Until Proven Safe: The gripping history of quarantine, from the Black Death to the post–Covid future

Reads like a global safari of humanity’s best-laid plans being never quite enough . . . [Manaugh and Twilley] are well-placed to tell the tale, weaving the spatial, social and scientific facets of medical isolation into an entertaining adventure. -- Oliver Wainwright ― Guardian

A timely intellectual history of quarantine . . . As Manaugh and Twilley write, quarantine is enforced in cases of potential infection, of possible risk, and ­therefore admits a degree of uncertainty. One of the striking continuities in their history is how this uncertainty has been exploited to deepen gendered and racialised inequalities. -- Erin Maglaque ― New Statesman

A compelling case that we must continue to refine the use of quarantine, balancing the needs of public health with those of human rights. ― New Yorker

Until Proven Safe is not all doom and gloom, though: there are plenty of QI-style facts in this wide-ranging and colourful survey. -- Christopher Hart ― Sunday Times

Until Proven Safe, by Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley, dives into the crudely effective and widely abused strategy of quarantine, the separation of those feared to be sick from those deemed healthy. -- Ian Sample ― Guardian Best Science Books of the Year

Brainy but accessible -- Mark Honigsbaum ― Observer

Manaugh and Twilley shed illuminating light on a phenomenon that seems utterly of the present moment. ― Financial Times' Best Books of the Year

[Manaugh and Twilley] bring an impressively wide range of interests to bear on a subject that involves not only infectious disease but also - in their ambitious yet seamless narration - politics, agriculture, surveillance and even outer space. -- Jennifer Szalai ― New York Times Book Review

What makes [Until Proven Safe] compelling, besides [Manaugh and Twilley’s] extensive experience as journalists, is the depth of their research coupled with a firm conviction that quarantine, a mighty yet dangerous weapon, must be used ‘more wisely in the future’ . . . This is an exceptionally powerful book -- A. Roger Ekirch ― Wall Street Journal

Geoff Manaugh is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the author of A Burglar’s Guide to the City, which was a New York Times bestseller and one of Amazon.com’s ‘Best Books of 2016.’

Manaugh regularly covers issues related to cities, design, crime, infrastructure, and technology for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, New Scientist, The Daily Beast, Wired UK, and many other publications. He has also contributed essays to multiple books, exhibition catalogues and artist monographs.

Nicola Twilley is a British-born, US-based writer and journalist. She is a co-host of the podcast Gastropod and a contributor to The New Yorker. She also runs the blog Edible Geography. She lives in New York.