Table of contents : Black swans and red alerts -- Annals of public health -- White coats and worn shoes -- The threat matrix -- The natural history of germs -- The new world order -- Means of transmission: bats, bugs, lungs, and penises -- Vaccines: the sharpest arrow in our quiver -- Malaria, AIDS, and TB: lest we forget -- Gain of function and dual use: the Frankenstein scenario -- Bioterror: opening Pandora's box -- Ebola: out of Africa -- SARS and MERS: harbingers of things to come -- Mosquitoes: public health enemy number one -- Zika: expecting the unexpected -- Antimicrobials: the tragedy of the commons -- Fighting the resistance -- Influenza: the king of infectious diseases -- Pandemic: from unspeakable to inevitable -- Taking influenza off the table -- Battle plan for survival.