Reviewing The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

Entering The Hot Zone

Being educators, we look forward to when we receive our schedules mainly to know when is our planning period. When I received my teaching schedule, I saw a course that I hadn’t taught in this century — English. Long-time readers of this blog know from 1000s of grammar mistakes over the years that this might not be a good idea. My minor in English came about mainly because I like to read, not because I wanted to write. That came later. Yet, there was that course on my schedule.

Well, come to find out, I will be facilitating it more than teaching it. I will be providing one-on-one instruction to students while they are taking an online course. Looking at the course, I made a list of books that the students will read snippets of during their learning.

The list was comprised of quite a few books from the canon, but also, thankfully, it had authors from all backgrounds. Nothing kills love of reading faster than trying to make a young person read a book because it’s a “great” book. To get them to that point, they need to be introduced to great reads. That’s why I was surprised when I saw The Hot Zone by Richard Preston as the first book on the list.

I had no memory of the book. It was a huge bestseller, but at the time, I was finishing college. I looked to see if I could find a copy of it on Hoopla. They had the audiobook. When I read the description, I realized this took place in Reston, Virginia, which is a short drive from my sister in law’s house. I plugged in and gave it a listen.

Reviewing The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

I really wasn’t prepared for it. The first chapter was terrifying. While it’s a nonfiction book, it felt as if it came from a horror master. The prose managed to be both scientific and gripping. I couldn’t stop listening.

The book examines the outbreak of what is now called Reston Ebola. The outbreak only affected monkeys that were to be used for science. Luckily, this particular strain of the virus does not affect humans. Still, at the time, researchers, army personnel, and the Center for Disease Control were not sure of that fact. This makes for a gripping read.

This was a first for an audio-book for me: I couldn’t wait to listen. While the writing takes a lot of credit for that, the narration by Richard M. Davidson played a large part in it. A good narrator knows what words to emphasize and when to take a long pause. Mr. Davidson did his role perfectly.

The best compliment you can give a nonfiction book is that when the reader becomes obsessed with the topic after you finish it. You look for more information than what the book provided. This leads to researching what has happened with and to ebola in the 25 years since the book was published.

I also find out that the book has flaws specifically with its descriptions of what happens to organs when a body contracts the virus. It’s not as graphic as Preston describes. However, the fact that I know that is also a testament to how much I enjoyed the book. I needed to learn more.

Also, I found a new topic with which I am now obsessed: the history of diseases. Currently, I’m reading The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic–and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World.

Using It to Teach

Unfortunately, my students will only read snippets. The course is not designed to read entire books but to expose students to different writings for students who have trouble reading. However, I think I’m going to try and coax a class set for my kids. If not, I might just read it to them. It might turn them onto reading or enjoy science.

I’ll keep you updated.