Our War against Killer Germs (Little, Brown,
2017, with a recent update on covid-19)
Think about these issues as you read and write: How do the observations and lessons from the other
books we’ve read inform your interpretation of Osterholm and Olsher’s information? How does your
experience with covid-19 fit into this book’s arguments? How do you think the world’s current experience
with a global pandemic is likely to change the landscape of international political economy?
Your paper should go beyond merely summarizing the books you've read. Instead, they should analyze the
books. Writing an analytic paper means addressing some of the following points:
- What is the main argument or arguments the author is making? Do you agree? Disagree? Why?
- Are there any important points about the subject area that you think the author has omitted or under-
emphasized? Over-emphasized? Why?
- What are the key assumptions the author had to make in order to make the arguments in this book? If
those assumptions were different, how would the author's argument have to be different?
- How do the arguments in the book you're reading compare and contrast with the other readings we've
done so far?
- How does the information presented by the author relate to recent important world events? Does the
author's work seem still to be relevant today? Or is the world changing so quickly that even recently-
published books on international issues soon grow out of date?
- What recommendations might you have for United States policy makers -- the President, the
Departments of Defense, State, Commerce, etc., the Congress, or others -- to cope with the issues
presented in the author's work?
- How might you, as a concerned and informed citizen, take steps to cope with the issues presented in
the author's work?
Sample Solution