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: Entering the "Hot Zone"
Review: It starts with a simple headache. Then maybe you get a nosebleed. After a few days, you know you are extremely sick. The lining of your stomach and the top layer of your tongue literally fall off. Your organs turn into mush. Excessive bleeding from every natural opening in your body occurs. And since your blood can't clot, the bleeding won't stop. Black vomit mixed with blood gushes from your mouth. Then, you die painfully with a mask-like expression on your face.This doesn't even sound like it could exist, does it? Well it does. It is death by a virus known as Ebola. It is especially contagious in monkeys and can jump species over to humans. The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston, describes outbreaks of this and other "hot" viruses in locations around the world, including a city near Washington, D.C. Virus experts in the Army need to unravel the Ebola mystery and try to protect the public from this vicious disease. Preston has taken a true story and unveiled its horror. I couldn't believe how descriptive his writing is. If you want to read a true modern day thriller, then this is an awesome pick. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to reading more from Richard Preston.
Rating:
Summary: The Hot Zone
Review: The book, The Hot Zone, is about the African virus Ebola and how it killed a ton of people throughout the 70's and 90's. In the 70's was where it all started and throughout the years it killed a lot of people, but in the 90's scientists slowed down the virus a lot. The American scientists studied, analyzed, and tested the virus out on numerous subjects, mainly monkeys. The subjects that died due to the virus were immediately tested and split open only to reveal body organs that were turned to liquid.
The book went into detail the stages of the virus and how it eventually killed the person with it. It was pretty gory because the person would puke out blood mixed with black chunks of their organs. The virus would then eat through everything in the body trying to feed off something new and once the person died, the virus would leave the person in their blood and would exit through every opening in the body.
If your one of those readers who loves dramatic type books with a lot of scientific facts then you would love this book. After the beginning of the book it mainly dragged on and talked about scientific evidence about the Ebola virus. To me that was just dull. This book is definitely an adult book. Teenagers or people my age would not find this book very entertaining.
Personally, if I were to rate the book out of 5 stars, I would give it 2 and a half. As you can see, this is my review on The Hot Zone I hope it will help you understand what you are getting into if you choose to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Good God This Book Is Terrifying!!!!!!
Review: Come now, what could possibly be more terrifying than a deadly virus which kills 9 of 10 people? Nothing, huh? Oh wait, yeah I forgot ... it's just outside Washington DC. And oh yeah ... you throw up blood, your organs liquify while you're still alive and you leak blood from your nose, eyes, mouth, anus, etc, until you fall down, have a few seizures, spraying blood everywhere, and leaving yourself a bag of liquified liver, intestine, and brain, all sitting in a pool of blood. And did I mention this entire book is nonfiction? Gruesome, horrifying, and absolutly wonderful, this book is!!!!! It's a quick read, so you have no excuse not to read it. But I would recogmend not reading it in class ... you will make some odd faces at the gory descriptions provided by Preston. The novel takes you through the entire history of the virus, (the plot is not just "Oh my God there's an outbreak!!!!!!!"). You'll read it and be obsessed with Ebola for at least a week ... its an incredibly memorable book, and you'll love it, don't worry.
Rating:
Summary: A Gripping, True, Horror Story
Review: Preston's true-story accounts of lethal viruses that spread like wildfire, invade, infect, and liquefy the guts of their human hosts read unbelievably--like sci-fi. But it is non-fiction, and is based on his in-depth interviews with characters named in the book. Let the reader be warned: Grisly descriptions of the effects of the viruses Marburg and Ebola on humans are graphic. I was repulsed by some passages, yet totally riveted--I simply could not put the book down. The information is timely, since the federal public health agencies recently told public health agencies to be on the alert for "unusual disease patterns associated with today's events", and our nation has been put on bio-alert. This book will undoubtedly increase your anxiety index, but it will also expand your awareness of the nature of lethal viruses and make you realize how vulnerable, helpless, and underprepared we are to deal with agents for which there are no vaccines and no cure, agents that mutate, jump species, replicate, and spread around the world, burning hot in their host--the human population.
Rating: 
Summary: Watch out!
Review: Richard Preston's The Hot Zone, is an enticing book that brings everyone to face reality. Preston did a good job at combining several life accounts of different people who have confronted the "hot" virus in a good way and in a not so good way. Included are personal interviews, with several people's accounts. Meanwhile he still tells a story in a sequence of events that fit in with the other stories.
When the first protagonist is infected , it creates a chain link. Preston then plays out the other characters in the same chain link. All of them have a connection between them.
The setting is mainly West Africa, around Mount Kilimanjaro. I'd have to say that at first people would think it has to do with AIDS but it introduces a whole new virus that most people don't even know about. It gave me a surprise finding out all this information.
One of the details in Preston's book that I didn't enjoy is during or at the end of the stories he would give information about the virus. It was confusing because you didn't know when the story ended or started again.
In conclusion, I found it more informational rather than story like, though I would recommend it for all those interested in facing reality.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This was a great book by a great author... I first read this book in 1996 at my dads house and I was scared of Ebola for 5 years after that... So as you can see it is a very realistic and good story that scared me a lot!
Rating:
Summary: Unworldly Occurence
Review: It is extremely difficult to believe that a highly infectious and deadly virus from deep with in the rainforests of central Africa could find its way to a suburban environment in Washington D.C. The virus is known as the lethal Ebola virus that has terrorized Africa since the virus's first appearance in the year of 1980. Ebola is capable of killing ninety percent of it's victims with in the period of a few days and depending on which strain the victim has obtained, it can be lethal in nine out of ten cases. In the United States Ebola first appeared at a monkey house in Reston Washington, a monkey house is a place where monkeys are imported to first within the United States before they are sold. At first a few monkeys began to mysteriously die , but the situation quickly became much more complicated as many more of the monkeys met their deaths and as scientist discovered Ebola strains with in the monkeys blood samples. The army medical team, known as USAMRIID, and the CDC, which is an agency that deals with deadly viruses, quickly became involved in the situation and set the goal of wiping out the potentially dangerous virus by means of decontamination through a Biohazard operation. The two teams began work immediately by isolating the virus and setting up a plan to sterilize the monkey house by putting every monkey in the house to death by means of lethal injection. The operation was an eventual success as the entire location was exterminated of the Ebola strain without a single human casualty, yet the biggest battle was keeping the operation classified and away from the mass media. The Ebola strain in Reston was eventually given it's own name as scientists discovered that in fact it was an individual strain different from the others. Currently there is no cure for the Ebola virus and it's ultimate effect on the human population is still unknown. Preston takes the reader from the dark caves of Africa to the cities of central Africa and then to the United States face to face with the devious killer.
The terrifying truth of Richard Preston's The Hot Zone, creates an unforgettable experience for any reader. After reading the first chapter of the novel I was instantly hooked, as it became increasingly difficult to end my reading for the day. The horrifying description of the character Charles Monet in his dying state was enough to give me a feeling of uneasiness in my stomach," He brings up an incredible amount of blood from his stomach and spills it on to the floor with a gasping groan."(23-24) Preston brings the reader into the dangerous world of Bio-hazard operations and viral studies. The Hot Zone truly sets itself apart from any other non-fiction or fiction novel due to it's gruesome images given by the author, and the feeling of fear and paranoia it tends to leave it's reader with. Preston's novel of the virus that makes AIDS seem like a play toy is much more terrifying than any non-fiction thriller that I have ever read. After staying up into the late hours to finish a chapter one can find it difficult to enjoy a normal night of sleep with out the feeling of fear and discomfort haunting them throughout the night. Despite the constant terror experienced throughout the book many heroes are also noticeable in the unusual situation that help to ease the readers uneasy feelings. These doctors and scientists who risked their lives and families in the battle against Ebola are often described and portrayed as heroes in the many confrontations with the virus as they set out in an all out battle against Ebola in the suburbs of Washington D.C.
Overall The Hot Zone unquestionably deserves the highest rating a book is capable of. The novel has every aspect a well written book of it's genre should have: an unforgettable plot, extreme suspense, and terrifying truth. Preston's novel is in a class of its own, there is no other non-fiction piece of literature that is comparable to his unworldly descriptions and accounts of terror that can be discovered within The Hot Zone's pages. I have never read a book in my previous years that have had such an effect on me as The Hot Zone has. The weeks that I spent indulged in the novel also made me obsessed with obtaining more information about Ebola and its current state. As a result of reading Preston's novel any human can experience how fragile our race is and the constant danger that we face every day. This book on a true life experience does in fact create an unforgettable encounter by the use of its authentic content. Upon completing this book I have had a lasting affect of appreciation for life itself and an understanding of the American nature that nothing "bad" can or will happen in our country. In addition to completing the novel I am still left with one very important question. Can the Ebola virus have as deadly an effect on the world's population as the AIDS epidemic has had or as the Black Plague did in the Medieval era?
Rating:
Summary: Unputdownable!
Review: I gave this book to my girlfriend and she hasn't stopped reading it. We were at a dinner party and she left early to go home and read the book. You won't regret this read. It is fascinating, horrifying and true.
Rating:
Summary: It's So Good!!
Review: I borrowed this book from my english teacher. I started to read it, and I found it was really scary. It might be scary, and freaky, but for me it was a page turner. I just couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what happened next. I really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it.
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