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A review by baldmarlin
Crisis in the Red Zone by Richard Preston
5.0
Preston's book follows several first hand accounts of doctors, patients, experts, and government officials as they discover, fight, and stand up to Ebola in 2013-2014. I remember all the stories on the news about the crisis and the palpable fear everyone felt about the idea that it could spread outside of West Africa. The fact that it ravaged the nations along the Atlantic is not something to say "well at least it stayed over there." Thousands of people died. More are permanently traumatized by the disease. Richard Preston gave a voice to the people on the front lines in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. We heard of experiences from those who lived it.
The deaths of the humans featured in the book were incredibly and overwhelmingly sad, but the success stories and stories of those who lived to see the other side are encouraging. It's easy to say this is a virus I will be unlikely to have to deal with in my lifetime, but for so many people, that is not the case. As of July 2020, there is a global pandemic and I live in a country that continues to see rapid increases in cases, but the outcome of COVID-19 is nowhere near as deadly as Ebola. To compare the two would be a disservice to whose who perished in 2013-2014 (and, honestly, are dying today in the DRC). But the caution used for Ebola should be used for all epidemics and pandemics: stay away from other humans as much as possible if you're sick, wash your hands, and hope someone who loves you is going to care for you.
The deaths of the humans featured in the book were incredibly and overwhelmingly sad, but the success stories and stories of those who lived to see the other side are encouraging. It's easy to say this is a virus I will be unlikely to have to deal with in my lifetime, but for so many people, that is not the case. As of July 2020, there is a global pandemic and I live in a country that continues to see rapid increases in cases, but the outcome of COVID-19 is nowhere near as deadly as Ebola. To compare the two would be a disservice to whose who perished in 2013-2014 (and, honestly, are dying today in the DRC). But the caution used for Ebola should be used for all epidemics and pandemics: stay away from other humans as much as possible if you're sick, wash your hands, and hope someone who loves you is going to care for you.