Rating: 
Summary: Terrifying and True
Review: The true story of an Ebola outbreak in Virginia. This is an outstanding book that traces some of the history of the Ebola and Marburg virus's and their emergence in the world, what let up to the outbreak in Virginia and what response the military and Center For Disease Control had. The writer does a wonderful job painting the characters that were involved in the outbreak in Virginia from the military and the Center for Disease Control. He shows how the major players scrambled to identify the unkown virus and their reactions when they first realized what they had. A new strain of Ebola. Only the fourth type of filovirus, the most dangerous in the world. Read as they tried to figure out if this virus was airborne or not. You can feel the impending doom. The book is frightening as it describes the virus's and how they kill. How they multiply and move among hosts. This book is not for the faint of heart. The descriptions are graphic and can turn your stomach if you actually try to imagine the thought of it. It leaves you with the realizations that a virus on the level of Ebola can spread across the globe in a matter of 24 to 48 hours and within 12 days people will be dying. People will be dying fast as Ebola kills 90% of the people that become infected. This book gets you to thinking that the ultimate end of the human race will not be the nuclear bomb, as once feared, but a virus, a level 4 biohazard. This book kept me rivetted, I could not put it down. The fact that it was true made it that much more intense and frightening. This book should be read by everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: The Angel of Death
Review: A virus known as Ebola has suddenly appeared in Washington D.C.! This brings up the question is the army somehow involved? Are they keeping this situation under control? This virus Ebola is a deadly and on the prowl scoping out its victims. Some survive but most die. Will this virus wipe out Washington D.C. or disappear as fast as it surrfaced? The Hot Zone by Richard Preston will keep you entertained and anxious. The suspence of wondering who will die and who will live is exciting and thrilling.How did Ebola make its way from Africa to Washington D.C.? Is this possible? Oh yeah, its possible and its reality! This book is an excellent example of how non-fiction is demonstrated to create a both real and imaginative truth made interesting and fun. The one thing about this book that threw me off a bit was the displacement of time. The Hot Zone jumps from present to past to present again. It hard to follow when he's talking about 1998 and then falls back to the 1970's. The chronalogical order could be improved drastically.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting mix of horror and suspenseful truth.
Review: "The Hot Zone" has you hugging your teddy bear, while still reading every page. It shows deadly, incurable viruses doing their damage in the tropical rainforests of Africa. Ebola Sudan, Marburg, and Ebola Zaire emerge into the world, showing their ghastly effects. No way it could end up where you live, right? In the book, these viruses make its way over to Reston, Virginia, in the U.S. And it's all true. VERY creepy. And the Army has to take care of it, 007 hush-hush all the way. This book was very well put together, though the author adds a tab too much dramaticism. Even though the viruses are deadly, he gives you the impression that you should always be watching your back for them. My favorite section of the book was when the Army went in. It feels like you're inside everyone's mind, standing right there. When they're was a loose monkey running around, it scared everyone in the book, but especially me. My least favorite part was the way Richard Preston had to be so thorough. In the way he described all of the gory stuff, giving you every detail. I would NOT recommend this for anyone under 14, queasy stomachs,(I wanted to barf 20 pages into the book!)or people who aren't into the whole virus-threatening-humanity gig. I WOULD recommend this for Michael Crichton and Sci-Fi fans. I didn't necessarily give this a high rating for it being my favorite book. For the characters it poses, and the factual adventure-story, I give it my respect. However, it is NOT one of the books I would keep on my bookshelf, to read over and over again. If you do that's fine, but for me it's what I call a one-time book.
Rating:
Summary: TANTALIZING AND TERRIFYING
Review: This is not the kind of book I would have just picked up off the shelves. It was recommended by the entire staff at a local library, and I, being the adventurous literary critic that I am, decided to give it a try. The story line is simple: A terrifying new "super virus" has been discovered in the heart of Africa. No one knows where it originated, just that it kills nine out of ten of its victims... within a few days. It seems, at first, to be only contagious through blood, but after further laboratory inspection it is determined that it can travel through air, although difficultly. It is the main goal for those scietists who work with this virus to keep it out of the United States, but they fail. A shipment of test monkeys in the Washington D.C. area begin to die off. The owner is unsure why so he contacts the nearby army research center. After much debate it is determined that the virus is indeed Ebola (The "super virus" from Africa). They secure the monkey house, and create a type of air lick from the outside world. They then start sending their workers into... THE HOT ZONE. I thoroughly enjoyed the pace of this book, it wasn't so fast that you finished it and thought, "That's it." It is also not a book that will bore you to death with scientific jargon. The opening scene is enough to scare you but the best part is... IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE! So if you are in the mood for a true story that will scare the pants off of you, and maybe learn something in the process, give it a try, you'll be surprised.
Rating: 
Summary: The Warm Zone
Review: Richard Preston gives us a good idea, good discrition, gory deaths, decent characters... what's more to ask for in a book. Well except that the book just went on for forever with repetitive things and when you expected something really exciting to happen it is just doesn't happen. I'm not saying that the book wasn't good in the way it was trying to be. I am just saying that causal readers who pick it up might not like it because there is no real payoff in the book. The book does offer good things though. As there are some shocking moments and the thought of a virus being able to kill most of the human population give us a large sense of horror. The gory detail of the deaths and of the virus characteristics makes things even more horrifying. The fact that the ebola virus has no scent and can be transfered by air and blood is scary enough alone. My last comments is that this book would be five stars for someone who is looking for a non-fiction wonder. But those readers who are looking for an exciting book with a good payoff in the end isn't going to be head over heels for the book. Overall I did like the book but expected more.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing and frightening!
Review: This book is amazingly written and with such description and clarity. I do not remember hearing about this at the time of the incident, but am not surprised. Preston gives background that is easy to follow as well as constantly bringing it right back to the incident. He expands key characters so that you feel you know them and their deaths touch you in a way that would not happen otherwise. I hope that everyone will read this book. My husband read it and recommended it to me in order for me to gain more insight in to infectious diseases since I will soon be an RN. This book will take you from remote villages in Africa to the concrete jungle of Washington D.C....you will be reading well into the night, I assure you! But you will not regret losing several hours of sleep!
Rating:
Summary: Best
Review: This is the best book I have read. It is very graphic, percise, and horrifying. I used to hate reading until I read this book for a project. I have been reading all his books ever since and I just finished Cobra Event which was a masterpiece. The unique feature about Preston is his detail. You will see everything he thinks and at times feel what the characters in the story feel. From the cave to the lab I was horrified at everything that went on when I finished the book I was glad the horror of the story was over, then I read in the back that all the information in the book was factual and true. There is no greater horror then reading this book it scares you in the fact oh my what if this was me. I could go on forever but he must be the one of the greatest authors.
Rating:
Summary: The best
Review: This is obviously the best book I have read. I hate reading until I read this book. The suspense keeps you hooked and keep reading. From piecing the begining to finding out the scenario to finding the true horror you will be locked on to this book. I was horrified of it then in the back he tells how real and true his story is (100%).
Rating:
Summary: holds your attention
Review: when i first picked up this book, i didn't think i would actually be able to finish it. it's hard for me to stay interested in long books. the hot zone kept me turning pages the whole way through though. it's a great book and i would recommend it to almost anyone. i even feel smarter after i've read it! like i just came out of a biology class!
Rating:
Summary: Some Hot Stuff
Review: This was an interesting account of a biological incident at a monkey house near Washington DC, along with plenty of background information about the Marburg and Ebola viruses. I didn't mind the redundancy about which others have complained; the repetition of some of the information about viral functions prompted retention, along with stirring the imagination as to the effects of a killer virus. After reading the book, I performed some web searches an found several sites advertising hiking excursions to Mt. Elgon's Kitum Cave in Africa, which is believed to be he home of the Ebola/Marburg strains, though it's presently unknown which animal is the natural host. Let me tell you, if you are sufficiently insane to visit Kitum Cave after reading The Hot Zone, then you are living proof of Darwin In Action. I liked the author's analogy about fatal viruses, such as Ebola and HIV, acting at the Earth's own antibodies, protecting the environment from encroachment by humans in places where the Earth doesn't want humans to be fiddling with things. Invasions of the deep rain forests and encounters with fatal biological agents therein are warnings for humans to stay away. Have everyone in your family read The Hot Zone, so that next time someone gets sick you will have all sorts of terminology to throw around the dinner table -- extreme amplification, crash-and-bleed-out and other delightful descriptions about the effects of disease on humans. Enjoy.
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