The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story

books:


	• The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story Richard Preston Anchor, 1999 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 480 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Incredible

Absolutely terrifying! I picked this book up and never wanted to put it down. If you liked the Cobra Event you will love this. I highly recommend it.

Excellent Service

I got my package in a timely manner and it was in excellent condition. Thank you.

for more information click here

Better than fiction!

This book is more riviting that most novels I have read. Sometimes it takes me months to get through a book, because I keep falling asleep, even though I might like the story overall, but not with this book; I could hardly put it down. I read it in a matter of days. I will re-read it again and have ordered several more of the books by this author, as well as several by other authors on the similar subjects. I believe in being informed. If you want to know what all the hype in the press about bird flu and other plagues is about, then read this book.

for more information click here

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story

Great CD/Book. Easy to read and keeps you wanting more. I highly recommend it to anyone into the little bugs that can be set free and kill you dead...

A Preview of 9/11 and Katrina

It's Thanksgiving1989 and a virus appears in the Washington suburbs that could potentially kill 200 million Americans in a few weeks. How would the government respond?

The Hot Zone is based on this very true event. The Ebola virus, over 100 times deadlier than AIDS, was discovered killing dozens of monkeys in Reston Virginia. With stakes this high, one would think the government would be on highest alert. It would error on the side of caution, move rapidly, and try to control the situation at any cost.

Unfortunately, the response was similar to 9/11 and Katrina

1. A private company allowed monkeys to die for five weeks before the government was alerted
2. It took two weeks for the government scientists to fully investigate the virus
3. It took another 8 days to destroy the monkeys and two more weeks to clean the building
4. Nobody told the President or any cabinet member about the potential danger
5. Agencies feuded with each over who had what authority and withheld information from each other
6. The private company was able to block access to the affected site
7. Agencies worried about being lawsuits and legal liability
8. Discussions were frequently about whose budget would pay for the clean-up
9. Agencies were more concerned about avoiding a panic than containing an epidemic so they left children play in the area rather than evacuating nearby residents and left persons exposed to the virus travel freely through the area rather than isolating them

The story begins by describing people in 1970's and 1980's Africa who were infected with deadly viruses like Marburg and Ebola. The details of the diseases are ghastly with all the organs in the human body disintegrating while the person is still alive.

In that era, infected people were not isolated. They routinely visited hospitals, flew in airplanes, and circulated among the general urban population. This gave viruses the chance to spread worldwide.

The second part of the book tells how serious the government treats these viruses. In the 1980's, the US military worked on trying to develop antidotes. Preston interviewed many of the courageous persons who participated in this research. He describes in great detail the extraordinary precautions used to protect those who work with the viruses.

Four persons showed signs of infection from the Reston contamination. Fortunately, this strain did not cause death in humans and did not spread. In the future we may not be so lucky.

Preston's research is thorough. His narrative form tells a compelling and entertaining story about the threats we face from emerging diseases.

In the future, let's hope our government can manage potential large scale emergencies better than it did with Ebola Reston, 9/11, or Katrina.

for more information click here

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

Mrs. King's Biology I Honors & Int. Sci. II Reading List
Interesting natural disasters
EBOLA AND OTHER CREEPY THINGS
Non-fiction Page Turners
Favorite Adult Books

search for books
a terrifying true, hot, story, terrifying, true, zone

Impressum / about us