The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story | 
| Author: Richard Preston
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $4.72
You Save: $10.23 (68%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  475 reviews
Sales Rank: 2807
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0385495226
Dewey Decimal Number: 614.57
EAN: 9780385495226
ASIN: 0385495226
Publication Date: June 15, 1999
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Amazon.com
The dramatic and chilling story of an Ebola virus outbreak in a surburban Washington, D.C. laboratory, with descriptions of frightening historical epidemics of rare and lethal viruses. More hair-raising than anything Hollywood could think of, because it's all true.
Product Description
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.
From the Paperback edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 470 more reviews...
 A True Horror Story June 30, 2008
Fascinated by anything related to virology, I love this book. As a account of true events, it is a page turner. It does not read like the stereotypical stuffy non-fiction book. I could not put it down. I felt I was right there in the labs with the protagonists. I almost felt as though I would come down with the virus just by reading about it.
the hot zone June 22, 2008
"The Hot Zone" was recommended to me by my A & P teacher, & I bought it right away because I am fascinated by viruses. This book reads like a thriller, yet the story is complete fact. Richard Preston is not a scientist himself but has a PhD in English, so he is able to make this esoteric subject (the Marburg & Ebola viruses) accessible to the masses. Along the way, he created a book that I could not put down.
Preston went just deep enough into the science of viruses to scare me, yet everything he says is certainly plausible. This book may read like a thriller, but the story is not sensationalist. Besides exposing the 1989 Ebola Reston outbreak in Maryland, Preston gives the reader interesting background on a few of the more well known cases of Marburg & Ebola Sudan & Zaire. Unexpectedly, this book offers a very real picture of the cruelties of animal testing & the can of worms we humans have opened up as a result of our constant meddling with the ecosystem. Preston ponders that viruses (HIV included) could be nature's way of fighting back against humans who insist on poaching & bulldozing rain forests. He has a valid point.
Great Novel June 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is incredible and I highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you are a fan of virology, epidemiology, or just a book that you don't want to put down! I found myself unable to stop reading as the beginning really grabs you and pulls you in. It's incredibly interesting and the best part is it is based on true events, which I believe makes it much scarier/better. Overall, I believe this book to be very well written and is a great read that you won't want to set down!
Gripping, Frightful Non-Fiction June 5, 2008
This is a gripping story about the spread of emerging deadly viruses - specifically Ebola. Now we can add to our worries thoughts of deadly Ebola viruses hopping the globe via jet travel. Author Robert Preston keeps readers glued to these pages with his description of Ebola outbreaks in Africa. Victims arrived at hospitals vomiting blood, then convulsing, losing consciousness, and in most cases soon expiring - though about 20 percent recovered fully. We see how one strain of Ebola ended up in Virginia (USA) via jet travel, where it was discovered and quarantined. Perhaps nervous readers should remember that HIV/AIDS has to this date been more destructive, as was influenza to Native populations in the Caribbean region shortly after Columbus arrived.
This book is readable, gripping, and sensational; it leaves many readers wanting more complex scientific information about viruses. A compelling read, but hardly for the squeamish.
 How much is too much May 22, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston i can not say was a favotite. The extreme amount of details detracted from the novel itslef. I like the imagery, but it was so much that i was distracted from the story line itself. Also the constant jumping around from place to place and person to person caused a great deal of confusion. It was an intresting concept, but it was not written as well as it could have been. Overall I did like the book and would suggest it to others, but i suggest that the readers should read it twice in order to have a full understanding of the book.
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