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  • The Premonition

  • A Pandemic Story
  • Written by: Michael Lewis
  • Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
  • Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (251 ratings)

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The Premonition

Written by: Michael Lewis
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
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Publisher's Summary

For those who could read between the lines, the censored news out of China was terrifying. But the president insisted there was nothing to worry about.

Fortunately, we are still a nation of skeptics. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios. Michael Lewis’ taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19.

The characters you will meet in this audiobook are as fascinating as they are unexpected. A 13-year-old girl’s science project on transmission of an airborne pathogen develops into a very grown-up model of disease control. A local public-health officer uses her worm’s-eye view to see what the CDC misses and reveals great truths about American society. A secret team of dissenting doctors, nicknamed the Wolverines, has everything necessary to fight the pandemic: brilliant backgrounds, world-class labs, prior experience with the pandemic scares of bird flu and swine flu...everything, that is, except official permission to implement their work.

Michael Lewis is not shy about calling these people heroes for their refusal to follow directives that they know to be based on misinformation and bad science. Even the internet, as crucial as it is to their exchange of ideas, poses a risk to them. They never know for sure who else might be listening in.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2021 Michael Lewis (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Premonition

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Poor narration

The story and the characters are great, and typical of the excellent work that Michael Lewis does (I have read or listened to 6 or more of his books). However, I almost turned this audiobook back in because of the narration. The odd mispronunciation is OK, but the recording director should be able to catch and fix them. Of much greater irritation was the actual "voice" of the narrator: too gushy, uneven, with a curious lilt and strange emphasis that is reminiscent of "valley speak." It took me several less-than-enjoyable hours to adjust to it. Accordingly, I cannot recommend the audiobook to anyone.

9 people found this helpful

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Raspy narrator

Twenty minutes in and I cannot listen to the narrator any longer. She sounds like she’s reading an erotica novel.

9 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Why is Michael Lewis not reading his own work?

For fans of Mr. Lewis's excellent podcast "Against the Rules" it will come as a disappointment too learn that he is not the reader of his own work. While his prowess as one of the greatest living non fiction writer is never in doubt in his most current endeavor one can't help but wonder what might have been if only we could have heard his inflection and intonation as well as his words this time around.

5 people found this helpful

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Disappointing

I read almost everything Michael Lewis writes, and looked forward to listening to this Audible product. It let me down in two ways - the story on its own is a repetitive, sad tale of complete mismanagement and personal agenda trumping community good - and, the execution of the book, I found it complicated, tiring to listen to, and did not enjoy the choice of narrator. I was looking forward to hearing Michael Lewis, and was expecting that voice - I tried.....maybe this is one of those things that is better enjoyed as a book versus a listen.

2 people found this helpful

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Good but felt incomplete

I liked it but felt like additional content on Whitehouse involvement and direction could be added ..... there was an attempt to share facts and for the reader to infer opinions .... I liked that

1 person found this helpful

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Alternate title, How the CDC failed us all

Fabulous piece of investigative journalism.

Two things that I got from this book.

One, that there are still heroes out there, that place the truth as more important than themselves .

Two, that absolute power, continues to corrupt absolutely.

Once the American government fails, this work will be cited in lessons as to how not to run a civil beurocracy.

Well done Michael.

1 person found this helpful

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US and health

scary as hell. Never happier that I am Canadian. They have great knowledge but red tape and money grabbing sinkhole.

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  • 2023-01-07

Performance is really bad

Michael Lewis has a great book that is hard to listen to. Very poor narration.

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I can’t write books

I can’t write books so how would I not give this a 5 star? Brayden

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I can’t listen

The pace and pattern of the narrator makes this book impossible to listen to so disappointing as I imagine the story is compelling and interesting

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  • Brian
  • 2021-05-04

Why not Michael Lewis?

This book is the expected excellent and thorough work by Michael Lewis. After listening to the Chapter 1 excerpt released on his Against The Rules podcast, I immediately purchased the book and began listening as I drove to work. Unfortunately, the narration by Ms. Ojo sounds as if she is auditioning for work as the new Siri. It really pales in comparison to the narration done in the podcast by Mr. Lewis himself, which begs the question - why didn’t he just narrate the full book?!?

271 people found this helpful

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  • JWC
  • 2021-05-05

The Performance Is Awful

The narration sounds computer generated. Weird pauses. Reminiscent of a young music student sight reading a piece of music for the first time.

195 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2021-05-05

Cannot concentrate on facts because of narration.

Why would the producers of this work allow one of the most successful and popular authors of our time to be narrated by one of the most annoying readers I have ever heard. I wanted very much to hear the entire story, but gave up to buy a text version. 

How could this have happened? (Was this a test of a computer reading the text?)

186 people found this helpful

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  • MMS
  • 2021-05-06

Re-record this with a different narrator immediately

I want so much to listen to this, but I can’t. The narrator is a full stop. Michael, you must do damage control. Re-record this immediately with a different narrator. So many people will turn away because they can’t listen to someone who raises her the pitch of her voice at the end of every sentence like it’s a question, whose voice is edgy, who doesn’t connect with the text (so why should we?).

The best solution would be to either read it yourself or get someone who sounds like you. We want to hear the story you’re telling. Not someone who is phoning it in with a voice that is fingernails on a blackboard. Fix this.

156 people found this helpful

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  • Alex N. Payne
  • 2021-05-04

Narration

As a person that only listens to books, the narration it vital. We know the author is male. Why the publisher chose a women’s voice, one that is wispy and high pitched is a mystery to me. The lack of correlation between the story and the voice is so significant, I’m not even “hearing” the story, just a voice out of place. I hope they republish it with a male narrator.

126 people found this helpful

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  • Phyllis
  • 2021-05-06

Dreadful, Awful Narration

So horrible that I returned the book. Was introduced to the book when Michael Lewis read an excerpt on a podcast. Excited to buy the audio book. Crushingly disappointed by the narration.

102 people found this helpful

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  • Muslim Hussain
  • 2021-05-04

Why choose this narrator

I was looking forward to this book for some time but am struggling to enjoy it because of the narrator. Hope there is an alternative available soon.

91 people found this helpful

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  • Rebecca Kasper
  • 2021-05-06

Please Mr. Lewis, read to us your own books.

I am a longtime fan of Michael Lewis’ books and reporting. I have just started listening to “The Premonition” and will finish. And I am sure I will find it to be well reported, and that it will break down complex things so that even I can understand them. But having heard Mr. Lewis speak so eloquently about his various characters on various media I am disappointed not to hear his voice talk about these.

76 people found this helpful

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  • Scott B
  • 2021-05-06

Stopped reading in the Foreward

As soon as this book started with the Trump bashing, not that I am a fan, I stopped reading it. I can no longer read any book that establishes a political position or opinion for against either side.

I will be returning it.

52 people found this helpful

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  • R. Regli
  • 2021-05-05

Good book bad narration

Focused on California and not the national government. Details the horror story of the American response to Covid-19. Shameful.

52 people found this helpful