The Helpers: Profiles from the Frontlines of the Pandemic

Journalist Gilsinan debuts with an inspiring history of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. focused on “ordinary people who stepped up to meet an extraordinary moment and persisted in determination to help others.” Covering the period from March 2020 to January 2021, Gilsinan follows six people, including Nikkia Rhodes, a restaurant chef and high school culinary arts teacher in Louisville, Ky., who opened a free meals service with the help of her students. Huy Le, the son of Vietnamese immigrants, made the agonizing decision to have his mother intubated to help with her breathing, then had to go through the same procedure when his symptoms worsened. Gilsinan also profiles vaccine developer Hamilton Bennett and Chris Kiple, the CEO of a small ventilator company, who vowed to quintuple the number of machines his company produced in a month to try to make up for the shortfall at U.S. hospitals. Meanwhile, nurse Michelle Gonzalez was forced to reuse masks and surgical gloves while treating the influx of patients at her Bronx hospital, and ambulance driver Paul Cary flew from Colorado to New York to help deal with the crisis. Intimate and engaging, this is a worthy tribute to those who stepped forward in a time of tremendous need. (Mar.)