My background is in physics so my biology knowledge is not the strongest however I found myself puzzling over one character's explanation of why it appeared to take 135 days (p160) for scientists to be able to explain that the vulnerability of males to the virus was related to the fact that they only had one X chromosome. In a way, I think it is unfortunate for the author that the global pandemic hit as she was writing this book as the general population will be more aware of the science of virology and genetics than previously. I was really intrigued by the premise of this book: what would happen if there was a virus that wiped out much of the male population? The author makes it clear that the book was drafted before the outbreak of Covid-19 however many readers will find it hard not to draw parallels when the real virus has a higher rate of severe illness and mortality in the male population than females. In The End of Men, Christina Sweeney-Baird turns the unimaginable into the unforgettable.

Through these women and others, we see the uncountable ways the absence of men has changed society, from the personal-the loss of husbands and sons-to the political-the changes in the workforce, fertility, and the meaning of family. MacLean Catherine, a social historian determined to document the human stories behind the 'male plague' intelligence analyst Dawn, tasked with helping the government forge a new society and Elizabeth, one of many scientists desperately working to develop a vaccine. What follows is the immersive account of the women who have been left to deal with the virus's consequences, told through first-person narratives. The virus becomes a global pandemic-and a political one. By the time her warning is heeded, it is too late. Amanda MacLean reports this phenomenon, she is dismissed as hysterical. The year is 2025, and a mysterious virus has broken out in Scotland-a lethal illness that seems to affect only men. Set in a world where a virus stalks our male population, The End of Men is an electrifying and unforgettable debut from a remarkable new talent that asks: what would our world truly look like without men?

The end of men christina sweeney baird