The Hot Zone - Richard Preston

The Hot Zone

By Richard Preston

  • Release Date: 1994-09-20
  • Genre: Health, Mind & Body
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 703 Ratings

Description

The bestselling landmark account of the first emergence of the Ebola virus.

Now a mini-series drama starring Julianna Margulies, Topher Grace, Liam Cunningham, James D'Arcy, and Noah Emmerich on National Geographic.

A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.

Reviews

  • Very good!

    5
    By R. N. Woods
    Very well written, easy to understand. If you have interest in the spread of viruses and in Ebola specifically, you will enjoy this book.
  • Terrifying!

    5
    By oregondave57
    By the title, this book sounds dry and boring. I assure you it is anything but that. All the more terrifying because it’s all true. Great read!
  • Easily one of the worst books I’ve ever read

    2
    By RavenclawReader05
    This book is very difficult to get through. The writing style is not good, it’s somehow very descriptive yet also uninteresting. Once a plot line starts getting interesting, the author switches to another entirely different one! It’s a shame that this book is so poorly written because the events are very interesting. All in all, this is NOT worth your time or money.
  • Favorite book of all time!

    5
    By alexrryan
    This book is incredible! Richard Preston does a phenomenal job of putting you in the shoes of someone with Ebola by describing every little detail of the signs and symptoms they experience. It’s amazing that something so microscopic and primitive (because it’s made of RNA) has the capability to destroy a human from the inside out is mind-blowing. I originally read this book for a Microbiology class during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and having no knowledge of Ebola and to read about this while the outbreak was ongoing made it even more interesting! I read this in 3 days. It is honestly my favorite book. Definitely worth the read!
  • Infectious!!!

    5
    By KLMPilot1441
    Great nonfiction read!
  • More fiction than non fiction

    1
    By frjeffgatlin
    The author has taken Ebola patients death and has turned them in to something more resembling a Hollywood sci-fi movie. Preston leads the reader to believe that in a matter of a few days, even hours, Ebola patients melt in their own skin. Take for instance the man on the plane who literally starts melting externally and internally in a matter of hours, even his face is slipping because the connecting tissue has melted.Yet he can still call a cab to take him to the hospital. Ebola patients do not die by melting in to an internal sloppy bloody liquid. All internal organs melting in to a bag of gooey blood. Preston creates a fictional story and passes it off as non-fiction. His two books have mislead thousands and are an absolute insult to anyone who works in the field of virus medicine.
  • Hot Zone

    5
    By srcmac
    In light of the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and all the poo pooing by the media and politicians of the danger to the U.S., everyone should read this and be aware.
  • The Hot Zone

    5
    By Zbostongirl
    Outstanding
  • Hard to stop

    5
    By aptroed
    A fascinating read with todays events. Hard to put this book down
  • Timely Read

    5
    By JBOBri
    You follow the journey of discovery of an emerging virus, out of Kitum Cave to Reston, VA. Preston's final words are prophetic - "It will be back."