The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

Richard Preston

Mar 2012 · Sold by Anchor

About this ebook

The bestselling landmark account of the first emergence of the Ebola virus.

Now a mini-series drama starring Julianna Margulies, Topher Grace, Liam Cunningham, James D'Arcy, and Noah Emmerich on National Geographic.

A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.

Ratings and reviews

This book was written several years before the 2014 outbreak and does not reflect any of the research and knowledge gained in that time. Even when it was current, this book failed to deliver on its own subtitle: the origin of the virus is not revealed and the author's comically bad research does nothing to forward the reader's knowledge. It's sensational reporting designed to sell rather than educate.

First off, this is an older book. Published about 1994, so its a little dated. It was before the time of Ebola outbreak in 2014, when a lot of people hadn't even heard of the virus yet. This book gives a summary of the then Reston Outbreak in Reston VA. It can get a little gory at times, but overall it's a solid read and can prove that truth is better (and scarier) than fiction. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in epidemiology or science.

Very interesting and well written story. Author does an excellent job of explaining highly technical concepts , and combining them with good storytelling. Definitely worth the time to read, which will not be long since the pace is quick.

About the author

Richard Preston is the author of several books, most recently The Cobra Event. He is a regular contribuot to The New Yorker. He has also won the AAAS-Westinghouse Award and the McDermott Award in the Arts from MIT.