Product Description
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 theappearance 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.From the Paperback edition.

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.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 516 reviews)

Gripping beginning, almost gruesome in its details, a warning to all of the effects of these lethal killers by Abhinav Agarwal (Bangalore, India)

5 Stars
November 03, 2009
This is a frisson inducing tale of devastation - past and possible - that some of the deadliest, and yet simplest, viruses can wreak. Written like a sophisticated bio-sci-fi horror-thriller, except it is based on true events. Terrifying and fast-paced beginning, and then settles into a more measured and slower pace. While the author states that the "book describes events between 1967 and 1993", the two main events of interest described, take place in Kenya in 1980 and in the weeks following Thanksgiving Weekend in the US in 1989. The book starts out by describing the case of Charles Monet in western Kenya who was infected with the Marburg virus, and the horrifying and hard-to-believe effects of the virus on Monet. Some pages later, the book moves to the US, where the "decon" mission - to decontaminate the facility of the virus took place, "... the first major bio-hazard mission the world ever knew... ", is described as it happened over the course of several days. From the identification of the virus, the coordination and the political tensions between the US Army and the CDC, to the mobilization of the troops and materials, to the actual operation - are all described in detail. "For a short while, the Reston Primate Quarantine Unit was the only building in the world where nothing lived, nothing at all." [page 271] Sometimes, however, the description reads a bit like a screenplay. Which in itself is not bad, except that it does tend to distract your attention, away from the plot. The end is almost reassuringly calm, and almost makes you feel that the world is safe again. But it is not, as the author points out. The fact that the Ebola Reston strain has infected people and yet not made them sick is only the result of a possibly beneficial mutation of the virus. If it were to mutate in some other malevolent way, the consequences could be devastating for the world human population. Given the speed with which diseases can be spread from one corner to the world to the other, one has to assume it is only a matter of time before some as-yet unknown mass-killer pathogen makes it appearance. The author does speculate that humans may, unsurprisingly, be to partly blame for the emergence of these mass-killers. "The emergence of AIDS, Ebola, and any number of other rainforest agents appears to be a natural consequence of the ruin of the tropical biosphere. ... The tropical rain forests are the deep reservoirs of life on the planet, containing most of the world's plant and animal species. The rain forests are also its largest reservoirs of viruses, since all living things carry viruses. ... In a sense, the earth is mounting an immune response against the human species. It is beginning to react to the human parasite, the flooding infection of people, the dead spots of concrete all over the planet... Or it could be said that the extreme amplification of the human race, which has occurred only in the past hundred years or so, has suddenly produced a very large quantity of meat, which is sitting everywhere in the biosphere and may not be able to defend itself against a life form that might want to consume it." [pages 310, 311] We are given a good indication of not only the horrifying effects of these viruses, but also their lethality: ------ "The kill rate of Marburg turned out to be one in four, which makes Marburg an extremely lethal agent. ... By contrast, yellow fever, which is considered a highly lethal virus, kills only about one in twenty patients once they reach a hospital." [page 27, 28] ------ "... the virus killed nine out of ten people it infected. ... The Ebola virus particle contains only seven different proteins - seven distinct types of large molecules arranged in a long braided structure that is the stringy Ebola particle. Three of these proteins are vaguely understood, and four of the proteins are completely unknown - their structure and their function is a mystery. ... Ebola does in ten days what it takes AIDS ten years to accomplish." [pages 49, 50] ------ "To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax." [page 47] The first part is by far the scariest, and written with a cold and terrifying eye for the gruesome detail. Read this paragraph below from the book only with a strong PG warning: ------ "During this process, the body is partly transformed into virus particles. In other words, the host is possessed by a life form that is attempting to convert the host into itself. The transformation is not entirely successful, however, and the end result is a great deal of liquefying flesh mixed with virus... His blood is clotting up - his bloodstream is throwing clots, and the clots are lodging everywhere. His liver, kidneys, lungs, hands, feet and head are becoming jammed with blood clots. Clots are accumulating in his intestinal muscles, cutting off the blood supply to his intestines. The intestinal muscles are beginning to to die, and the intestines are to go slack. He doesn't seem to be fully aware of pain any longer because the blood clots lodged in his brain are cutting off blood flow. His personality is being wiped away by brain damage. ... Tiny spots in his brain are liquefying. ... He leans over, head on his knees, and brings up an incredible quantity of blood from his stomach and spills it onto the floor with a gasping groan. ... The only sound is a choking in his throat as he continues to vomit blood and black matter while unconscious. Then comes a sound like a bedsheet being torn in half, which is the sound of his bowels opening and venting blood from the anus. The blood is mixed with intestinal lining. He has sloughed his gut." [pages 14-18]

A Horrifying Look Into the Lethality of Viruses by Brian Hawkinson (San Jose, CA)

5 Stars
October 13, 2009
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 really imagine coming in contact with such a nasty virus as Ebola or Marburg. The Hot Zone brings these fears to life in a chilling way, bringing home the severity and possibility of an outbreak on US soil. The books first half is the more chilling halves of the book. In it Preston relates several cases of Marburg and Ebola cases. You can't help but cringe at the chilling detail as Preston relates how your internal organs turn to liquid and blood pours out of your every opening, even out of your pores, ultimately culminating and a hot mess, literally. The lethality of these viruses is frightening, but was even more frightening was seeing how someone exhibiting such alarming conditions was not treated with more caution, most notably the first example, the Marburg victim. To see a doctor immerse himself, literally, in the victims blood without gloves or protective eye wear and other safety precautions simply amazes me. Granted, we are a bit more informed now, but still. That was what was the scariest part for me. Or how about the victim getting on an airplane and flying to another hospital with nobody taking note of his condition? Anyway, the latter half of the book takes on the Reston outbreak that put everyone on alert. This, to me, was rather anticlimactic. Not to say that I want death and that I wanted to read about another human fatality, but it doesn't compare with the first half when all you have is a bunch of infected monkeys. That being said I can't even imagine the feeling of knowingly walking in to a hot building, literally and figuratively, knowing that you are there to put to death 1,000s of monkeys with the possibility that you would become infected by the slightest tear in your suit. The anxiety must have been staggering. Spoiler Alert... I was truly shocked to see that some of the workers became infected with the Ebola virus and came down with no symptoms, in fact the virus disappeared all on its own. To say we dodged a bullet is putting it lightly. I would recommend this to everyone. It is a page turner as you continually want to see what is going on, to see what lives in this world and what it could do to humans. The majority of the population is completely unaware to the dangers that practically around the corner. Incidentally, I also rented Outbreak and And The Band Played On and found both to be very insightful. 4.5 stars.

Great Book! by Jess (Minnesota)

5 Stars
August 18, 2009
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 not so pretty!)without it being overly wordy. This is not normally the kind of book that interests me but I really enjoyed this book.

A scary and prescient story--now more current than ever by J. I. Uitto (Brooklyn, NY, USA)

5 Stars
August 09, 2009
This is not a new book. It was published in 1994 and describes events that took place between 1967 and 1993. I was vaguely aware of the book and picked it up when I happened upon it while browsing through my father's bookshelf. It couldn't be more timely now that concerns about various exotic viruses-bird flu, swine flu etc.-are such a current concern. The book traces deadly viruses-Marburg and a number of varieties of Ebola-to their origins in the tropical rain forest region in Central Africa and a place called Kitum Cave high on Mount Elgon in northern Kenya. It describes a 1989 Ebola outbreak amongst monkeys imported from the Philippines for research purposes in Reston, Virginia, just outside of the United States capital. The outbreak was a close call and resulted in a full mobilization of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases as well as the Centers for Disease Control and other civilian authorities who managed to keep the dicey situation largely under wraps. Four workers in the monkey house were infected, but luckily this particular previously unknown variety of Ebola did not cause serious harm to humans, although it burned quickly through the monkeys wiping out the entire population. "Did we dodge a bullet?" asks the author RIchard Preston. "I don't think we did. The bullet hit us. We were just lucky that the bullet we took was a rubber bullet from a twenty-two rather than a dumdum bullet from a forty-five," responds Peter Jahrling, the Army's top scientist, adding that he fears that this incident could induce false confidence. Richard Preston links the rise of these exotic viruses-including HIV-to the human-induced ruin of the tropical biosphere. As larger and larger numbers of people encroach into the forests and come into closer contact-through hunting, eating, etc.-with more and more animals, which all carry viruses, the chances of human outbreaks have increased exponentially. He convincingly posits that the paving of the Kinshasa Highway that crosses Africa from west coast to the east in the 1970s and 1980s was one of the most determining acts influencing human future, as the paving of the road allowed for the rapid movement of people-and consequently viruses like HIV, which spread mostly through long-haul truckers via prostitutes along the highway-between the formerly isolated rain forest areas and the rest of Africa and the world. He speculates that the "earth is mounting an immune response against the human species. It is starting to react to the human parasite, the flooding infection of people, the dead spots of concrete all over the planet, the cancerous rot-outs in Europe, Japan, and the United States, thick with replicating primates, the colonies enlarging and spreading and threatening to shock the biosphere with mass extinctions." This ecological analogy harking back to the Gaia hypothesis is attractive. What Preston does not say explicitly-but what is evident from his description of the events-is that the spread of these viruses is inextricably linked to human greed. The monkey suppliers from Uganda to the Philippines want to hide the diseases in their monkey colonies set for export; the inspectors and customs agents are easily bribed; the private companies in the USA and elsewhere do not want to cull their valuable specimens despite evidence of clear danger. A similar conclusion could be deduced from another book-A Primate's Memoir by Robert Sapolsky-that I read recently. There, in Kenya, a major tuberculosis outbreak in the baboon colony could be traced back to a game lodge that was serving contaminated meat bought from the local Masai at discount prices as their cows were getting sick. It is complete fiction-in this context and much more widely-that the private sector would regulate itself! Apart from the important and scary topic and thorough research, Richard Preston writes absolutely beautifully. He never exaggerates, but creates an enormous tension by just writing the facts. The first chapter, Something in the Forest, is so intense and suspenseful that it is impossible to put the book down. Moreover, his descriptions of the African nature, the drive through the Rift Valley and up the slopes of Mount Elgon, the smells of charcoal smoke, the approaching thunder, etc., are incredibly evocative.

Good if not a little outdated. by Marshmello Monster

4 Stars
August 05, 2009
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. The Hot Zone is basically the biography of a virus. That's really the best way to sum it up. In particular the author writes about Ebola; the early days of the virus, the different forms it takes, and goes a lot into the research of the disease origins. As a biological anthropology student (now graduated), I picked it up on the suggestion of one my classmates in my Disease and Culture class. It's billed as a non-fiction book written like a suspense novel... and yes, it is. You don't have to be studying disease, or know a lot about biology, to enjoy this book. It is very informative, but written for everyone. If you have read The Andromeda Strain and enjoyed it, you will enjoy this book too (I think this one is actually better). The downside for me is that it sacrifices a bit of reason for the sake of drama. I realize that this book is pretty old, and maybe some of this has to do with knowledge of the Ebola virus not being as good at the time of publication as it is now. For example, Ebola does not spread as easily as the book would have you believe. Unlike what the book tries to express, there are no proven cases of any strain of Ebola *in humans* spreading through the air. The example of this happening in the book was more likely a case of poor hygiene practices in African hospitals (and hospital workers not being entirely truthful about their handling of patients). Also, the book was published before other strains of the virus were discovered, so there is no longer just three or four strains (I don't remember the exact number in the book, but I think it was four). There are quit a bit more. Not a big deal, I just wanted to point that out. And the author really likes to go into gory graphic detail about patients bleeding out through every orifice and pores, and generally becoming "liquefied" from the inside out, but what it skips over is the fact that this side effect that Ebola has become known for is actually not typical and only happens in a small fraction of cases. Whatever. The point is that the book is close to crossing the line between "thriller" into "scare tactic", and for something that is meant to be non-fiction, I kind of wished the author would present a more level headed look at what is, on it's own, a very fascinating virus family. A more realistic book would let you know that just due to the nature of disease evolution, Ebola is never likely to become a global pandemic. Human virus' typically become less deadly over time, not more deadly as the book would have you believe. Ebola has been well established in Africa for some time, and the likely hood of it wiping vast chunks of the human race at this point is extremely small (unlike what the book would have you believe). Still, it is really entertaining, and (if taken with a grain of salt and knowledge that the book is fairly outdated) really informative. It's definitely worth the time it takes to read.

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