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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
This was a re-read for me. It is just as scary the second time around. I was flying home and was on the pages where there is a comparison between the two Ebola viruses when a man on the plane passed out while trying to get to the restroom. That was a little freaky! The first chapter of this book is horrifying and I can't imagine an outbreak like what was described!
Fascinating! I was pulled completely into this book and learned so much. I was worried about reading a book about an infectious disease during our current health crisis but it made me grateful that we have such a low mortality rate with covid as compared to different strands of Ebola. I can see why the book is called a "thriller." I didn't want to stop listening to the book.
I found the ways that level 4 diseases are dealt with very interesting. The author did an amazing job making the science understandable. I really enjoy narrative non-fiction and appreciate the work that went into recreating this true story.
2020 Popsugar reading challenge #31 A Medical Thriller
I found the ways that level 4 diseases are dealt with very interesting. The author did an amazing job making the science understandable. I really enjoy narrative non-fiction and appreciate the work that went into recreating this true story.
2020 Popsugar reading challenge #31 A Medical Thriller
I am weirdly drawn to books about pandemics and viruses and diseases right now. . . Something like a "if you can't beat them, join them" or "knowledge is power" sort of mindset? In any case, I find it comforting to hear about how badly things can go wrong, but how people persevere and come out OK on the other side.
Preston writes this book as though it were fiction; it is very immediate and in the moment, but still very informative. I enjoyed listening to it, though it is so much like a novel that I had to keep reminding myself that everything he wrote about actually happened! Ebola is some chilling stuff.
Preston writes this book as though it were fiction; it is very immediate and in the moment, but still very informative. I enjoyed listening to it, though it is so much like a novel that I had to keep reminding myself that everything he wrote about actually happened! Ebola is some chilling stuff.
dark
reflective
fast-paced
It's a bit out of date but still really interesting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood
Very graphic descriptions of disease effects
what,,,,, and i say this with all due respect,,,, the fck
What a great read! Totally terrifying, and so well-written. This book is about the Ebola virus and some of the Americans who have worked to identify it and, at times, contain it. I did not understand just how horrible this virus was until I read the rather graphic account of what this virus does to its hosts. This book will make you want to seal off your home with duct tape and never go out again. Completely creepy. Scary. And it's a true story.
This book scared the s*it out of me, in many ways. First of all, the realization of how easy it is for a virus to get from point A to point B and to start growing and spreading. I mean, I knew that already, before I read this book, but still, reading how Ebola started spreading put it all into a different perspective. Second of all, Richard Preston doesn't shy away from getting a very detailed mental image of what the virus does to a body tattooed in your brain. I mean, holy cow, he spends page after page giving details of how the virus will liquefy the brain, internal organs, and the entire body. I wanted to jump in a bathtub full of bleach after reading this. It is kind of comforting to know that there are people who spend their days working in such a close proximity to such deadly agents (although, I can't help but wonder about their sanity or the lack of it). At the same time, as history has showed us time and time again, most of the outbreaks occurs due to a human error. Let's hope that none of those humans at will make that error. Oh, and let's hope that the next flight I will be on won't have a passenger transporting a sample of Ebola sample in his carry on bag.
Read this many, many years ago. It was the first book about viruses I'd read other than the Andromeda Strain. It had a really profound effect on me. It's one of those books that I can still remember details of 20 years later. Shame the show was so poor, I was really looking forward to it.
A narrative book about the history of Ebola and the times that it has threatened Americans. Although this is not everyone's cup of tea, the book focuses on the people whose job it is to understand this virus and protect the world against it.