The Hot Zone

A Terrifying True Story Dark Biology, #1

by Richard Preston

352 pages

English language

Published June 14, 1999 by Anchor.

ISBN:: 978-0-385-49522-6

(54 reviews)

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.

6 editions

Kathrin Passig reviewed The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (Dark Biology, #1)

Review of 'The Hot Zone' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Das Buch wird am Ende von "Treibland" erwähnt, darum wollte ich nur mal die Leseprobe ansehen. Danach wollte ich "nur noch das nach der Leseprobe" lesen und habe deshalb das Buch bei LibGen runtergeladen. Und schließlich habe ich es doch gekauft. Der Autor hat viele Eimer Drama und Virusmetaphern in den Text gekippt (deshalb nur drei Sterne), aber es war halt leider so spannend alles. Ich habe es mehr mit einem Stephen-King-Interesse an blood + gore gelesen als wegen der Virologie, aber bestimmt stand genau das schon im Buchexposé als Beschreibung der Zielgruppe. Vorher wusste ich nichts über Ebola und es hat mich auch nicht besonders interessiert, jetzt denke ich "wie kann einen das nicht interessieren". Mit diesem Ergebnis bin ich zufrieden, auch wenn es mit schmutzigen Mitteln erreicht wurde.

Molly Foust reviewed The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (Dark Biology, #1)

Review of 'The Hot Zone' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Such sensational writing! I found myself gleefully chuckling at some of the more outrageously graphic descriptions. Insides liquified in a bag of skin! Remote villages in war-torn Sudan, I absolutely loved reading about Ebola, although this was published over 20 years ago, and I think there is a vaccine for Ebola now, it is still a good yarn and we have not seen. What I found it hard to get past was the animal testing. For example, the wholesale slaughter of the "canaries" in Kitum Cave. I could not get desensitized to it. I wanted the virus to ravage humanity and avenge the monkeys and guinea pigs.
It is terrifying, as the other reviews said because you couldn't imagine a worse way to die. I was also alarmed with the tension between the Army and the CDC. A true epidemic, given the fumbling and the egos of the powers that …

Matthew Royal reviewed The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (Dark Biology, #1)

Review of 'The Hot Zone' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Dramatized version of what happened in the Ebola Reston event. Interesting to me, because I used to live and work around there. There is some good information in here about the symptoms of these sorts of viruses, but the line between what we know and we don't know isn't well-defined by this book. Mostly, it gives the context of a single event, and highlights the possible ways that the outbreak might have occurred, and how if we hadn't gotten lucky, there could have been a much more widespread infection due to bad containment.

There's a missed opportunity here to discuss health policies by the US military and the CDC -- what would happen if there were an outbreak? What steps could individuals and communities take in this situation? Weirdly, Preston says that humanity has "amplified" beyond its natural population size and that nature's immune system (of viruses) is fighting us …

state_electrician reviewed The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (Dark Biology, #1)

Review of 'The Hot Zone' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I have come to think that Ebola is a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

kholerik reviewed The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (Dark Biology, #1)

None

3 stars

I have come to think that Ebola is a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Jeremy Sadler reviewed The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (Dark Biology, #1)

Review of 'The Hot Zone' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It reads like a techno/medical thriller, but is the true story of the Marburg virus and its even more deadly relative, Ebola. I first read this book years ago, and remember how repulsed and frightened (and yet, unable to stop reading) I was. Just today I picked it up again and all those feelings returned.

Early in the book, the author points out thanks to modern aircraft, any virus outbreak is 24 hours from anywhere else in the world. The only small miracle (if you want to call it that) is that Ebola kills so quickly that seldom do people get that far...

Read this book. You'll never look at a monkey the same way again.