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The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story

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Author: Richard Preston
Publisher: Anchor
Discount Category: Book

Selling Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $2.50
Potential Savings: $12.45 (83%)



New (51) Used (39) Collectible (5) from $2.50

Customer Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars 485 comments

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (pounds): 0.6
Dimensions (inch): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8

ISBN: 0385495226
Dewey Decimal Number: 614.57
EAN: 9780385495226

Publication Date: June 15, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Also Available In:

  • Mass Market Paperback - Hot Zone,the
  • Unknown Binding - Hot Zone
  • Audio CD - The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
  • Hardcover - The Hot Zone
  • Hardcover - The Hot Zone
  • Turtleback - The Hot Zone
  • Audio Cassette - The Hot Zone, The
  • Audio Cassette - Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
  • Hardcover - The Hot Zone
  • School & Library Binding - The Hot Zone
  • Hardcover - The Hot Zone
  • Audio Download - The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
  • Mass Market Paperback - The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story

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Editorial Comments:

Amazon.com Review
The dramatic and chilling story of an Ebola virus outbreak in a surburban Washington, D.C. laboratory, with descriptions of frightening historical epidemics of rare and lethal viruses. More hair-raising than anything Hollywood could think of, because it's all true.

Product Description
A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the
appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.


From the Paperback edition.



Customer Comments:   Read 480 more comments...

4 out of 5 stars Don't Enter Level 4   November 7, 2008
For three out of four sections in The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, Richard Preston's maintains an engaging and informative story of the hunt for the dreaded filovirus. This is a category of viruses including Ebola that can be swiftly lethal to primates (like you) and unmerciful in their destructiveness. It doesn't take much effort to evoke horror from this topic, but Preston does a credible job of using that horror to teach a bit about viruses, epidemiology, and biocontainment.

Unfortunately, the fourth section degenerates into journalistic narcissism. Preston pointlessly dons a biohazard suit and enters a contaminated cave in Africa, descending into an irrational, ecotopian diatribe about how viruses are nature's way of cleansing "the human infection." This sentiment is akin to the unmentionable theory that AIDS is The Wanting Seed (Norton Paperback Fiction)'s way of dealing with sexual perversion.



4 out of 5 stars A Must for Us All   November 3, 2008
No one likes to think about deadly diseases - but in this well-written and exquisitely-researched book, the author acquaints us with ebola, one of the deadliest diseases known to man. He presents his facts with enough human interest to keep you interested and more than enough facts to terrify.


5 out of 5 stars The Hot Zone- A Terrifying True Story   October 21, 2008
From the first page, the Hot Zone quickly grabs you and doesn't let go. The author, Richard Preston is able to expertly piece together terrifying firsthand accounts of people who dealt with the deadly filoviruses (Marburg and Ebola) and turn it into a story that you won't want to put down. Using intricate detail and horrifying descriptions, the author makes you feel like you're actually in the book dealing with level 4 hot agents in a spacesuit.

I highly recommend this book anyone over the age of fourteen (scenes when a character breaks with a filovirus tend to be quite graphic and are not for the weak stomach). This book will be one of the best non-fiction books, if not the greatest one you will ever read.

After reading the Hot Zone, you will never be able to look at a headache the same way ever again.

A massive outbreak of deadly viruses is no longer a fictional horror story, but a shockingly true possibility.



5 out of 5 stars Fantastic!   September 25, 2008
Hot Zone is one of my most favorite books ever. I read this a few years ago, and made my husband read it only recently. He loved it as much as I did. It's such a compelling read and I was fascinated from the first to the last page. You won't regret picking up this book.


5 out of 5 stars Most Repugnant Book Ever   September 17, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this comment useful.

This book is excellent, on my top 10 list for sure, but it is an unflinching look at subject matter which is far past revolting.

Something tells me filoviruses aren't quite finished with the human species.