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Lee Daniel Kravetz
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Strange Contagion: Inside the Surprising Science of Infectious Behaviors and Viral Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves Hardcover – 27 Jun. 2017

by Lee Daniel Kravetz (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 34 ratings
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Picking up where The Tipping Point leaves off, respected journalist Lee Daniel Kravetz’s Strange Contagion is a provocative look at both the science and lived experience of social contagion.

In 2009, tragedy struck the town of Palo Alto: A student from the local high school had died by suicide by stepping in front of an oncoming train. Grief-stricken, the community mourned what they thought was an isolated loss. Until, a few weeks later, it happened again. And again. And again. In six months, the high school lost five students to suicide at those train tracks.

A recent transplant to the community and a new father himself, Lee Daniel Kravetz’s experience as a science journalist kicked in: what was causing this tragedy? More important, how was it possible that a suicide cluster could develop in a community of concerned, aware, hyper-vigilant adults?

The answer? Social contagion. We all know that ideas, emotions, and actions are communicable—from mirroring someone’s posture to mimicking their speech patterns, we are all driven by unconscious motivations triggered by our environment. But when just the right physiological, psychological, and social factors come together, we get what Kravetz calls a "strange contagion:" a perfect storm of highly common social viruses that, combined, form a highly volatile condition.

Strange Contagion is simultaneously a moving account of one community’s tragedy and a rigorous investigation of social phenomenon, as Kravetz draws on research and insights from experts worldwide to unlock the mystery of how ideas spread, why they take hold, and offer thoughts on our responsibility to one another as citizens of a globally and perpetually connected world.

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  1. Print length
    267 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harperwave
  4. Publication date
    27 Jun. 2017
  5. Dimensions
    13.97 x 2.46 x 20.96 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0062448935
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0062448934
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harperwave (27 Jun. 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 267 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062448935
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062448934
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 2.46 x 20.96 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 34 ratings

About the author

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Lee Daniel Kravetz

Lee Daniel Kravetz

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Lee Kravetz is the author of the novel "The Last Confessions of Sylvia P.", (Harper), as well as acclaimed nonfiction, "Strange Contagion" and "SuperSurvivors". He has written for print and television, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, The Daily Beast, The San Francisco Chronicle, and PBS. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.leekravetz.com.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
34 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

E Cope
2.0 out of 5 stars Looks like a good read - book is in poor quality though.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2024
Verified Purchase
Obviously second hand book with a £1 price sticker on it. Sold as new and full price.
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Top reviews from other countries

Louise Nayer
5.0 out of 5 stars Journey of Hope
Reviewed in the United States on 3 July 2017
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I literally couldn’t put this book down. The author takes us on a journey through a town reeling from a cluster of teen suicides and a journey into trying to find out the “why.” His own narrative, threaded through, is beautifully written, as we follow the birth of his children and his travels to meet with teachers, thinkers in the field of psychology all to help stop young people from taking their own lives. The town ultimately becomes a place of compassion and caring—what we want for our children, grandchildren and for the world. This book is an important one, as we live in an age of heightened anxiety and need to work through our own feelings and thus help our children express their emotions, feel supported and loved by their peers, teachers and schools--whatever the stressors they might feel. A must read for parents, teachers, psychologists and anyone who wants to move out of isolation and into creating a caring community.
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Karen Atkinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book! It's a lovely tribute to the families ...
Reviewed in the United States on 1 September 2017
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Excellent book! It's a lovely tribute to the families that lost children to suicide, especially to those families from the Gunn High School in Palo Alto. As a journalist this author is well informed and very thorough in his research. He also adds a person thread in the narrative which is touching.
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Laurie Ann Doyle
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Most Important Books This Year
Reviewed in the United States on 24 July 2017
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Kravetz deftly weaves expert scientific analyses of the frightening epidemic of teen suicide in the Silicon Valley with an urgent and more personal question of his own. Should he and his wife raise their children in Palo Alto, the epicenter of this tragedy, where they might "catch" the self-destructive behavior, or move the family away? The resulting mix makes for a fascinating book that gives us insight instead of magical thinking, hope where there might have been only despair. "Strange Contagion" is one of the most important books to come out this year.
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The Full Plate
1.0 out of 5 stars I was very disappointed by this book
Reviewed in the United States on 6 August 2017
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I was very disappointed by this book. On the one hand, Kravetz delves into this with authenticity and great research, being a parent himself in Palo Alto. But he seems to conclude that there's no hope here, so he and his family ultimately move away. What kind of message does that send to all the readers and all the residents? The message is: it's a complex problem, it's not solveable, it's going to keep happening because I can't figure it out, so we're outta here.
As a parent living in Palo Alto within blocks of the incidents, yes it takes some courage to live here. Many of us don't necessarily have a choice to move depending on jobs, taking care of aging parents, or having bought homes years ago. Many of us love it here, and actively choose to stay here, having faith in our community, that we will get through this, and we can stop this. Yes "we're all in this together" but I think a better way of thinking of this is "life is better together." It is a community I'm proud to be part of: caring, compassionate, kind. The suicides don't define us. They never have and they never will. Let the media and the alarmists say what they may.

Yes, the issue is complex. While Kravetz mentions the power of primes, he eventually gives up on the notion that positive primes can mitigate negative ones. I don't agree. He doesn't even address the power of faith or culture. While he focuses on strange contagion in some places and how those places "healed," he doesn't cast an equal eye on places where the contagion doesn't occur. Extending the analogy of viral behavior as he does in his book, we have as much to learn from contagion hot-spots as immunity spots. Why do some areas never see this occur even with similar demographics, affluence, and "success pressure"? He mentions the cemetery but not the proximity of the train tracks. Would this occur in this area if there were no train? Likely not because ease of access has a lot to do with how the contagion can spread more easily in some areas than others.

He does not interview or speak to kids or parents whose children didn't catch the contagion. Maybe - likely - for fear of spreading it. But just as doctors study populations that are resistant to disease, we need to take a deeper look at kids and families who are in higher-risk zones and don't get infected.

Mental illness is barely discussed. It is mentioned as a factor in some of these cases, but does not go into it in depth. But mental illness matters in these cases. Just like a biological virus or bacteria can be more harmful to those susceptible - people can have compromised mental health systems in the same way they can have compromised immune systems. One key will be learning to identify and help those who struggle rather than making a rather huge leap to assume everyone is equally susceptible and no one can possibly know.

Also, there is no look at faith - or other factors - as an inoculating force. In some faiths, there is a strong stance and inoculation against suicide. In some cultures, the stigma against suicide is so strong that it deters it. He doesn't look at any of these factors. There's a lot more to fighting against contagion than support groups and therapists-on-hand. Just as with a virus, you can inoculate and you can strengthen one's "immunity" (resilience) - and they're not "steps" - they are daily actions, like taking your vitamins, getting exercise, getting sleep, taking care of your mental health, having strong support systems, having a strong measure of faith/culture that deters negative behaviors (as with drugs, unprotected sex, violence), having strong healthy relationships that act as deterrents. We do this for our physical health, but our society has not reached the same level of awareness for mental health yet - it's beginning but we are not there yet. But in the same way that we fortify ourselves not to get sick during flu season, I believe we can do as much as we can, and whatever it takes, to mitigate and eradicate this strange contagion.

The author gave up too easily in this book, and I feel, should have known better than to send his concluding message that his own family was driven to move away. Based on his own research on primes and messaging, I wish he had kept that part of the story to himself - it was abrupt and jarring. I understand his personal decision (and it is consistent with the cold sore/preschool decision that his family made at the beginning of the book, so it goes full circle), and you have to do what's best for you, but at the same time, given his own research, it sends a very bleak signal to the rest of the community and the world at large. As a result, I fear this book will do more harm than good. Thankfully, there are people who don't reach the same conclusion. Thankfully, there are those who see a war and sign up to fight on the front lines so the rest of us can be free; there are those who fly into Ebola zones to treat the dying against the odds and not only live to see another day but stemmed the tide of a strange and deadly contagion so the rest of us could live.

Speaking as a person living in this community, as a parent shoulder-to-shoulder, neighbor-to-neighbor with those who lost their children to suicide or have been affected (all of us), this community is strong, it is powerful, it is good, and it is full of hope. We need each other, so we will stay for each other because life is better together.
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CD Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Questions and wisdom
Reviewed in the United States on 31 July 2017
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Lee has thoroughly researched the very complicated topic of social contagion, one that has no clear answers. He has combined the personal with the scientific and in the end asks all of us to be more educated about the growing problem so that we identify it and provide help to people who need it. A moving and emotional book filled with questions and wisdom.
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