Saket Vora

On my way to get in line for a ticket to the Reynolds game, I realized I’d be sitting outside for 3 hours with nothing to do. I picked up a novel I bought at a used bookstore for 25 cents — The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. I’d heard good things about this non-fiction book from my bio leaning friends. It’s an old book now - published in 1994 - but still relevant and an exciting read. I read over 150 pages the first day and finished it up the second (though my recent bout of insomnia helped). It reads like a thriller novel but is based entirely on actual events. The Hot Zone is about some of the world’s deadliest and most terrifying viruses, like Ebola and Marburg. It recounts when these viruses first appeared in the 20th century, and viscerally describes what happens to its victims as they crash. The second half shows why the history is relevant - in the late 1980s, a monkey housing facility in Reston, Virginia had an encounter with a strain of Ebola. Reston is within sight of the Washington monument in Washington, D.C. It tells the story of how authorities from USAMARID and the CDC sought to tackle the outbreak without inciting public panic.

The Hot Zone is a quick, engaging read. To know it is grounded (literally) in reality makes it even better.