The Hot Zone : A Terrifying True Story

Rating:
Summary: If you just saw the movie, please read the book!!!
Review: This book was one of the most enthralling and terrifying books I have ever read. Once I started reading it was very difficult to find a good place to stop. The movie, Outbreak, while being a great movie did not do sufficient justice to Mr. Preston's book. I have read the book twice and I very seldom if ever do that. If you like science fact, do yourself a favor and check this one out; The Hot Zone.

Rating:
Summary: Chilling, frightening....true.
Review: This book is absolutely horrifying if you stop to think about it. Why? Simply because it's based in fact...it's not fiction. The writing style gives one a sense of detachment, like you're reading a newspaper, almost, until you get to the descriptions of what these "Super-viruses" can do to not only a single person, but an entire population. The outcome of what happened in Virginia from the outbreak in the monkey house could have been as horrifying as a nuclear war. We got lucky. Why didn't I rate it a ten? Well, the book still sits on the bookshelf after I read it a year ago...I don't think I want to delve back into that world just yet. It's simply too scary.

Rating:
Summary: A dud
Review: This is the non-fictional account of the discovery of and the cases involving four viruses - Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Reston, and Marburg. Although The Hot Zone's topic is quite interesting and thought-provoking, it is poorly written. Judging from Preston's credentials (including the American Institute of Physics Award, the AAAS-Westinghouse Award, the McDermott Award in the Arts from M.I.T., and regular contributions to The New Yorker,) it seems that he may very well be a talented author. Perhaps he wished to gain a larger audience with The Hot Zone and so devitalized his writing style to make it more accessible to the abundant mass-market, best-seller crowd. Whatever the case, The Hot Zone, with its simple sentences, detached phrases, and paltry vocabulary, is of mediocre caliber. However, the topic of newly-emerging Biosafety Level Four viruses is well worth investigating. There are plenty of other books to choose from, such as Laurie Garrett's extensive dissertation,The Coming Plague. Even Michael Crichton's prophetic tale of The Andromeda Strain accurately describes the general characterization of a Biosafety Level Four virus and is exceptionally better written than Preston's dud

Rating:
Summary: Buy This Book!
Review: This is a must buy book, no matter what subject you are interested in. If I were a high school or college instructor I would make this book mandatory reading for my classes. Maybe this true story of the Ebola virus will wake up our future generation's mindset and help guide the world in a better ecological direction.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read it after lunch
Review: Wait, let me look at that rating scale. 10 means worst, right? AHHH!!! It means best! Why in the world would I make it BEST??!?!?!?!?!?! I meant for it to be worst! I hate this book with a passion. Forst time, too! I usually love every book I read, but this is an exception. I must admit, it's good if you want to know some facts about viruses, but it is VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, (pant, pant) VERY, VERY, graphic! Don't read it after eating. Don't read it before eating. What the heck, don't read it at any time!! Thank you, and have a nice day. Bye bye now!

Rating:
Summary: A thrilling novel about the devastation of a deadly virus
Review: Hot Zone, is a truly magnificant piece of work. Written by a man who not only knew about the deadly virus but also was witness to the virus. The book is intriguing, while also sickly (not recommended for people with weak stomachs). If you like true stories, this is as true as you can get.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent story, OK writing.
Review: The story would be scary even if it weren't true, but given that many of these events happened in the US only makes it even more frightening. The writing is rigid, but conveys the cool, calculated mindset necessary when working with(or against) such malignant pathogens.

Rating:
Summary: First-rate thriller, nonfictional account of Ebola virus
Review: Riveting adventure about the hunt for Ebola and other lethal viruses from the '60s to the present, focusing on an outbreak right here in the U.S. This reads like a novel, but is a true story, highly educational as well. Anyone interested in epidemiology and the fight against disease should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Reads like a great thriller; unbelievably, it's all true!
Review: A very thorough a well written account of a shocking story.This book has it all, characters, suspense, and unbelievably, it's all true. After reading this, one realizes how precarious our existence is.

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.