From: Ben Pittenger (benpittenger@earthlink.net)
Date: Sun Jun 23 2002 - 21:51:23 PDT
Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 21:51:23 -0700 From: Ben Pittenger<benpittenger@earthlink.net> Subject: Summer reading Message-ID: <Springmail.0994.1024894283.0.33008500@webmail.pas.earthlink.net>
Hi Erin,
I found Hot Zone, by Richard Preston, to be very interesting and hard to put
down. It's a bit harsh (blunt) in its description of the effects of two
fast-moving viruses on humans and monkeys, but ultimately it is a fascinating,
though scary, study of the mix of epidemiology, CDC (Center for Disease
Control) and private trade in primates.
It tracks an attempt to chase down the source of the Ebola Zaire virus, in
Africa. It also gives a history of an outbreak of another strain of the Ebola
virus, Ebola Reston. This outbreak occurred in a facility that housed monkeys
bound for labs in the US. In this case, they were from the Phillipines. The
outbreak occurred in Reston, VA (hence the name). It was a frightening event.
I at first questioned whether to recommend it to my 7th or 8th graders, then
found two things that relieved my concerns. First - some of them had already
read it. Second, I found that not many of them took up the idea of reading an
outside book. So I gave them warnings that the description of the symptoms
were graphic and at times uncomfortable to read, then let them at it. I
haven't had any negative feedback over a couple of years of recommending it.
Good luck
Ben
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