This book is a well organized look at the different aspects around the American Covid experience and response. A lot of people want it in the past but considering that there are likely to be more pandemics in the future, it's wise to try to learn from what happened. Some things were done better than others, and America had more casualties than we should have.
It's a depressing topic and I don't feel hopeful if we don't take a good look at everything. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I have so many thoughts on Covid and feel it is not talked about enough anymore. The lasting impact it had on its victims. This was such an informative and interesting read.

Gregory Pence's What Went Wrong: America’s COVID Response and Lessons for the Future takes a hard look at the mistakes the U.S. made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scheduled to release on April 15, 2025, this book focuses on the ethical and policy failures that led to the country being hit so hard by the virus. Pence argues that while efforts to save lives and stop infections were well-meaning, they were often shortsighted and missed the bigger picture. As a result, the U.S. not only faced devastating COVID-19 death tolls but also saw roughly 400,000 non-COVID deaths caused by poor planning and policy decisions.

The book doesn’t stop at health policy—it also tackles how the pandemic affected education, pointing out that millions of kids were left behind academically, especially in reading and math. Pence, who has nearly five decades of experience as a bioethicist, says these kinds of unintended consequences happened because decision-makers didn’t properly weigh the ethical trade-offs in their strategies.

What makes this book stand out is its focus on learning from these mistakes. Pence writes in a clear and even-handed way, breaking down where things went wrong and offering practical insights on how to do better next time. He emphasizes that if we don’t understand these failures, we risk repeating them in future pandemics.

Given Pence’s background—he’s written other works like Pandemic Bioethics and Brave New Bioethics—you can expect a thoughtful, informed analysis. His balanced critique makes this book a great read for anyone interested in public health, ethics, or just understanding how the U.S. can better prepare for future health crises.

In short, What Went Wrong is a sharp, thought-provoking look at America’s COVID-19 response, and it serves as both a critique and a call to action for better pandemic preparedness.