3There have been pandemics throughout the course of human history; they have savaged countries, undermined empires, and killed countless individuals - often with drastic and unexpected consequences for the survivors. Life After COVID-19 investigates past epidemics and their aftermath, seeking to draw parallels with the world of today and examine how the world could look when this new contagion has finally receded.

Author Bob Gordon starts by studying the Black Death (1347-1351), a bubonic plague pandemic that killed a third of Europe's population, and traces its periodic reemergence over the course of several centuries including, famously, in London in 1665-1666. He goes on to look at how Napoleon's imperial ambitions were laid waste by yellow fever in Saint Domingue and typhus in Russia. Next 'King Cholera, ' the bane of the 19th century, is considered. A disease of immigration, it stalked across North America for decades causing untold horror. A century ago, the Spanish influenza pandemic ravaged a world already reeling after four years of conflict. Studying the course and aftermath of this disastrous pandemic offers the greatest insights into how a future COVID-19 endemic world might look. Recent pandemics mercifully averted, such as SARS, MERS and ebola, are also considered.

The final chapters look at the current pandemic, its etiology and symptomatology. The current state of the search for therapeutics and vaccines is examined, while the aftershocks of COVID-19 are considered in a variety of fields - including the impact on retailers, the entertainment industry, airline travel, education and more.