Epic Measures

Moneyball meets medicine in this remarkable chronicle of one of the greatest scientific quests of our time—the groundbreaking program to answer the most essential question for humanity: how do we live and die?—and the visionary mastermind behind it.

Medical doctor and economist Christopher Murray began the Global Burden of Disease studies to gain a truer understanding of how we live and how we die. While it is one of the largest scientific projects ever attempted—as breathtaking as the first moon landing or the Human Genome Project—the questions it answers are meaningful for every one of us: What are the world's health problems? Who do they hurt? How much? Where? Why?

Murray argues that the ideal existence isn't simply the longest but the one lived well and with the least illness. Until we can accurately measure how people live and die, we cannot understand what makes us sick or do much to improve it. Challenging the accepted wisdom of the WHO and the UN, the charismatic and controversial health maverick has made enemies—and some influential friends, including Bill Gates who gave Murray a $100 million grant.

In Epic Measures, journalist Jeremy N. Smith offers an intimate look at Murray and his groundbreaking work. From ranking countries' healthcare systems (the U.S. is 37th) to unearthing the shocking reality that world governments are funding developing countries at only 30% of the potential maximum efficiency when it comes to health, Epic Measures introduces a visionary leader whose unwavering determination to improve global health standards has already changed the way the world addresses issues of health and wellness, sets policy, and distributes funding.

This is the story of the data-driven quest to quantify human existence—and the maverick scientist at its heart.

• A Scientific Revolution: Go behind the scenes of the Global Burden of Disease study, a project as ambitious and world-changing as the Human Genome Project or the first moon landing.
• Data Science in Action: Discover how Christopher Murray's team used a single metric to create a Moneyball-like approach for medicine, revolutionizing how we measure health outcomes.
• A Global Health Maverick: Meet the controversial and charismatic doctor who challenged the accepted wisdom of the WHO and UN, earning influential friends like Bill Gates along the way.
• Narrative Nonfiction Storytelling: Told with the gripping pace of a thriller, this journalistic account brings the human story behind the data to life, chronicling the quest to change the world.