The Big Fail

What the Pandemic Revealed About Who America Protects and Who It Leaves Behind

By: Joe Nocera, Bethany McLean

Narrated by: Joe Nocera, Bethany McLean

From the collaborators behind the modern business classic All the Devils are Here comes a damning indictment of American capitalism—and the leaders that left us brutally unprepared for a global pandemic

In 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic made it painfully clear that the U.S. could not adequately protect its citizens. Millions of Americans suffered—and over a million died—in less than two years, while government officials blundered; prize-winning economists overlooked devastating trade-offs; and elites escaped to isolated retreats, unaffected by and even profiting from the pandemic.

Why and how did America, in a catastrophically enormous failure, become the world leader in COVID deaths? In this compelling economic, political, and financial history, veteran journalists Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera offer fresh and provocative answers. With laser-sharp analysis and deep sourcing, they investigate both what really happened when governments ran out of PPE due to snarled supply chains and the shock to the financial system when the world's biggest economy stumbled. They zero in on the effectiveness of wildly polarized approaches, with governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Ron DeSantis of Florida taking infamous turns in the spotlight. And they trace why thousands died in hollowed-out hospital systems and nursing homes run by private equity firms to “maximize shareholder value."

In the tradition of the authors’ previous landmark exposés, The Big Fail is an expansive, insightful account on what the pandemic did to the economy and how American capitalism has jumped the rails—and is essential reading to understand where we’re going next.

©2023 Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The Big Fail is a wide-ranging and devastating critique of the way the United States dealt with the COVID pandemic. As Nocera and McLean chronicle the litany of missteps and misrepresentations, the lack of transparency, and the frequent changes of direction by state and federal authorities of both parties, one begins to understand why the most significant legacy of the pandemic is a deep mistrust of government.” —Liaquat Ahamed, bestselling author of Lords of Finance and winner of the Pulitzer Prize

“The pandemic was like a scrim pulled up to show us all the economic and political vulnerabilities in our system. In The Big Fail, master storytellers Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean connect the narrative dots between fragile supply chains, faulty foreign policy, Wall Street greed and public sector dysfunction, weaving a cautionary and highly readable tale.” —Rana Foroohar, Financial Times columnist and author of Homecoming

“Nocera and McLean have written the book we’ve all been waiting for. The Big Fail is the story of a calamity, and the rays of hope that emerged amidst it, told by two of the finest storytellers at work. If you want to understand what happened to us, all of us, this is the book you need to read.” —Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better

Eye opening

I liked the way it was explained and how we weren’t able to think for ourself and say no to the mandates that controlled our lives It was Stalinesque

Powerful

Joe and Bethany always come with a stockpile of facts, and let the reader reach their own conclusion.

nonpartisan and fair

The book does a great job of breaking down the institutional barriers to an appropriate COVID response. Good retrospective that I hope our officials use to prepare for the next outbreak.

Plenty of blame to go around

A fair and balanced analysis of the pandemic IMO. I learned a lot from the information conveyed. A good listen, and well performed by both authors.

Enlightening

Wow, thoroughly researched in its A political presentation of a deeply politicized topic and time period in our world. Much appreciated the presentation of balanced view points!

Great book

Detailed analysis of a complex issue. Refreshing to see both political parties called out (and in some cases praised) for their roles.

Finally the truth is coming to light and the gaslighting is coming to an end

Thought it was well written, unbiased and I liked the readers. Highly recommend if you want to revisit what went wrong and why.

Very Needed Information

A great deal of valuable information, presented well by the authors. McLean has done excellent work in the past on Enron and the 2008 financial crisis, and I salute her research and writing. It does seem in this book she reveals her personal political point of view.

Balanced and insightful

Listening to it I found things that made me bristle right next to things that made me fist bump in the air. On these issues if it pisses everybody off a little bit, it’s probably pretty accurate. It focuses, mainly on large financial sectors, including our general stock market And the way the modern American Hospital system functions.

Big fail review

Very well done. However, several points they matter of factly mention as conspiracy, now seem to probably not be.