Rating: 
Summary: Good book if you have the stomach for it
Review: This is a good book considering it is very descriptive and very detailed. It starts out talking about one of its (the Ebola virus) victims. It tells how he possibly got the virus and how he died from it within days of contact. It is pretty freaky. It is slow in the beginning but will speed up near the end. Overall I would recommend the book if you are able to handle it.
Rating: 
Summary: Journalistic License?
Review: When I first read this book I found it to be an exciting and fast-paced read. It was assigned for a Biology class that I took and caused me to develop a strong interest in infectious diseases. Because of the interest I had in this book, I went to the store and purchased several other books on the subject. One of the books that I picked up is called "Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC" written by Joseph McCormick and Susan Fisher-Hoch. If you have read "The Hot Zone," you will recognize Dr. McCormick as the head of the CDC's "Hot Zone" at the time of the Ebola outbreaks. When I read "Virus Hunter's of the CDC," I was disappointed to realize the many of the facts presented in "The Hot Zone" were less than accurate. I do not believe that Preston intentionally mislead readers with false information, but because of his training as a journalist (not a doctor) presented facts with a sensationalist spin. I would suggest reading both for yourself and deciding which version of the events you believe is most accurate. While I no longer believe everything written in "The Hot Zone," I give Preston a lot of credit for making reading about genetics and micro-biology my new favorite hobby.
Rating:
Summary: The Hot Zone
Review: The Hot Zone by Richard Preston is a good book for educational purposes, but definitely not for entertainment or fun. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the Ebola viruses. But I was bored, disgusted, scared and annoyed. It was really descriptive and gory. The way that the book described the way somebody died of the Ebola virus scared me to death!!! It also got really interesting and easy to follow until the end of the first chapter. Then I was so bored that I couldn't even follow the book. I couldn't concentrate. I ended up reading part of the book, then starting totally over a few times. I would read for a while then realize that I had been so distracted that I had no idea what I had just read.
The book would build up a lot of suspense then nothing would happen.
Once I read the book all the way through I realized that I had actually learned a lot, but I wouldn't chose to read it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Reality Check
Review: This book is absolutly amazing. Most people walk around in their sheltered little world with no thought or idea of what is beyong their boundries. This book really smacks the reader in the face with the truth about what is really out there. If you want a good thrill and can handle the intesity, or even if you are looking for a good book, read this one!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: I'm not a big English book reader, but this book is really fascinating. I got "hooked" with reading this book and I actually read it twice! It's a great book.
Rating:
Summary: The Hot Zone--Hauntingly true, remarkably compelling.
Review: In a manner typical for non-fiction, Richard Preston begins the Hot Zone with a statement regarding the authenticity of what is about to follow. However this breath of normalcy is followed by the most compelling and disturbing bit of journalistic documentary narrative imaginable. Like the proverbial car wreck, the Hot Zone is delectable in its graphic brutality. It is a page turner which keeps suspense neither through plot twists, nor character jumping--but simply through its form and mastery of subject matter. Preston is magnificently thorough, and his writing works by functional simplicity. The Hot Zone is not a book that will grant the warm and fuzzies but it is one which will foster prudence and wisdom. It ought to be read simply because not knowing some of what Preston knows might be the most dangerous form of ignorance. Preston shows that perhaps the most frightening aspect of deadly viruses is not simply the virus but the human response to viruses. Beyond this fact, the Hot Zone is truly unforgettable, life altering, and a highly recommended read.
Rating:
Summary: Truly fascinating account of virus outbreak
Review: I picked this book up after I had finished taking a microbiology class because I had heard it mentioned during a lecture on hemorrhagic viruses and Ebola. I never had any idea that there was actually an outbreak of the virus in the States, so reading this account was truly fascinating. Preston aptly details the events surrounding the outbreak of the virus in suburban Virginia, replete with enough drama and suspense to rival any work of fiction. We get access to the inner workings of the Army's Medical Research Institute of Infections Diseases during this period and it is fascinating, as well as terrifying, to learn what actually occurs in these places - especially when something goes wrong. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the description of the drama that enfolded when a strain of the Ebola virus was found to be killing off monkeys in Virginia: how the Army initially handled it, the impact on the lives of the individuals involved, the posturing between CDC and Army for control of the situation and the virus, and the ultimate conclusion. If you are remotely interested in the potential devastation that can be wrought by viruses, especially in this age of bioterrorism, then I would definitely recommend reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely terrifying - and its not fiction
Review: This is the 1st book of what Richard Preston now refers to as his Dark Biology trilogy. He is undoubtedly one of the most informative writers on this topic, which certainly should be giving great cause for concern.
This account is well researched, and certainly gives you the 'horrors' of what could yet come to pass.
After reading this, do read his other 2 works : The Cobra Event is a novel, all the more effective for the background knowledge he had acquired, and The Demon in the Freezer is a non-fictional account about Anthrax & Smallpox.
Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life!
Review: The first chapter was the most horrifying things I ever read in my whole live... and then it got worse. That's what keeps me reading it keep getting worse! Just as you think it can't get any worse it dose in horrible sick and twisted ways. As I kept reading it kept getting more disturbing and I wanted more. I could not stop reading; I did not want to stop. This horrifying true story has any Stephen King book beat by a long shot. I recommend that everyone read it at lest once in their lifetime. It made me see how fragile we are and all we have crated rely is and that we only live here at natures will.
Rating:
Summary: The nightmarish world of the unseen.....
Review: Superbly written and scary, scary, scary. Sometimes killers simply cannot be seen....
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