Hot Zone by Richard Preston- November Book Club Online

[ginny]

The Book Club Online is  the oldest  book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone.  We offer cordial discussions of one book a month,  24/7 and  enjoy the company of readers from all over the world.  Everyone is welcome.

November Book Club Online  Will you join us?

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
by Richard Preston

It reads like a detective thriller, but it's a true story--how the Ebola virus was discovered, and what happened when it turned up in a research lab just a few miles from Washington, DC. "When Richard Preston's novel "The Hot Zone" was published in 1995, it was, for many, their first introduction to the deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses.  Nearly two decades later, Ebola has infected hundreds of people in three countries across West Africa, in what is considered the worst outbreak in history. As fear over the deadly virus grows, we need a reminder of what we learned so long ago from Preston." British Broadcasting Corporation BBC

DISCUSSION SCHEDULE:

PART ONE: The Shadow of Mount Elgon
Nov. 1 - 5~  First three chapters--Something in the Forest, Jumper, Diagnosis (Africa, 1980)
Nov. 6-9~  Next three chapters--A Woman and a Soldier, Project Ebola, Total Immersion (Maryland, 1983)
Nov 10-13~ Last three chapters--Ebola River(Africa, 1976), Cardinal(Africa, 1987), Going Deep

PART TWO: The Monkey House
Nov. 14-17~ First seven chapters--Reston, Into Level Three, Exposure, Thanksgiving, Medusa, The First Angel, The Second Angel (Maryland, Virginia, 1989)
Nov. 17-21~ Last six chapters--Chain of Command, Garbage Bags, Space Walk, Shoot-out, The Mission, Reconnaissnce

PART THREE: Smashdown
Nov. 22-?~ Insertion, A Man Down, 91-Tangos, Inside, A Bad Day, Decon, The Most Dangerous Strain

For Your Consideration
Nov. 14-?

1. As you follow the search for answers at Reston and Fort Detrick, what things did people do wrong?  What did they do right?
2. What did you think of the strange techniques needed for electron microscopy?
3. Could you have faced three weeks in the Slammer?  What makes it so hard to tolerate?




RELEVANT LINKS:
Prediscussion
BBC Ebola Primer
Mt. Elgon National Park

 

Discussion Leader: PatH

[ginny]

Pat, thank you for that update! How nice to end it knowing a bit more.

Bellamarie!!! I am so sorry to hear you're sick!  That's taking a book discussion to new heights, getting sick and experiencing first hand  the questioning at the ER!!  (Did you think it was Ebola? hahaha) I must admit I can't get it out of my mind.

Hope you feel better soon.

Great discussion, All!

[PatH]

What of the future?

MaryPage gave us a link to 5 viruses that are scarier than Ebola:
http://www.livescience.com/47340-viruses-scarier-than-ebola.html
They are: rabies, HIV, influenza, mosquito-borne viruses, and rotaviruses.  Do you find them scarier?  Because we have learned what to expect from them, and how to treat them, we take them more in stride.

The New Yorker article MaryPage posted ends with this thought:

By now, the warriors against Ebola understand that they face a long struggle against a formidable enemy. Many of their weapons will fail, but some will begin to work. The human species carries certain advantages in this fight and has things going for it that Ebola does not. These include self-awareness, the ability to work in teams, and the willingness to sacrifice, traits that have served us well during our expansion into our environment. If Ebola can change, we can change, too, and maybe faster than Ebola

.

We CAN deal with this, and we WILL deal with it.  Just give us a chance.

[bellamarie]

Ginny,  No, I didn't think it was Ebola,  but I must say those gory descriptions from the book kept dancing around in my drowsy head.  I have never been dehydrated, and this virus came on so quickly, I just wanted comfort from the nausea and headache. 

PatH.,  I agree, I believe whatever comes along we have the capabilities to deal with it.  Good to learn they tore that monkey house down.

[PatH]

It's been a wonderful experience discussing this book with all of you.  You were so interested, and brought in so many ideas, and found so many sources, that you did half my work for me.  I learned a lot from you, and I think we all know more now about this new problem.

I'll leave the discussion open for a while in case anyone wants to talk further.

[JoanK]

"If Ebola can change, we can change, too, and maybe faster than Ebola."

I guess those are the words we can come away with,

Thank you, PATH for your usual great discussion.

[JoanK]

But we never stop discussing. Our usual Holiday Open House is open:


And We are proposing a new discussion for January: "The Boys in the Boat", a fascinating look at boys, struggling to make a life for themselves in the great Depression, who went to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin to compete against Hitler's top atheletes in rowing. History, sports, and some fascinating characters..

Come here and tell us if you would be interested in participating after the Christmas rush is over:

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4517.0

[MaryPage]

I saw on the evening news that their television doctor is in trouble with the public perception of her because she came back from a trip to Africa and did not keep in quarantine.  She apologized, saying she had no idea the American public was so afraid of Ebola.

But the bottom line is, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A FEVER TO BE (if it is Ebola) INFECTIOUS.

You have to have a fever, you have to have a fever, you have to have a fever.

I think the American public is not hearing that detail.  Both the nurse, and now this doctor, neither of whom had direct contact with Ebola and both of whom you can bet were taking their temperatures almost hourly to make sure they were safe, have been unfairly criticized by a panicked citizenry.

[hysteria2]

Absolutely, MaryPage. You have to have a fever. This has been explained over and over again, but once the panic sets in it is very difficult to eradicate. The ebola scare will be with us for quite some time. 

[MaryPage]

TIME magazine says a cartridge called a Hemopurifier has been invented, HAS BEEN INVENTED, that attaches to a dialysis machine and has a lectin filter that attracts Ebola viruses and sucks them from the patient's blood.  So far, as of this issue being published, it has been used only once, on an Ebola patient in Germany, but it WORKED!  He was cured of Ebola!

[hysteria2]

Wow! Now that is something that needs to be publicized. But unfortunately the news media seems to focus on the negative. I guess that sells better. I do seem to becoming somewhat of a cynic, but the way ebola was handled in this country left a lot to be desired. I wonder if it would have been handled differently if we had had a Surgeon General in place. We may never know.

[MaryPage]

Possibly.  Probably.

But we, as a people, seem hell bent on grabbing the worst possible bit of hysteria (not maligning your cover name) out there and holding on to it for dear life these days.  We yell and scream and cause great loss and anguish to perfectly innocent people along the way, and we insist our view is correct even though it has been totally demolished with TRUTH.

One precious granddaughter came out of law school with a strong sense of doubt about JUSTICE triumphing in our courts.  She is doing her best for her clients, but she says she could not possibly practice criminal law or even ordinary people suing or being sued.  It would appear that the upbringing I had and my children had at my hands is no longer the American Way.  Perjury is rife across and up and down our land.  As long as people are willing to lie in order to advance themselves and/or their families, corruption rules and my spirit shrinks. 

What ever happened to HONOR?

[jane]

Thank you all for your participation in this discussion.