Biology Book Review: The Hot Zone

For my book review I have chosen to write about The Hot Zone by Richard Preston.  It is a “terrifying true story” as the author says about his book.  The Hot Zone tells about the infectious deadly viruses that have stemmed from the heart of Africa and their relations with humans.  Although The Hot Zone seems the stuff of Myth, it is in fact an account of nonfiction, which is horrifying all the same. 

            Richard Preston put it this way, “This book is nonfiction.  The story is true, and the people are real…. The dialogue comes from the recollections of the participants, and has been extensively cross-checked.  At certain moments in the story, I describe the stream of a person’s thoughts.  In such instances, I am basing my narrative on interviews with the subjects on which they have recalled their thoughts often repeatedly, followed by fact-checking sessions in which the subjects confirmed their recollections.”  This was taken from an excerpt at the beginning of the book titled “to the reader”.  You see, no matter how horrifyingly unimaginable this story is, it is real, which makes it even more horrifying.  He then goes on to say, “If you ask a person, ‘What were you thinking?’ you may get an answer that is richer and more revealing of the human condition than any stream of thoughts a novelist could invent.”  This is the reasoning for the way in which The Hot Zone is presented to us: the basic fact that reality is more interesting than fiction.

            The Hot Zone is divided into four main parts.  The first part is “The Shadow of Mount Elgon” and tells the story of a Frenchman named Charles Monet who was living in western Kenya when he caught Marburg Virus and died.  The text goes in to tell about this virus as well as the closely related Ebola virus.  It tells about the history of these viruses as well as speculation about the origin of HIV/AIDS and other viruses.  Part two, “The Monkey House” tells about monkeys imported into Reston, Virginia that are carrying a deadly virus: Ebola Reston.  The third part “Smashdown” tells more about Ebola Reston and the last part “Kitum Cave” tells about this cave and the author’s expedition to it; this cave ties all the stories of this book together, with an eternal theme of HIV/AIDS.  

            So The Hot Zone tells about how mostly all of the deadly viruses in this world have sprouted from Africa and how they have affected our lives even in the U.S.  I feel that although this is a horror story, it is not intended to scare, but to inform.  Perhaps the greatest horror story author of our time, Stephen King, said of the book, “One of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read.  What a remarkable piece of work.”  This goes to show just how much scarier truth is than fiction.  This brings me to the one thing that is the greatest strength and weakness of The Hot Zone. 

            The fact that The Hot Zone is written more like a novel than a document of science is both good and bad.  Because the book is written in such a way, many normal people have the attention and the knowledge to follow, understand and enjoy the book without loosing interest.  On the other hand, this makes the book difficult to reference in a scientific way as there is no direct way to go back and pluck apart the text for information.  A book that is written like a novel, even if entirely true, must be read like a novel.  This is the only thing difficult about the book. 

            I think there are a wide variety of people who would enjoy The Hot Zone.  I would suggest it for any age adult and generally teenagers over the age of 13.  Because this book talks about horrifying diseases in a graphic mannerism, it is not suitable for just anyone.  You must be able to stomach some gore to read it. 

            I strongly feel that all who apply should read The Hot Zone; in it are discussed many topics that greatly influence our lives.  It is a book about the world in which we live, the world in which we should know about.  Richard Preston has taken a topic of research people know little about and tried to uncover a layer of more truth in what we know about deadly viruses.  Not only entertaining, The Hot Zone unravels the essence of humanity.  It is most interesting that life sprouted from the heart of Africa, and now we know that the diseases that reap the destruction of life sprouted from the heart of Africa too.  This is something I now ponder having read The Hot Zone. 

            I can confidently say that my general outlook on life has changed drastically having read this book.  What I thought I knew about AIDS is nothing to what I understand now, and my former conceptions of disease are far different.  While I may be a little more timid than I would have if I ever visit Africa, better safe than sorry, so for that I owe this book.  I would like to thank Richard Preston for opening my eyes to the biological evils of the world.  I would also like to thank him for writing his book in a way that can inform and entertain as I never lot interest once. The Hot Zone is a great and wonderful book that at the same time will teach you something.

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