The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus Mass Market Paperback – July 20, 1995

I read The Hot Zone several years ago, and it still haunts me. This book is the definition of “truth is scarier than fiction”—a gripping, real-life thriller about the emergence of deadly viruses and how close we’ve come to catastrophe. Richard Preston masterfully details the horrifying outbreak of the Ebola virus and the near-disaster in a lab just outside Washington, D.C., making this read feel like a high-stakes thriller rather than nonfiction.The tension in this book is unreal. From the first pages, the level of detail and the sheer speed at which the virus spreads make for an incredibly stressful reading experience (in the best way possible). Preston doesn’t just explore the science—he brings the people involved to life, from scientists risking exposure to military teams trying to contain the outbreak. It’s intense, fast-paced, and downright chilling.Beyond the suspense, The Hot Zone is deeply thought-provoking. It makes you rethink how vulnerable we are to emerging diseases and just how thin the line is between safety and disaster. If you’re into medical thrillers, real-world horror, or just love a book that keeps you up at night, this is absolutely worth reading.

After only 15 pages I had to suppress a primal urge to throw the book far away, as if the book itself was infected and contagious with the virus described within, but at the same time I could resist continuing to read. I thought descriptions and reviews praising the intensity of this book were exaggerating, but I can confirm that if anything they were holding back.

It is 1979 and a virus kills Charles Monet, a French citizen living in Kenya. It is believed he contracted it on trip to Mount Elgon, Kitum Cave in southern Sudan. Characterized by black vomit, red spots that turn purple, blood coming from all orifices, intestinal muscles die and go slack, blood clots in the brain and elsewhere, dizziness, convulsions followed by the loss of consciousness.The virus then travelled to Germany (where it was identified as a sort of rabies but more) through the transportation of monkeys from the Lake Victoria area of Central Africa. It was named the Marburg virus for the city in Germany where it first infected a man named Klaus. It was later learned what they called Marburg was a form of Ebola.In 1983 at USAMRIID, U.S. Army pathologist Major Nancy Jaax gets assigned to work with this now known Level 4 hot virus, EBOLA. (Named EBOLA for the river of the same name.) There was no known vaccine and no cure. Nine out of ten infections were fatal. A Dr. Johnson will work with her. USA Research Institute of Infectious DiseasesEbola is made up of 7 different proteins we know little about. They target the immune system and attack rendering the infected person incapable of fighting it. Some saw it as measle-like (the rash), rabies-like (the psychosis and madness) with pneumonia and influenza similarities all rolled into one. At the time, Ebola couldn't seem to tell the difference between monkeys and humans as it jumped between them. Others were getting infected from the fluids but also in handling cadavers.There was quite an extensive protocol for Nancy to follow before engaging in any Level 4 hot virus cadaver work including the putting on of a space suit. You may not want to continue beyond this point as the author describes in great detail the pathology work with infected lab animals. It gets a bit graphic.The individual infection of a most quiet Mr. Yu G that spread quite widely in Sudan through direct contact and through hospital ineptness in the 1970's. It eventually died out. Theory had it that Ebola Sudan was so hot, people died before it could spread.Mid 70's- Ebola Zaire appeared. It was believed to come from Ebola infected person(s) however hospitals were using 5 needles per day to vaccinate hundreds of individuals each, thus spreading it. The virus erupted in 55 different villages.Mid 1980's a young boy they called Peter Cardinal to disguise his real identity, contracted and died of Ebola after a visit to Kitum Cave. The cave is finally closed to the public. Later an expedition of various scientists went to the cave to collect samples of insects, bats, rodents, etc. Nothing was detected.Hazelton Research products was importing crab-eating monkeys. Soon they were dubbed The Monkey House in Reston, Virginia. Monkeys arrived from the Philippines and were dying left and right. Nancy and her husband get involved along with others. Much work is done here to identify the cause of so many deaths. It turned out to be another strain of Ebola. Imagine the mayhem that erupts when one of the monkeys escapes and they realize the virus was spreading via air. Very scary! The CDC finally slaps some restrictions on monkey importers.So how did these monkeys from the Philippines get an African virus? Wealthy Philippine families at the time were importing wild African animals, releasing them into the Philippine jungle and hunting them. That's how!An expedition heads back to Kutum Cave...The cave could hold two thousand elephants. Elephants enter the cave to eat salt. The book seems to end with another expedition into the cave to collect samples.An interesting historical recollection of some of the first cases of Ebola. I am thankful for all the people, military and civilians, that braved the research risks in order to understand firstly what this was. At the end of this writing, there still was no real remedy. Today, in the U.S. and some African nations, we have found ways to contain it. Some have not; Liberia, Sierra Leon and Guinea. We have some centers in the U.S. able to work with it but we still have a long way to go. If you are interested in the origin of Ebola, give this book a try. It is written in story-telling form. It does not read like a textbook or even typical non-fiction. While it is a frightening topic, the writing is very well done.

The book came in good condition and in a timely manner:)

y Review and Thoughts:This is truly a mind altering book that leaves you scared crap-less in so many horrifying, real life ways. This book showcases the brutal reality of this horrible virus that is more killer than anything else. This is the real life monster living somewhere out there ready to attack in waves of pure painful death that is graphic, disturbing and most of all a ravaging beast inside your own body.This book left me breathless and utterly disturbed. This is possibly one of the best books ever written on a virus. Richard Preston gave a voice to this beast of destruction. He allows you to understand and grasp the horror of this virus. In vivid detail he recounts the moments of infection, key figures who came down with the virus. The exploration of this virus in all its horrifying, painful moments that lead victim after victim to death. A death that is both painful and described in this book in brutal means.This book details total fear. This book showcases the truth of this virus in all its fascinating brutality. Dreadful in the thought that it lingers out there waiting.I think what stands out with this book is Richard gives a human side to this horror. He allows those who put their lives on the line to be expressed throughout this reality of carnage, fear and the not known. From human fear to science and medical clarity, Richard expresses an honest undertaking that often leaves you the reader in a state of shock, and amazement that allows you to be a part of the procedure.I felt as if I was there inside the blood drenched walls. I felt the breathing inside the respiratory mask, and sweated inside the protective bio-suits. I felt the squeals of the infected monkeys. I felt the darkness, and cringe inducing reality of the unexplored caves of Kitum Cave. I felt the pathway of the deadly pathogen as it slowly moved throughout the bodies of its ultimate victims. I felt as if I got to know brave hero’s like Nancy Jaax, Jerry Jaax, Tom Geisbert, Dan Dalgard, C.J. Peters, Gene Johnson, Peter Jarling, and all those others who fought against it, sought it out to understand it, and for those who expressed a bravery to face it head-on, which I could never do.Utterly fascinating, shocking, brutal and filled with a massive dose of pure learning education on a scary as hell topic, and true monster.Would I Return to it Again: Absolutely. I think this should be required reading for science or medical classes or even College History lessons. A wonderful exploration of this horrifying killer that you can’t even see coming.Would I Recommend: In a heartbeat. This should be read and expressed in all its brutal understanding and exploration of this virus.My Rating: 5 out of 5Four Words: Scary, Well-Researched, Informative. Nightmarish.I’ll leave you with this extraordinary statement from Richard Preston in the book:Page 406-407AIDS…. Marburg. Ebola Sudan. Ebola Zaire. Ebola Reston….“In a sense, the earth is mounting an immune response against the human species. It is beginning to react to the human parasite, the flooding infection of people, the dead spots of concrete all over the planet, the cancerous rot-outs in Europe, Japan, and the United States, thick with replicating primates, the colonies enlarging and spreading and threatening to shock the biosphere with mass extinctions. Perhaps the biosphere does not “like” the idea of five billion humans. Or it could also be said that the extreme amplification of the human race, which has occurred only in the past hundred years or so, has suddenly produced a very large quantity of meat, which is sitting everywhere in the biosphere and may not be able to defend itself against a life form that might want to consume it. Nature has interesting ways of balancing itself. The rain forest has its own defenses. The earth’s immune system, so to speak, has reorganized the presence of the human species and is starting to kick in. The earth is attempting to rid itself of an infection by the human parasite.”Originally posted on my webpage: http://www.classicbookreading.com/2015/09/richard-prestons-hot-zone-terrifying.html