The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, Preston

The Hot Zone

by Richard Preston and Preston

As the tropical wildernesses of the world are destroyed, and nature's balance is thereby upset, previously unknown viruses are ready to emerge from the wreckage and enter human populations. In 1967 in Germany, a healthy monkey-keeper died a remarkably swift and gruesome death which mystified the medical profession. Outbreaks of a similarly ruthless disease occurred in tropical Africa during the 1970s, wiping out whole villages. Scientists were later able to identify the causes: lethal, highly infectious "hot" viruses from the tropical rain forest. This is an account of events which took place in 1989, when one such dangerous virus crossed continents and broke out inside a house of imported monkeys, a mere stone's throw from the White House. It describes the drama that later unfolded among the team of American laboratory workers and scientists who discovered the virus in the monkey-house, and struggled to contain it.

Reviewed by inlibrisveritas on

4 of 5 stars

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The Hot Zone was recommended to me by a customer pretty soon after I first opened. At the time the current Ebola outbreak had been around for 7 months already, and the media was just starting to buzz about what was going on. The worse it got the more I realized I was fearing a virus I knew little about, other than the symptoms, and so I picked this one up.

The Hot Zone starts from the beginning of our contact with Ebola, or where we suspect the beginning was, and moves to where the current events (1994) end. So while it a bit dated, it’s also incredibly informative. It not only shows the history of the virus, it also goes over the different strains, how it behaves, and the author has included accounts of what it was like to have the virus. The book gets you into the heart of it incredibly quickly and the first chapter was like something out of a horror film, but I feel the need to emphasize that this is someone’s reality…and despite the lack of media coverage, still is.

The writing is detailed, but very easy to understand and everything is broken down so that the average person can grasp what’s going on…and it’s incredibly difficult to put down despite being horrific. I won’t say I ‘enjoyed’ learning more about Ebola, but it was definitely one of the more interesting non-fiction books I’ve read and definitely one of the more relevant.

I can’t say I recommend it to everyone, because honestly if you have anxiety about getting sick, avoid it. But it’s definitely an approachable medical thriller, and I do believe fear can be combated with knowledge.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 6 August, 2014: Finished reading
  • 6 August, 2014: Reviewed