{"product_id":"an-abundance-of-caution-american-schools-the-virus-and-a-story-of-bad-decisions-hardcover","title":"An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDavid Zweig\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA searing indictment of the American public health, media, and political establishments' decision-making process behind pandemic school closures.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn Abundance of Caution\u003c\/i\u003e is a devastating account of the decision-making process behind one of the worst American policy failures in a century--the extended closures of public schools during the pandemic. In fascinating and meticulously reported detail, David Zweig shows how some of the most trusted members of society--from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists to eminent health officials--repeatedly made fundamental errors in their assessment and presentation of evidence. As a result, for the first time in modern American history, millions of healthy children did not set foot in a classroom for more than a year. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSince the spring of 2020, many students in Europe had been learning in person. Even many peers at home--in private schools, and public schools in mostly \"red\" states and districts--were in class full time from fall 2020 onward. Whatever inequities that existed among American children before the pandemic, the selective school closures exacerbated them, disproportionately affecting the underprivileged. Deep mental, physical, and academic harms--among them, depression, anxiety, abuse, obesity, plummeting test scores, and rising drop-out rates--were endured for no discernible benefit. As Europe had shown very early, after they had sent kids back to class, there was never any evidence that long-term school closures, nor a host of interventions imposed on students when they were in classrooms, would reduce overall cases or deaths in any meaningful way. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe story of American schools during the pandemic serves as a prism through which to approach fundamental questions about why and how individuals, bureaucracies, governments, and societies act as they do in times of crisis and uncertainty. Ultimately, this book is not about COVID; it's about a country ill-equipped to act sensibly under duress.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid Zweig is the author of the novel \u003ci\u003eSwimming Inside the Sun\u003c\/i\u003e and the nonfiction book \u003ci\u003eInvisibles\u003c\/i\u003e. He has testified twice before Congress as an expert witness on American schools during the pandemic, and his investigative reporting on the pandemic has been cited in numerous congressional letters and a brief to the Supreme Court. Zweig's journalism has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Free Press\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, and, most often, his newsletter, \u003ci\u003eSilent Lunch\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives with his family in New York State.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 464\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.7 x 9.1 x 6.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 22, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53756884025677,"sku":"9780262549158","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0927\/3304\/7117\/files\/OdjRA9NbEn9780262549158.webp?v=1776754714","url":"https:\/\/belfastbooks.us\/products\/an-abundance-of-caution-american-schools-the-virus-and-a-story-of-bad-decisions-hardcover","provider":"belfastbooks.us","version":"1.0","type":"link"}