The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread—and Why They Stop

Why do financial bubbles grow so fast? Why are disinformation companies so effective? Why is it so hard to stop outbreaks of violence? How can you explain the contagion of loneliness? What makes content go viral?

It turns out that the spread of almost everything—from contagious diseases to fashion trends and innovative ideas—follows the same laws. This book is about exactly those laws, explained simply, clearly, logically, and with extraordinary fascination by mathematician and epidemiologist Adam Kucharski, whom The Guardian called “a ‘voice of reason’ amid the coronavirus madness.”