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The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Charles Monet was a loner..." (more)
Key Phrases: simian fever, biohazard operation, monkey workers, Kitum Cave, Gene Johnson, Mount Elgon (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (518 customer reviews)
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  Hardcover, December 31, 1993 $13.14 $13.14 $12.00
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  Mass Market Paperback, July 19, 1995 $7.99 $2.98 $0.01
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The dramatic and chilling story of an Ebola virus outbreak in a surburban Washington, D.C. laboratory, with descriptions of frightening historical epidemics of rare and lethal viruses. More hair-raising than anything Hollywood could think of, because it's all true. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Publishers Weekly

Preston's account of an outbreak of a strain of the Ebola virus among monkeys in a Virginia laboratory has spent more than 30 weeks on PW's bestseller list.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
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Product Details

More About the Author

Richard Preston
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Charles Monet was a loner. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
simian fever, biohazard operation, monkey workers, biological space suit, hot agent, loose monkey, decon team, last glove, staging room, monkey house, sick monkeys, monkey rooms, supply van, dead monkeys, monkey cells
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Kitum Cave, Gene Johnson, Mount Elgon, Dan Dalgard, Ebola Zaire, Peter Jahrling, Nancy Jaax, Fort Detrick, Jerry Jaax, Charles Monet, Nurse Mayinga, General Russell, Peter Cardinal, Bill Volt, Tom Geisbert, Lake Victoria, Leesburg Pike, Nairobi Hospital, Biosafety Level, Milton Frantig, United States, Ebola Reston, Land Rover, Ebola Sudan, East Africa
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Customer Reviews

518 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (518 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Tale of Horror, March 24, 2003
By Russell Diederich (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews
  
This review is from: The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story (Mass Market Paperback)
Richard Preston is not a horror novelist, but this will be one of the scariest stories you've ever read. The cause of all this terror is from little beasts that are only microns in size, filoviruses. "Hot Zone" discusses four of these viruses, Marburg, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Zaire, Ebola Reston. I first came across Preston in his New Yorker article, "Crisis in the Hot Zone" which is basically the cliff notes to this book. It piqued my interest and eventually led to me reading this book.

Everyone knows that they should be afraid of Ebola. The Zaire strand only kills 90% of those it infects, in just a matter of day, in the worst way imaginable. Filoviruses are hemorrhagic viruses, causing those unfortunate enough to be infected to crash and bleed out. Preston goes into grisly detail about how these viruses work, and the symptoms that occur in humans. He traces the history of these viruses from their discovery. These are just set up for his main topic, the discovery of Ebola in Washington D.C. A monkey house in Reston Virginia is full of dying monkeys that apparently are infected with Ebola. Preston tracks down the mystery behind this domestic infection.

This book does bring up an all-important point; we are only an airplane ride away from the outbreak of a pandemic. It is very possible that a highly contagious disease may break out and cover the earth in a matter of days leaving a large portion of the population dead, making the premise behind Stephen King's novel "The Stand" not so far fetched after all. These filoviruses are very interesting, and Preston reveals them in such a way that you want to know more about them. The only hint I have to offer is, to avoid Intern's Disease, don't read this when you have a cold.

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64 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Nonfiction Thriller, March 10, 2003
By Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)         
This review is from: The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story (Mass Market Paperback)
In THE HOT ZONE, Richard Preston has woven epidemiological fact with the terrifying true story of how a strain of the Ebola virus came to the United States. He details various outbreaks of hemorrhagic fevers, traces them to their possible origins, and provides a basic education about viral evolution and forensics, all couched in narratives that will keep you turning page after page. After you have read his graphic descriptions of what happens to people who contract the deadlier strains of Ebola, you will understand fully just how dangerous the Reston, Virginia incident could have been.

With its crisp language and pacing, THE HOT ZONE reads like an expert thriller novel, making its reality that much more horrifying. Not for the faint-hearted, this book will likely alter the way you view viruses and epidemics.

I highly recommend this book for a general adult readership. (Teenagers under 16 may not be able to handle the highly disturbing descriptions Preston provides.) If you haven't read this book before, you should, especially now in this time of bioterrorism and global travel.

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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Some Hot Stuff, August 12, 2002
By J. Reynolds (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story (Mass Market Paperback)
This was an interesting account of a biological incident at a monkey house near Washington DC, along with plenty of background information about the Marburg and Ebola viruses. I didn't mind the redundancy about which others have complained; the repetition of some of the information about viral functions prompted retention, along with stirring the imagination as to the effects of a killer virus.

After reading the book, I performed some web searches an found several sites advertising hiking excursions to Mt. Elgon's Kitum Cave in Africa, which is believed to be he home of the Ebola/Marburg strains, though it's presently unknown which animal is the natural host. Let me tell you, if you are sufficiently insane to visit Kitum Cave after reading The Hot Zone, then you are living proof of Darwin In Action.

I liked the author's analogy about fatal viruses, such as Ebola and HIV, acting at the Earth's own antibodies, protecting the environment from encroachment by humans in places where the Earth doesn't want humans to be fiddling with things. Invasions of the deep rain forests and encounters with fatal biological agents therein are warnings for humans to stay away.

Have everyone in your family read The Hot Zone, so that next time someone gets sick you will have all sorts of terminology to throw around the dinner table -- extreme amplification, crash-and-bleed-out and other delightful descriptions about the effects of disease on humans. Enjoy.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting
I read this as it was required for a course but ended up loving it.
Published 3 days ago by D. Defoe

5.0 out of 5 stars Gotta read this banned book!
I could not believe it when I saw this book among the banned books displayed in my state's university library. This book is not fiction. It was banned because it is scarey. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Suzanne LaPlante

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping beginning, almost gruesome in its details, a warning to all of the effects of these lethal killers
This is a frisson inducing tale of devastation - past and possible - that some of the deadliest, and yet simplest, viruses can wreak. Read more
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Who hasn't been frightened by the possibility of becoming infected with a virus? That being said we think of HIV or the Flu, though both dangerous in their own rights, we don't... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brian Hawkinson

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
I read this book when I was in highschool and have re-read it more than once since. I loved how the information was presented and the clear picture I got from descriptions(some... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jess

5.0 out of 5 stars A scary and prescient story--now more current than ever
This is not a new book. It was published in 1994 and describes events that took place between 1967 and 1993. Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. I. Uitto

4.0 out of 5 stars Good if not a little outdated.
Forgive me if I get some details mixed up, but it's been about two years since I've read this. However, I really enjoyed this book, and I was surprised I didn't review it earlier... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Marshmello Monster

5.0 out of 5 stars Preston is a prophet
Somehow I managed to overlook this book reading it now fifteen years after it's publication and a full twenty years after the ultimate Reston "event". Read more
Published 5 months ago by Just a guy in Oregon

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Book
I read this book in the fourth grade and every since it has been my favorite and Preston quickly became a favorite author. I have read all his books and this is my favorite. Read more
Published 5 months ago by A.W.

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, spell binding and true
The title of this review says it all. What a fascinating and chilling story. In the light of other diseases traveling the world it reinforces how lucky we have been so far... Read more
Published 6 months ago by The Stig

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