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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Vomit, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Excrement
I first read this book in high school, and, because West Africa is currently experiencing an outbreak, I decided to revisit this book. That was the wrong idea.
If you actually want to learn about the virus and attempts to treat it, the Centers for Disease Control (whom Preston characterizes as sloppy fools) and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders are fantastic resources. In fact, when I read the book over ten years ago, I turned to those two organizations to supplement what little I learned from Preston.
If you'd rather learn about the real estate in Virginia, the water beds of USAMRIID employees, and which blonde private is remarkably beautiful, by all means, read The Hot Zone. Kudos to Preston for actually interviewing the people involved in the outbreak in Reston, Virginia, but I felt there were too many unnecessary details in his transcription, added to make the book more cinematic, for me to get anything substantive from it.
If you actually want to learn about the virus and attempts to treat it, the Centers for Disease Control (whom Preston characterizes as sloppy fools) and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders are fantastic resources. In fact, when I read the book over ten years ago, I turned to those two organizations to supplement what little I learned from Preston.
If you'd rather learn about the real estate in Virginia, the water beds of USAMRIID employees, and which blonde private is remarkably beautiful, by all means, read The Hot Zone. Kudos to Preston for actually interviewing the people involved in the outbreak in Reston, Virginia, but I felt there were too many unnecessary details in his transcription, added to make the book more cinematic, for me to get anything substantive from it.
Fascinating/Terrifying. Ebola is some scary s***. I love the style this was written in... it doesn't read like a science lesson, it reads like a thriller.
This book tells the story of the first Ebola outbreak in history. It is nonfiction, but it is written in the style of fiction, and I could not put it down. I was equal parts horrified and fascinated. Ebola is a brutal virus, and its effects on the human body are horrific. I learned so much from this book, and it indulged my slight tendency toward germaphobia. If you are even a little interested in infectious micro-organisms, give this one a go. Content Notes: Very graphic descriptions of the effects of ebola on the body, mentions of prostitutes as a way the virus might have spread, some curse words. Not recommended for youth or the squeamish.
dark
informative
slow-paced
"The earth is mounting an immune response against the human species. It is beginning to react to the human parasite. Nature has interesting ways of balancing itself."
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced