My Favorite Reads: The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
by Jenners • 10/15/2009 • 4 Stars, H Titles, Non-Fiction, P Authors • 12 Comments
My Favorite Reads is hosted byAlyce at At Home With Books.
The idea is to write about some favorite books
that you read before you started blogging!
by Richard Preston
The Book Description
From the paperback edition: 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.
Why I Liked It
Two words that will scare the crap out you (literally) after reading this book: Ebola virus. I read this book when it first came out, and to this day thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach. The description of what the Ebola virus does to the body is just sickening and horrifying. The book provides a history of the virus (as well as some related viruses) and then documents a chilling moment when an incident at a Washington, D.C. laboratory almost led to the release of the virus into the United States.
I know many of you are doing the RIP Challenge and scaring yourselves silly with stories of ghosts and vampires and the like. But if you really want to stay up late at night, shaking with terror, then I recommend this book. Not only will you think twice about traveling to Africa (where so many of these viruses originate), but I doubt you can find writing as gruesome and frightening as Preston’s systematic analysis of how Ebola breaks down a body and causes it to bleed out.
This book absolutely fascinated and terrified me in the way that only true stories can. The “what ifs” raised in this book really get your imagination going, and I would venture to say that it reads as fast and quickly as any thriller out there.
My mind stores images that don't help me sleep at night if I read certain things. I think I better stay away from this one
Great review!
Please excuse me for not reading all this post – I got as far as 'scare the crap' and had to stop. With a very vivid imagination, I'm afraid it doesn't take much to scare me.
Yeesh! This one sounds freaky! Have you seen the film Outbreak? That one was about a virus, too, and it's uncontrollable spread. We watched it in high school biology, and I almost couldn't handle it. But this is a TRUE story, too…eek! Great pick.
My Favorite Reads pick this week is Elizabeth George Speare's classic Calico Captive.
I read this book and it scared the heck out of me! You are right about the descriptions of the Ebola virus…they are pretty hard to read and not feel sick yourself!
I'm not big on being scared, so this may not be for me.
I'm not big on horror but I do love this take on the genre. I'll have to give it a go. :O)
Wow, that does sound really scary! And I love the cover!
Ok, I am going immediately to PBS to put in a request for this one. I have been fascinated (in a horrified/terrified way) by the Ebola virus ever since I heard of it as a teenager. It's funny, but I can't stand Stephen King books, but I don't mind being scared silly by true stories.
I'm not sure my stomach is up for this one either. Why is it that humans love to scare themselves on purpose? I have never understood the lure but I have a hard time staying away from a mystery.
ok…should have read "I am NOT sure my stomach is strong enough…"
Oh, I am sure my stomach is strong enough for this one…and my stomach is pretty darn strong actually.
As a friend of mine loves to say "you can't make this shit up!", which is the case with this book. (Well, Stephen King might be able to come close.) Like you, this book scared the living hell out of me, but at the same time, I couldn't put the book down. It reminded me of when people have to slow down to look at an accident. Like you said, the descriptions of what Ebola does to a body is…almost unspeakable.