Hot Zone Reflection Essay

Ashley Livingston




Wendy Sumner-Winter



English 1020



10 February 2010







Hot Zone Reflection





The Hot Zone written by Richard Preston is a well written nonfiction book. The book was really interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this novel.

It is very different from other books that I have read. I really liked how the author was involved in his writing. He shared a history with the origins of the ferocious virus. The author did a wonderful job of keeping the reader informed. He incorporated definitions like “rongeur…..The word is French and means ‘gnawer.’ It is used for opening skulls” (66) very smoothly into the context, as if it was simply part of the story instead of for understanding. He also gives the reader extra features- a glossary of terms and a character list. There are a lot of names that are mentioned in the book, and the character list helped me as a reader to keep track of each person.

The book is about a filovirus and its sister strains. The virus is identified as “Ebola.” Ebola originated in Africa. The Ebola virus is “a Level 4 hot agent [that] is a lethal virus for which there is no vaccine and no cure” (47). Ebola is so powerful that if it gets out-of-control it would be “an unstoppable tidal wave” (49).

The author develops this story and presents the book’s subject matter in the way same order that the virus was being discovered. He reviews each episode of the virus in chronological order. He questions at the end the same thoughts that other scientists had questioned at the beginning of Ebola’s emergence. I liked how he emphasizes the same questions. It reveals that they might never be answered.

This book kept my focus because of the great detail throughout the book. If a new scene made an appearance the details were very vivid. The author did a great job in the way he used the details to reinforce the dangers of the hot agent, Ebola. In the chapter, “Ebola River,” the virus’s effects on the human body are described. One of the effects is “the tongue’s skin may be torn off during rushes of black vomit” (80).

The characters in the book were presented in great detail as well. I liked how the author did this because it allowed me to really “see” or imagine each character. I was able to picture characters, like the “beautiful, long blond hair[ed], eighteen year old” Nicole Berke that did not make a huge appearance. The author used people of authority in the book to show that the virus must be dealt with by experts. It helped to highlight the urgency of this filovirus.

The operation at the monkey house was intense. It generated feelings of suspense while the team of officials dealt with the sick monkeys. The author also incorporated (throughout the text) a little bit of the character’s memory from each event from the interviews he had with these people. It helps reveal the characters and what they thought.

During the planning of the “monkey house operation,” there was a particular meeting where the officials and experts tried to settle a game plan. Two characters, C.J. Peters and Joe McCormick, had a history of conflict. The tension and the animosity between them were demonstrated in the text. Their dialogue outlined their different personalities. The author also incorporated the two characters background into the story. I was able to see each character’s opinion about the other one.

The book was very orderly and presented with vivid, specific details. The author’s involvement with the story showed his interest in Ebola. He presented the book so that the reader could see the problem and maintain the same interest that he has with Ebola and the other Level 4 hot agents. The text is not an ordinary book. It is very different. The story told a bigger story. It allowed me to wonder and question things about Ebola. Overall, it was a great book, and it inspired me to become a better writer.