The Hot Zone

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston is a thrilling book about various strains of a level four virus that could kill off the human population in just weeks if it were to break out. Richardson became inspired by his first hand account of the virus when he paid a visit to Africa and saw the impact of epidemics. When he read an article was published in the New York Times called “Crisis in the Hot Zone,” Preston became inspired to write this true story. After extensive research on the virus and the story, the book began to fall into place. He educated himself by doing comprehensive interviews with the books contacts, Dr. C.J. Peters and Nancy Jaax.

            Interestingly enough, the book starts with Preston’s attempt to “see through people’s faces into their minds and listen through their words into their lives.” He includes a few pages that captivate the human urge to understand things that they can’t. His illustration of an ID card which is required for authorized entry into an infectious area, suit AA-5, a biosafety level four zone that consists of an air-lock door and a decon shower, grabs the readers attention without any words. The desire to find out what is behind those doors makes it tough to not read on. He then opens the book with character Charles Monet (who’s name was changed), a plantation worker along the Nzoia River in Africa. He tells the story of Monet’s New years spent by Mount Elgon and his detailed descriptions of nature’s effect on Kitum Cave. Kitum cave quickly becomes a location of interest for Part One of the book. This trip into Kitum Cave held the life of Charles Monet in its hands. Preston takes us through the grueling attack an unknown virus would have on this innocent mans life.  Then, Preston dives into the vivid details and effects of this unknown virus as

“The bag swells up. Perhaps he glances around, and then you see that his lips are smeared with something slippery and red, mixed with black specks, as if he has been eating coffee grounds. His eyes are the color of rubies, and his face is an expressionless mass of bruises.”

He introduces us to black vomit, blood clotting, depersonalization and the utter liquefaction of all internal function that this brutal virus causes inside of humans. Charles Monet dies, bleeding out on the floor of the hospital in Africa. He made an preferable host for this virus, but as readers we quickly learn that we all would be the perfect hosts for this ruthless killer.

            After Preston “hosts” a trip through many cases in Africa, he makes this virus more real to the typical American readers, by flying the them to a location right outside of our nations capital in Reston, Virginia. There is a primate quarantine unit where a shipment of monkeys from the Philippines had just arrived. This shipment of monkeys would be a major cause for concern rather than the cute little primates they appeared as on the outside. These “animals were dying of Ebola Zaire,” a level four hot agent that the discovery team feared could wipe out the entire population of humans. This is where emotion flooded the book. These real characters had to contemplate their exposure to this virus. They would be put in the Slammer or the “The Biosafety Level 4 containment hospital,” that the Army uses to put people in for a month after they have been exposed to deadly hot virus. This slammer makes people go crazy. After they have determined that this deadly hot virus is plaguing the Monkey House, it is up to the team of the C.D.C. and the USAMRIID’s to figure out how to contain the virus and protect the safety of the human population. They go though a suspenseful process, but you will have to read the book to find out if this virus will break out. Will the United States itself become a Hot Zone?

            Preston is a brilliant writer and the way the book is written makes it very intriguing, emotional and relatable. He writes detailed description of his characters and his settings and the readers can picture themselves walking in the area of Mount Elgon in Africa. Just as you think the book is going to get boring, he comes in with a suspenseful account of how Ebola and Marburg have affected the lives of well-developed characters. He instills an attachment to the characters before he illustrates their brutal deaths. This gives the book a sort of deep emotion and evokes fear in the reader. It also talks about the first hand account of the lives of the career path and the mental sanity that is required to deal with level 4 hot agents daily. If the is one slip of this virus, these people could also bleed out and die. They volunteer their lives for the safety of the public. This book is an amazing read and it offers a clear and deep explanation of the potential effect a hot virus could have on the world. I would highly recommend reading it because readers get an exclusive view into the lives of those who live in the “Hot Zone,” and protect our lives everyday.