Quammen puts togetjer what we know and don't know regarding the virues and how it likeley jumped from Chimps to humans. The narrative regarding the precise events is fiction but sticks to what could have and more or less likely did happen. The result is an informative book that is readable and even entertaining while being informative. However, if a reader requires details regarding the viral RNA secquences and how the critter evades the immune system this is not that book.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The truth about AIDS
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024
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This book tells the true story about where AIDS originated.
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Susanne Turpie
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must-read for everyone - beautifully written and packed with information
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2022
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This petite book is chock full of information and has some particularly beautifully written passages. One of my new favorites, and one I recommend often.
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David Ecale
5.0 out of 5 stars If you are interested in the origin of AIDS (HIV) than this moderately short book is definitely worth reading!
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
This is a relatively short book about the route that the AIDS (HIV) virus entered the human world from a remote area on far southwestern Cameroon. It follows the path through that most ancient of trade routes, the river, and also shows how the expansion of the colonial era into central Africa helped it escape from its relatively small arena.

An additional insight is shown when the author speaks about the effects that SIV (Simian AIDS) does to one of the most famous troops of Chimpanzees in the world. Jane Goodall's group, it seems, was struck by SIV and, after an analysis of the deaths within the troop, it is found that, far from being somewhat benign, it is actually a terrible killer in its own right.
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VictoriaMoira
3.0 out of 5 stars unnecessary violence
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2022
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The science is good, the scientific stories are interesting. However, there are unnecessarily gory and violent dismemberments of animals and humans that add nothing to the story, are wholly imagined by the author and could have been left out without harming the story at all. I was looking for education not a horror show.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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German Gomez Casiano
5.0 out of 5 stars David Quammen: escritor de 10.
Reviewed in Mexico on April 28, 2020
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David Quammen es uno de los mejores escritores de ciencia pues su forma de escribir te hace meterte a la historia como detective.
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David Rodriguez-Lazaro
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading
Reviewed in Spain on December 25, 2020
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Fantastic, as always with this author, book. I have enjoyed a lot
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I. P. Terry
4.0 out of 5 stars jungle book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2019
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Well written and interesting subject matter
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Thomas Heuer
5.0 out of 5 stars Hochinteressant und spannend
Reviewed in Germany on June 19, 2015
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Mein erstes Buch von Mr Quammen, nach einer Rez. im Economist gekauft. Habe seitdem noch weitere Bücher von ihm gelesen und er gehört m.E. zu den allerbesten science writers überhaupt. Genialer Schreibstil, wiss. Fakten und Erklärungen sind in hochinteressanter Weise mit eigenen Erlebnissen und Begegnungen mit unglaublich vielen der wichtigsten Persönlichkeiten der Aids- und Sids-Forschung zu einem Page-Turner kombiniert. Selbst für mich als Mediziner war der Wissensgewinn enorm. Spannend bis zur letzten Seite.
3 people found this helpful
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Sean Meehan
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on October 17, 2015
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Very interesting story and one that I hadn't heard before. Well written.
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