A review by dreamofbookspines
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

medium-paced

3.5

Gross enough that I probably won't read it again, but it was super interesting. My search history looks like hell after looking up a lot of the viral crises and areas Preston talks about. I read this initially around 1999 and remember as a kid (I was 13 or 14 that year) being terrified of ebola. Re-reading this certainly clarified why! I don't remember knowing it was nonfiction as a kid though...🤔

I was frustrated that Preston exaggerated what ebola does to the human body though. It does not liquify your insides. Yes, it has awful symptoms, but not that. Why go so nuts with a very real and terrifying disease? Also he used enough passive voice that I thought it worth noting.

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