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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
Incredible story that leaves you wondering how so many people survived in the face of such a deadly virus. My 6th grade science teacher read us this story and it stuck with me so long, i am glad to have revisited it.
Terrifying. Exciting. Melodramatic. I couldn't put it down. Don't read this one during cold and flu season! I'm sure I'll never look at illness the same.
This is the best book I ever read for school. My teacher presented us with 3 options we each could choose any of the three, we had to read it over Christmas break, and ya know what, I didn't even mind! I probably would have read something like this for fun anyways. Right off the bat my teacher told me that I shouldn't read the book if I couldn't handle some somewhat disturbing imagery...that sealed the deal, I was in. And she was right, there was some pretty intense stuff in this book...I loved it! The Hot Zone was an amazing book, it was interesting and thrilling right from the beginning. Perhaps what made it most interesting and scary is that it actually happened. Seriously, great book. I'd pick it up and read it again if it wasn't a school copy I returned five years ago.
This was interesting, but rather over-dramatized in places.
fast-paced
With Ebola recently making headline news again, I thought that it might be a good idea to pick this book up to brush up on what makes it so terrifying. Published in 1994, The Hot Zone is a bit outdated in terms of recent cases and research, but it provides a very reader-friendly history of the virus’ origins, history, and deadly reach.
Essentially, the virus has a 90% death rate, has no cure, and it’s a HIDEOUSLY awful way to go, with blood leaking out of every orifice, your skin separating from your body underneath, testicles turning into purple grapefruits, swollen with blood, great bruise-y rashes breaking out all over your body, kidneys rotting away into toxic sludge, heart pumping blood inside itself, etc, etc, etc. While there are multiple strains - some more gruesome than others - it’s classified as a biosafety level 4 agent, and anyone who wants to come in contact with it must do so with at least 3 layers - one of which being a space suit.
Despite Ebola being so terrifying, and the history and handling of the virus seeming, initially, so dry, Richard Preston took an otherwise distant disease and brought it to life with his writing. Though it is a nonfictional account of several times Ebola was exposed to humanity, his writing made it read like fiction, making it an immensely interesting and addicting read (that I finished in a day)! The book not only delved deeper into the history and mannerisms of Ebola but also spent a large amount of time discussing an outbreak in a suburb of Washington, D.C., and the unique civilian and military players involved in its containment.
I am not very interested in science. While a lot of my friends in college studied medical things (and read and LOVED this book), I never had a huge desire to know about hyper-contagious things that I might potentially contract. Preston’s writing, however, brought this news blip to life, and I found myself enjoying it, despite my original hesitation.
I firmly believe that anyone interested in nonfiction would enjoy this book.
Essentially, the virus has a 90% death rate, has no cure, and it’s a HIDEOUSLY awful way to go, with blood leaking out of every orifice, your skin separating from your body underneath, testicles turning into purple grapefruits, swollen with blood, great bruise-y rashes breaking out all over your body, kidneys rotting away into toxic sludge, heart pumping blood inside itself, etc, etc, etc. While there are multiple strains - some more gruesome than others - it’s classified as a biosafety level 4 agent, and anyone who wants to come in contact with it must do so with at least 3 layers - one of which being a space suit.
Despite Ebola being so terrifying, and the history and handling of the virus seeming, initially, so dry, Richard Preston took an otherwise distant disease and brought it to life with his writing. Though it is a nonfictional account of several times Ebola was exposed to humanity, his writing made it read like fiction, making it an immensely interesting and addicting read (that I finished in a day)! The book not only delved deeper into the history and mannerisms of Ebola but also spent a large amount of time discussing an outbreak in a suburb of Washington, D.C., and the unique civilian and military players involved in its containment.
I am not very interested in science. While a lot of my friends in college studied medical things (and read and LOVED this book), I never had a huge desire to know about hyper-contagious things that I might potentially contract. Preston’s writing, however, brought this news blip to life, and I found myself enjoying it, despite my original hesitation.
I firmly believe that anyone interested in nonfiction would enjoy this book.
An excellent read. I wish it was a work of fiction. It's one the the scariest books I've ever read.
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Le bajo medio punto porque la última parte de la visita a la cueva sobraba, pero el libro me ha parecido fascinante.
Le bajo medio punto porque la última parte de la visita a la cueva sobraba, pero el libro me ha parecido fascinante.