A bone-chilling account of a close encounter with a lethal virus, by New Yorker writer Preston (American Steel, 1991). The African rain forests from which HIV emerged are home to other viruses that make AIDS seem like child's play. Preston opens with a disturbingly graphic description of the meltdown of a human body invaded by a filovirus. Essentially, the body liquefies, spilling out billions of copies of the deadly virus, which can trigger an explosive chain of lethal transmission. Only micro-outbreaks have occurred so far, but the potential exists for worldwide catastrophe. In the fall of 1989, a monkey- importing company with a primate quarantine unit in Reston, Va. (about ten miles from Washington, D.C.), noted that its monkeys were dying off at an alarming rate and with suspicious symptoms. When the cause was found to be Ebola, a particularly deadly filovirus, all hell broke loose. The US Army quickly took over, and a SWAT team was sent in to halt the spread of the virus. The complicated and hazardous job required the donning of biological space suits, entering the monkey house (the ``hot zone''), killing each monkey, and retrieving tissue samples. A major portion of the book is about this operation, which had to be conducted in secret, since public awareness could easily have meant widespread panic. Preston is adept at telling the story through the voices of the participants, who become very real (he employs pseudonyms only twice). That the virus, now known as Ebola Reston, turned out not to affect humans is small comfort: Viruses mutate rapidly, and the rain forests are only a plane ride away. A totally convincing page turner, proving that truth is scarier than fiction. Portions of this biomedical thriller appeared in the New Yorker in somewhat different form; it will be made into a movie starring Robert Redford and directed by Ridley Scott (Alien). (Author tour)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-43094-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1994
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Johnstown Flood was one of the greatest natural disasters of all time (actually manmade, since it was precipitated by a wealthy country club dam which had long been the source of justified misgivings). This then is a routine rundown of the catastrophe of May 31st, 1889, the biggest news story since Lincoln's murder in which thousands died. The most interesting incidental: a baby floated unharmed in its cradle for eighty miles.... Perhaps of local interest-but it lacks the Lord-ly touch.
Pub Date: March 18, 1968
ISBN: 0671207148
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968
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