The Hot Zone : A Terrifying True Story

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Summary: I am now much more knowledgable on this subject
Review: Preston has written such a brilliant, informative book that even a novice on virology can become quite the expert. He writes in an intelligent style that takes much effort to understand, but once you catch on, it becomes genius. Each page contains a new horrific revelation, yet Preston's skill with words enables the reader to read on and ultimately this book becomes quite affecting. After you have finished you become much more knowledgeble on this subject and the author must be given credit for this.

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Summary: Interesting topic...horribly written
Review: R. Preston addresses the reader as if they are in grade school! Countless times in the book he overstates the obvious. ...The workers wore level 4 biohazard orange suits, they were called orange suits because they were orange...Gee thanks so much for that insight, I was confused about that. On countless other occasions he insults the reader with similar drivel! The topic was more sucinctly covered and therefore more interesting, in the Readers Digest summary. Do us a favor Mr. Preston, use your computer for games, surfing or counting your money but please do not use it for writing novels.

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Summary: A rash of deaths in 1976-1996, EBOLA, death in 2 to 21 days
Review: The Hot Zone is an excellent account of the horrifing symptoms of Ebola. Richard Preston excecuted the text with near perfection. Once you get started you can't put it down. I truely love this book.

Rating:
Summary: It was okay at best.
Review: I have been interested in the subject of viruses for quite a long time and I finally decided to read this book after much deliberation. It seemed to me, to almost be written for little kids. Yes, the things in this book are frightening and terrible, but the author trys to hype things up and scare the reader at many points in the book. I also found that many many MANY people who read this book, afterwards, think of themselves as some sort of authority on virology. I can not tell you how many people I have heard still referr to inclusion bodies as "bricks" or blocks or whatever the hell the guy called them. The story in itself is alright in itself--IF you didn't already know about Reston. In fact, about 2/3 of the book is on what happened in Virginia. If you know anything about Ebola Reston already it will be very boring. The biggest complaint I have is that after reading it, people will act like they know everything about it and will GLADLY make their own little web pages on "The Horrors of Ebola" quoting, of course from "The Hot Zone", which is really a scare book. I have even so much as seen a "Ebola is Cool!!!"(that's really the name) fan club. The word sick comes to mind. Go ahead and read this as long as you keep in mind that this is coming from the viewpoint of AUTHOR and not a scientist.

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Summary: Chilling Page-turner
Review: The book reads like popular horror fiction and had it not been technically accurate and all too real, it would still have been a great book. The insights into the thoughts of the major players do not distract from it's purpose, but rather add a needed human element to this gripping account of Ebola.

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Summary: The Subject Matter is Fascinating, BUT......
Review: Mr. Preston evidently felt that the average American won't read a book about science unless it reads like very light fiction. Instead of a character arising and going to work Preston would say something like "X arose, took off his silk pajamas and took a long, soothing shower. After putting on his new tan suit, he deliberated about what tie to wear, the red striped one or the one with orange amoebas on it. Going down the stairs he noted that the third step from the bottom still creaked, and he made a mental note to fix it this Saturday.....". Who cares? I read a lot of non-fiction, and it doesn't have to be reduced to a third grade level of pop writing for me to enjoy it. Narrative non-fiction is fine, and this book could have been entertainingly presented at about half its current length. It frustrated me no end to spend half of my time reading about meaningless trivia.

Rating:
Summary: Good detail...when it wasn't overkill
Review: The subject matter of this book is very interesting, however, some parts of the book dwell on a particular fact for way too long. Overall, I rated this book a 7 because I couldn't put the book down, but yet I think it needs some polishing.

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Summary: I'm a new fan of Preston.
Review: This was the most gruesome, horrifying, and suspenseful book I ever read. It was soooo real. I mean I could actually visualize the ebola virus eating its victims alive.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD GIVE IT 10
Review: VERY SCARY I WOUDN'T WANT TO GET THE VIRUS, IT FREAKS ME OUT

Rating:
Summary: Love it or hate it
Review: After reading the other reviews of this book, I see they tend to the extreme. 9-10 or 1-2. I guess this is a "love it or hate it" book. I myself loved it. The most frequent criticism of this work seems to be the gory nature of some of the descriptions. Well folks, like it or not, Ebola is a gory disease. This my friends is reality. I guess our opinions of this book are based on our expectations. I think many people who expected a sterile academic tome of the pathology of Ebola or it means of transmission, received instead, a graphical, realistic description of what Ebola is and what Ebola does. This IS Ebola. If you want to understand Ebola from a human standpoint, this is the book to do it. Other works on this subject can induce narcolepsy, The Hot Zone induces insomnia. This is the real thing folk, no whitewash, no incomprehensible 14 syllable medical terms. Just real people, and a very real, deady and deeply frightening disease. The author did an exceptional job of bringing an understanding of the very real threat of Ebola to all of us.