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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
This book is really good and will make you feel fascinated about the virus world. It is my second time around and I enjoyed it even more. Coincidentally, just as I was reading it this second time an Ebola outbreak started in Liberia and Guinea.
I've been complementing my read with current Ebola news and a little research on my own so this has been really enjoyable and interesting. The book itself is very good and the reason I don't give it 5 starts is because I found it to be a little slow at times and had me lose a little of that "can't wait to get home from work to read" feeling in some parts. I felt some character side stories were completely irrelevant and I would've focused a little bit more on the Ebola Reston patients like they did with the Marburg, Ebola Zaire and Ebola Sudan patient stories.
Apart from this, I highly recommend this book! Will have you researching and reading more about the subject.
I've been complementing my read with current Ebola news and a little research on my own so this has been really enjoyable and interesting. The book itself is very good and the reason I don't give it 5 starts is because I found it to be a little slow at times and had me lose a little of that "can't wait to get home from work to read" feeling in some parts. I felt some character side stories were completely irrelevant and I would've focused a little bit more on the Ebola Reston patients like they did with the Marburg, Ebola Zaire and Ebola Sudan patient stories.
Apart from this, I highly recommend this book! Will have you researching and reading more about the subject.
DNF @ 11%. This book is mostly been just horrific descriptions of a horrific disease. I can't read anymore.
This was OK. It was interesting information about tracking the emergence of ebola out of Africa. It was an odd examination of a strain of ebola that presented in a monkey house near Washington DC, that infected 4 people but none of them got sick.
It was an odd book. Somewhat over sensationalized in terms of THE HORROR. Don't get me wrong - ebola is a terrible disease and a horrifying way to die. But this book was like a strange after school special about how bad it COULD BE here in the States. Perhaps it's because it was written 20 years ago and the style of writing is out of date.
It was interesting to read an account of what happens to a body once it breaks with the ebola disease. Of everything I read, this is probably the most useful just in terms of creating great sympathy in me for the people who are infected and die of this disease. But will I read this again? No. It's not that good.
It was an odd book. Somewhat over sensationalized in terms of THE HORROR. Don't get me wrong - ebola is a terrible disease and a horrifying way to die. But this book was like a strange after school special about how bad it COULD BE here in the States. Perhaps it's because it was written 20 years ago and the style of writing is out of date.
It was interesting to read an account of what happens to a body once it breaks with the ebola disease. Of everything I read, this is probably the most useful just in terms of creating great sympathy in me for the people who are infected and die of this disease. But will I read this again? No. It's not that good.
Terrifying, but also illuminating view on viruses, how they work, and maybe why deadly Level 4 viruses exist and mutate.
VERY good. Reads like a thriller, except it's all true
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
I am now, officially, a huge fan of Richard Preston.
I made the mistake of starting this book during finals week. I would ave liked to take a long weekend to delve into it. It still turned out to be an awesome epic, true-story, and tale of viruses that scare the shit out of me.
I don't like germs, but this book made me whip out the hand sanitizer more than usual. It also helped to add fuel to my general dislke for monkeys, as well.
Brava, Mr. Preston
I made the mistake of starting this book during finals week. I would ave liked to take a long weekend to delve into it. It still turned out to be an awesome epic, true-story, and tale of viruses that scare the shit out of me.
I don't like germs, but this book made me whip out the hand sanitizer more than usual. It also helped to add fuel to my general dislke for monkeys, as well.
Brava, Mr. Preston
I learned a lot! I was thinking about being a veterinarian that specialized in virus until I read this (I will stay with reproduction).
Update: since first writing a review for this book, I've learned that Richard Preston over dramatized the horrors of Ebola. Patients don't usually "bleed out" as he describes. I've also had time to think about the book's overly dramatic back cover description and how much that annoyed me. I still really enjoyed the book, but I do hate finishing a book only to find out that the author deceived me in some way. So far, I'm finding that David Quammen's Spillover is a much more accurate portrayal of Ebola.
Absolutely terrifying and really hard to put down. The Ebola virus is more fascinating and horrifying than I realized. If graphic descriptions make you sick, then don't read this book.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was the last chapter. It's not that it was bad; it was just unnecessary and felt anticlimactic after that fast paced story.
Absolutely terrifying and really hard to put down. The Ebola virus is more fascinating and horrifying than I realized. If graphic descriptions make you sick, then don't read this book.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was the last chapter. It's not that it was bad; it was just unnecessary and felt anticlimactic after that fast paced story.