Rating: 
Summary: Best Book Ever
Review: This is the greatest book ever written, well at least in my opinion. It is a very in-depth novel that makes you completely aware of all that is really lurking in the world. It's also very informative on different viruses and their effect on the body. But a word of warning for the reader- it will make you think about things in a different light (like how millions of particles of a virus can fit in the period at the end of this sentence). Another great aspect to this book is that is all true; that makes it even more intriguing. Buy this book if you want a great read, but you most likely won't be able to stop until you finish it (and I'm not a heavy reader, so coming from me, that's a major thumbs up).
Rating:
Summary: Hot Zone Review
Review: Hot Zone, by Richard Preston was a very intriguing book that would be more ideal to an audience that understood effects of Ebola. The reason being the book uses words and phrases that only people that know about the virus and its' sisters would understand. People that like biology would also enjoy the book a lot more because they would know what the book is about too. I felt that the book had a strong plot because it starts out with information about Ebola and its' sisters, which develops the rising action to the climax. Then the book gets really good from the climax the resolution when something bad happens. The conflict of the story is really clear and so a person cannot get too confused on what is going on in the book. Even thought the book is non-fiction the characters were very well described and it helps a person out when reading the book what the significance is of the character being there in a certain situation in the book. I also got a feel of what the characters we going through by the descriptions used in the book. My overall emotion was I was kind of scared to hear that something like Ebola is out in the world and can kill 9 out of 10 victims within a few days of getting it. Basically the book to me was very well written and always exciting to read. Along with that I gain more knowledge from the book and it made me more aware of what it out in the world. I recommend the book to anyone interested in viruses and anyone wandering about the world around them. The end of the book I felt it was really freighting to what happened in the situation with the Ebola virus.
Rating: 
Summary: If not for anything, it is educational
Review: Preston should be given a pat on the back for evidently working hard to investigate all the details of the Ebola outbreak.The narrative is generally engaging in the beginning but loss momentum along the way. The prose lacked the suspense generated by more distinguished authors of thrillers. The characters were not adequately developed and did not leave a lasting impression save the victims in the first half of the book. Nevertheless, the true account of the events alone will spur you on to the final pages. If not for anything, this book is educational and thus a worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully written; terrifying account
Review: The Hot Zone sparked my interest in following the issue of potential germ outbreaks here and abroad. It is a stunning, terrifying account of an outbreak of disease described so vividly I couldn't stop reading. This was the first book I ever read where I simply could not put it down. Preston has a remarkable talent for taking complicated scientific issues and explaining them in language that is not only easy to understand, but engaging.
Rating:
Summary: The Good and Bad of Preston in The Hot Zone
Review: A slow starting to the Hot Zone tends to disengage and discourage readers right off the bat. The multiple short stories told in the biginning to introduce characters seem to be brief and uninteresting, with their only point to be background information. All of the characters seem isolated and overwhelming because of how many are introduced.
Upon reaching the second part of the book things start to come together for the reader. Here Preston did well tying the, what seemed to be random stories, from the fist part together. The plot begins to fall in to place and the novel begins to take on some understanding. Characters start to meet each other for the first time and show relevance as to why they are involved. Picking up the pace and the level of intensity readers will find a new spark in reading the book coming from discovering and understanding. The once isloated stories start to show relevance and the plot begins to unravel.
Intriguing and captivating, the third part of The Hot Zone holds the climax. New and exciting details begin to unravel as readers figure out the nature of the virus. By this time the number of characters has come accustom to the reader and does not seem so overwhelming.
The fourth part of the novel is unnecessary information. The trip back to Africa turns the reader away with an uninteresting conclusion after the climax and ending were already reached.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This book is outstanding and a thrill a minute. Perhaps the scariest part of this book is that it is based on a true story. In light of the recent terrorist attacks this book I think provides a good example of how hard those who work with viruses and other diseases will try to protect the American population from anything a terrorist attempts to do to us. This is no question a scary book, but there are genuine heroes in this story too.
Rating: 
Summary: A Scary Reality
Review: When monkies in a Washington DC area monkey house start dying of Ebola all hell breaks loose. Goverment officals must keep the cleanup out of the public's eyes. Preston gives the readers graffic discriptions of what Ebola can do. These descriptions are so scary the reader will wish the story were fiction, but it's not. This part of the book is terrific. Preston's writing is strong and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The second part of this book is Preston's account of his journey to the Kitchum cave. The Kitchum cave is rumored to be the source of of diseases such as Ebola and AIDS. This part of the book is not as enjoyable as the first part. It is filled with details of cave walls, and many other details that make the essay a very slow read. It is also somewhat dated since the Kitchum cave although a one point was considered a hot zone it has shown no evidence of disease. Overall this book is worth the read. The first part of the book is a great read that rivals fiction horror stories. The second part of the book although not as interesting is still worth a read since Preston did take a chance in visting a hot zone.
Rating:
Summary: The most suspensful book I've ever read!
Review: This book is the most bone chilling and suspenseful book that I have ever read! It made me wonder what was coming up next in the next chapter every time I'd read it. This book was also very bone chilling in that with all of the grusome details of what the viruses did to the victims. I would give my full recomendation for this book, once again this was the best book that I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: A review Of "The Hot Zone"
Review: "The Hot Zone" By Richard Preston, I found to be a Mediocre novel, parts of it were very interesting, and other parts of it was just plain boring, it was graphic in it's descriptions of the Ebola disease. Which can contribute to some wonderful writing, but then again it can also make one sick as they are reading it. I liked this novel at certain points when it was making sense. And I also did not like it when it brought up points that had nothing to do with the Ebola Virus, the Military, the CDC and the certain characters in the novel. So overall I give it a C.
Rating: 
Summary: Misleading and Uneventful!
Review: I was talking recently with one of my friends about books. I told him that I was in a rut and that I needed something fresh and different to read. Without hesitating he handed me a copy of Richard Preston's The Hot Zone. I looked it over and noticed that one of my favorite authors had endorsed it. That was intriguing. My friend told me to read the back cover. After just a few lines I was hooked. "Okay, this definitely has my interest, tell me more." He then told me about how he could not finish the book because it was so graphic. That was the clincher, so I bought it and started reading it that night. I thought I was in for a grand adventure. Let me save you some valuable reading time. This one, like the Ebola virus, should be avoided at all costs. Nothing happens! I kept reading and reading hoping something would happen and nothing did. I found myself breaking all kinds of speed reading records trying to finish it. It is hard for me to just lay down a book, even one I don't like. But I was tempted on this one. The author spent a great deal of the book describing ad nauseam these horrific effects of Marburg and Ebola. It was overkill. By the end I really had given up. I felt unsympathetic to these brave scientists. I did not like this book. Disappointing and uneventful, it left a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
| 
