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Crisis in the Red Zone
Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come | Richard Preston
32 posts | 16 read | 25 to read
The 2013-2014 Ebola epidemic was the deadliest ever--but the outbreaks continue. Now comes a gripping account of the doctors and scientists fighting to protect us, an urgent wake-up call about the future of emerging viruses--from the #1 bestselling author of The Hot Zone, soon to be a National Geographic original miniseries. In the taut and suspenseful Crisis in the Red Zone, Preston chronicles the recent Ebola epidemic of 2013-2014--the worst outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in history, where we saw for the first time the specter of Ebola jumping continents, crossing the ocean, and killing people in America. Rich in characters and conflict--physical, emotional, and ethical--Crisis in the Red Zone is a total immersion into one of the great medical calamities of our time. Preston writes of doctors and nurses in the field putting their own lives on the line, government bureaucrats and NGO administrators moving, often fitfully, to try to contain the outbreak, and of the pharmaceutical companies racing to develop drugs to combat the virus. Preston also explores the charged ethical dilemma over who should and did receive the rare experimental doses when they became available. Crisis in the Red Zone makes clear that the outbreak of 2013-2014 did not mark the end of a disease cycle, but rather is a harbinger of further, more severe outbreaks, and of emerging viruses heretofore unimagined--in any country, on any continent. Now, in our ever more interconnected world, with roads and towns cut deep into the jungles of Africa, viruses both familiar and undiscovered are being unleashed into more densely populated areas than ever before. This time, Ebola's first victim was a two-year-old child who likely contracted the virus by consuming bush meat, and whose entire family quickly fell ill and died. The ensuing global drama activated health professionals in the United States, Europe, and Africa in a desperate race against time to contain the viral wildfire. With the virosphere more deadly than ever, Crisis in the Red Zone is an exquisitely timely book, both intimately chronicling the largest Ebola outbreak in history, and warning of viral outbreaks to come.
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review
MallenNC
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Pickpick

I read this pick from my #AuldLangSpines list from @Cinfhen and it was so good. It was well written and helped me learn about the healthcare workers who fought the virus so hard. The last chapter of this book, written before COVID-19, was pretty prescient about the pandemic to come. I‘m not sure if this Ebola outbreak was technically a pandemic or an epidemic but I‘m counting it for #Booked about a pandemic

Cinfhen Definitely counts as a pandemic 😷 I thought this was a terrific first hand account - some parts made me SO ANGRY 😡 2y
MallenNC @Cinfhen Yes! Especially the part where the Doctors Without Borders people were debating whether or not to use the drug on the doctor and they didn‘t. And I was sad for all the nurses. 2y
Cinfhen OMG! I was SO FURIOUS over that too!!! I didn‘t feel their rationale made any sense. It was so heartless 2y
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MallenNC @Cinfhen I didn‘t understand it either. They seemed to weigh the pros and cons but then they just never decided and didn‘t even tell him to give him a chance to have an opinion. Awful. 2y
Megabooks @Cinfhen @MallenNC yes, I felt the ethics of DWB was quite questionable in that instance! 2y
MallenNC @Megabooks Definitely questionable. It made the organization seem more focused on their reputation than medical care. 2y
29 likes6 comments
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Cinfhen
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#12Booksof2022 - October @Andrew65 This #NF account of the 2013-14 Ebola outbreak was RIVETING!!!! Preston traces the history of Ebola & examines its origins through the telling of personal narratives. It‘s such a powerful first hand account. Once again I‘m awed by the medical workers, specifically nurses & doctors who risk their lives in order to save, treat & care for others. Outstanding audio.

Andrew65 Sounds brilliant, I will keep an eye out for this one. 2y
Megabooks I‘m so glad you got me to read this!! 🫶🏻 2y
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Megabooks
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Pickpick

I second @Cinfhen in loving this as a #ReadingAfrica2022 choice! Preston, author of a book on the 1970s Ebola crisis, tackles it again for 2013-14. He shares the stories of many healthcare workers as well as researchers involved in providing care and quelling the crisis. I was particularly absorbed in the story of Dr. Khan, a physician from #SierraLeone who ends up battling Ebola himself. Scary problem with no easy answers. Highly recommend!

Cinfhen I‘m so glad you loved this one too!!! Some of the moral questions reminded me of 2y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I missed that one! Thanks! 2y
Cinfhen YOU MUST read that book!!!! It‘s one of my 5 favorite all time NF reads!!!! 2y
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Megabooks @Cinfhen wow!! That‘s quite a recommendation!! 🤩🤩 2y
Cinfhen I love it that much!!!!! 2y
BarbaraBB Excellent review. It is on my radar! 2y
Librarybelle So much love for this book! 2y
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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

Absolutely riveting!!! Preston traces the history of Ebola & examines its origins through the telling of personal stories, most specifically the latest outbreak that occurred in 2013-14. It‘s such a powerful story especially given the past 2.5 years we‘ve just lived through. Once again I‘m awed by the medical workers, specifically nurses & doctors who risk their lives in order to save/care for others. Outstanding audio. Excellent narrative

Cinfhen I forgot to mention @Megabooks there‘s a shoutout to your hometown!!! I definitely recommend you listen to the audio 2y
squirrelbrain This sounds fascinating, if terrifying. Stacked. 2y
Cinfhen One of the BEST books I read this year @squirrelbrain and it just might be “required” reading if you‘re participating in #Booked2023 😘 2y
75 likes3 comments
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Cinfhen
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I picked this up months ago for #ReadingAfrica22 but somehow I didn‘t get around to listening until now. It‘s FANTASTIC!!! What a gripping medical story - the trajectory of the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak in Western Africa. I‘ve already read books for the three main countries #Guinea #SierraLeone and #Liberia - it also covers #DRCongo. With the knowledge we now have about Covid-19 this book is truly fascinating🤓

Bookwormjillk This is still on my list of want to reads for this year. 2y
Cinfhen I HIGHLY RECOMMEND @Bookwormjillk and the audio is excellent 🙌🏻‼️ 2y
Bookzombie Was your narrator Ray Porter? He is great. I read this in January 2020. @Reggie and I had a conversation about how we weren‘t ready for an epidemic here. Crazy timing. 2y
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Cinfhen Yes @Bookzombie the narrator is Ray Porter🙌🏻 and how crazy that you & @Reggie read this in Jan 2020! I can‘t imagine reading this BEFORE Covid - I think I would have FREAKED OUT 🤯 2y
Cinfhen I‘m shocked by how many careless “mistakes” the Ebola experts made @Bookzombie - not passing judgment but just scary how hard it must have been to stop the spread 2y
julesG @Bookwormjillk Same! I steered clear because of Covid so far. I love learning about epidemics and viruses, but with the pandemic around I just couldn't read it. 2y
Reggie @Bookzombie that was kinda crazy timing, lol. How‘s Indiana? Ya‘ll are in the Big10 now. You have to be Hoosiers fans I think. 2y
BarbaraBB I should read this! 2y
Librarybelle I should read this too! 2y
Megabooks Tag me in your review because I am very interested!! 2y
Bookzombie @Cinfhen It‘s hard to not judge in hindsight. I can‘t imagine what it would really be like to try to stop the spread of Ebola or even being on the front line of Covid. 2y
Bookzombie @Reggie It‘s good. We really like the area we are in. Starting to have cooler weather and I‘m loving the leaves changing color. If being a sports fan is a requirement, we are screwed. 😂 How are you doing? 2y
Reggie Yeah,lol, normal season changes are nice, right? I‘m good. I just saw Halloween Ends last night and it was sooooo good. I loved it. Also, I really only follow 2 sports, womens gymnastics and womens ncaa volleyball. And Indiana‘s conference is tough. Like 5 of the top ten are in that conference. Lol 2y
Cinfhen Glad to hear you‘re settling in @Bookzombie ❤️ 2y
Cinfhen DEFINITELY read this @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle @julesG @Megabooks I have about 3 hours to go on audio - it reads like a medical thriller!! And I think it‘s a bit less frightening as we‘ve now all lived through a pandemic. 2y
Megabooks @Reggie I‘m an ncaa gymnastics fan too! Mainly Florida, but I watch other teams too. The SEC is such a great conference for gymnastics. We get some Big 10 coverage here too, but I mainly like the SEC for gym. I feel like Oklahoma is overrated and UF was robbed at last year‘s championship. Bitter, I know. Anyway… 2y
Bookzombie @Reggie They are! I need to see the Halloween movie before this one still. I‘m off for a couple of days so maybe I will get caught up there. Those are two sports I could into. 🙂 2y
Bookzombie @Cinfhen Thank you! 💕 2y
53 likes18 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Preston writes fantastic science narrative nonfiction, detailing here the 2013-14 Ebola epidemic, the worst ever. It reads like a great fiction thriller. And it‘s clear we both dodged a bullet and missed a major opportunity to prepare for the current pandemic. I can‘t recommend this enough.

wanderinglynn Someone looks very comfortable! ❤️🐶 3y
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RamsFan1963
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Pickpick

While this is non-fiction, it reads like top quality medical thriller fiction. It's as terrifying as you would expect, but also amazing and uplifting reading of people who risked, and too often lost, their lives in the selfless act of bringing aid and comfort to others. It's a 5 🌟 read for sure. TW: graphic descriptions of disease and death.

Crazeedi Sounds like one I'll want to read 5y
CoffeeK8 this book was amazing 5y
Bookishlie I own it. It‘s been on my shelf for awhile now. Will have to dig it out:) (edited) 5y
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RamsFan1963
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"Ebola is roughly as contagious as seasonal flu." ???
???

#cheerynewsforSunday

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TheBookStacker
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A little light reading with Ozark

BarbaraBB That book 😱😉 5y
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Bookzombie
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Pickpick

Preston chronicles the Ebola epidemic that eventually infected almost 30,000 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in 2013-2014. I think Preston presents the information in a way the grabs the reader, but I do think there are portions were he repeats things unnecessarily.

Ray Porter‘s audio narration is excellent and I had to remind myself several times this was non-fiction.

#Booked2019 #redwhiteorbluetypeoncover

Finished January 10.

Texreader Great review 5y
Cinfhen I‘ve been wanting to read this for awhile/ thanks for the reminder 😊 5y
Reggie Do you remember the cases in Dallas? Did ya‘ll freak out in San Antonio? 5y
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Bookzombie @Reggie Yes, I remember. He also talks about them in the book. I don‘t remember being scared at the time. I‘m more scared after reading the book, because I‘m not sure how prepared we are for a larger outbreak. I am slightly comforted that I‘m surround by hospitals that may have better capabilities than those in the countries affected in the book. However, if we had a large epidemic I‘m not confident. I do know that if it happens to me they can ⬇️ 5y
Bookzombie try any experimental drug on me they like. I found the bureaucracy surrounding the use of the limited number of experimental drugs for Ebola very frustrating. The likelihood for death is high so it‘s hard to not think why don‘t they try anything they can to save people. @Reggie 5y
Reggie @Bookzombie when that was happening in Dallas, the very same week there was a customer at our casino, and they said that they were from Dallas. All I could think was, it‘s that easy, they just get on a plane and boom. Lol, also I couldn‘t help but think about this scene https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy-w1-g7OvY. Also don‘t take anything I say serious. I work at a casino where I‘ve been washing my hands in the restroom when a man comes in holding a 5y
Reggie frito pie, unzips himself, eats some of the frito pie, zips himself back up and then goes right back out without washing himself. I‘m surrounded by the hot zone waiting to happen. Lol 5y
Bookzombie @Reggie LOL You must have a lot of crazy stories. I worked in a call center environment for 9 years and it was like a Petri dish for everything. You are correct. It is exactly that easy to spread disease. I was going to reference Outbreak in my review! I think it‘s when I became fascinated with viruses and wanted to work for the CDC. Just like in that scene, the book talks about how tiny particles of moisture from our mouths can travel 6 feet. ⬇️ 5y
Bookzombie Note: I don‘t work in a scientific field at all. I was heavily influenced by books and movies. I wanted to chase storms thanks to Twister and be a forensic pathologist thanks to Patricia Cornwell. 🤓 5y
Suet624 I love these comments! 5y
61 likes13 comments
review
CoffeeK8
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Pickpick

A great and scary book about how an outbreak of Ebola can overwhelm trained staff and how they struggle to contain it.

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CoffeeK8
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Pickpick

A great and scary book about how an outbreak of Ebola can overwhelm trained staff and how they struggle to contain it.

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CoffeeK8
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This week‘s #libraryhaul!

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Rissa1
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Pickpick

I finished the book today, after finishing #24b4monday at midnight last might with 12:39:19.
Books about Ebola never fail to keep me enthralled, and this one didn't let me down. I will be handing this book off to my Mom, the one who started my interest in such subjects.

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Rissa1
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I am getting lots of love while I read tonight. #Atticus2016 #Cindercat #Alabamaslife #24b4monday

6:28:01 on the reading clock.
@TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

Andrew65 What a great photo. Well done on the time. 👏👏👏 5y
25 likes1 comment
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Rissa1
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3:17:23 into #24b4Monday I need to go to bed. Tomorrow's game plan is read, laundry, dishes, and a birthday celebration for my nephew.

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Rissa1
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Ebola has fascinated me since I was about 12 year old, and reading Robin Cook's Outbreak. I am about to turn 38, and reading facts like this still blow my mind.

julesG Same here. It's definitely fascinating, in a scary way. 5y
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Jeannineth
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I loved The Hot Zone by Richard Preston so I thought I would continue the Ebola saga. Anyone read this?

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Amiable
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Pickpick

COMPLETED for #NFNov. A pick for the interesting information within, but with some reservations for the writing style. It meanders a bit, and a significant portion seems recycled from the author‘s earlier works. Plus he constantly sets up cliffhangers that don‘t go anywhere.
#TIL: An antibody-based drug cocktail has been developed that cures nearly 90% of Ebola cases. And a vaccine was recently developed as well.

@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Clwojick 9 pt. 5y
46 likes1 comment
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Amiable
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Trying to sneak some #NFNov reading at my desk. Hey, I work in a hospital, so learning about Ebola counts as work, right? (True story: My initial job interview here in 2014 had to be rescheduled because a patient arrived in the ER with Ebola-like symptoms and the hospital went into lockdown.)

#TIL: I read that malaria and Ebola share similar symptoms: high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, red eyes, bleeding from the intestines.
@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Clwojick Definitely counts as work! 4pt. 5y
Kaila-ann That looks like my work desk 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣 and reading about medical issues should totally count 😜. 5y
batsy Definitely work-related! 5y
46 likes3 comments
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Amiable
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#TIL for #NFNov: Reading this description of how the next Level 4 emerging virus will evolve reminds me exactly of the plot of the 2011 movie “Contagion.” Remember that one? Where a woman traveling in Hong Kong on business is in a restaurant with a chef who didn‘t wash his hands after handing pork products from a pig that had been infected by a bat, and she becomes Patient Zero to a disease that wipes out 30% of the world?
@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Julies_Bookshelf_Adventures I loved that movie! 5y
Amiable @HufflepuffGirl90 I know! It was horrifying but you couldn‘t look away! 5y
Clwojick 4pt 5y
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Amiable
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#TIL for #NFNov: So today I learned that there are 6 different kinds of Ebola. Not one. I always thought Ebola was Ebola, but apparently there are different strains that have varying levels of fatality rates.

@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Clwojick HMmmm. 🤔 I didn't realize that either. 5y
Aimeesue Yikes. 5y
Clwojick 4pt 5y
46 likes3 comments
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Amiable
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How do you ensure that nobody will sit near you on a train? Bring a book about Ebola with you to read and you‘ll have all the seats to yourself. 👍🏼

@rsteve388 @Clwojick
#NFNov

Avanders 🤭😆 5y
AmyG Hahahaha. 5y
Amiable @AmyG @avanders It also works with books about serial killer! I may or may not know that from personal experience as well. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 5y
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Minimalgrl 😂😂😂 5y
Clwojick 😂 😂 😂 1pt 5y
Avanders Lol good hints! 😆😆 5y
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Amiable
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#TIL for #NFNov: This is one of the most frightening things I‘ve ever read. The fact that these horrific hemorrhagic viruses are expanding their geographic range should alarm every single one of us as the world gets smaller and it‘s possible to travel great distances in relatively short periods of time.

@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Addison_Reads I just finished The Hot Zone by this author and quickly put this one on hold at my library. The subject matter terrifies me, but it's so well written and informative. 5y
TheShaggyShepherd I wanna say I won this on goodreads? That‘s terrifying. 5y
Amiable @Addison_Reads I read “The Hot Zone” years ago and thought there should be an update. This is it. It‘s even scarier, I think. 5y
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Amiable @IvoryLunatic It really is! 5y
Chrissyreadit I agree. 5y
Crazeedi Yep 5y
rsteve388 4 pts 5y
TheShaggyShepherd I did read The Hot Zone a couple of years ago. I didn‘t realize it was by the same author. 5y
CoffeeCatsBooks Oh, I love books like this. I thought Hot Zone was very interesting. 5y
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Amiable
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Sitting in the doctor‘s office waiting for my appointment. Probably shouldn‘t be reading a book about Ebola while I‘m waiting —I flinch every time another person coughs or sneezes. 😖😷

#TIL: Today I read that one of the symptoms of Ebola is hiccups. HICCUPS! That‘s one of the ways doctors can tell the difference between Ebola and Lassa fever. 🥺

#NFNov
@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Rissa1 I brought this with me on my vacation. I hope I get to it. 5y
Bookwormjillk Hiccups 😳 5y
Amiable @Rissa1 Don't read it while you're eating! I made that mistake already. 😩 5y
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Amiable @Bookwormjillk I know, right?? 5y
ljuliel Have the other patients slid down a few seats away ? Maybe they think you have it 😂 5y
Clwojick @ljuliel 😂😂😂😂😂 5y
Amiable @ljuliel As long as they stay far away from me, I'm totally OK with that! 😃 5y
ljuliel Maybe you oughta hold onto that book and open it every time you‘re at the Dr ! 😂 5y
Amiable @ljuliel LOL ... when I was reading a book about serial killers, I made sure to hold and display it quite prominently so nobody else would sit next to me on the train! 😁 5y
rsteve388 Stacked and 4 pts 5y
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Amiable
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When real world collides with your book world: I literally just an hour ago read about Dr. Muyembe‘s efforts to discover what was killing villagers in the Congo and then this appeared in my newsfeed from NPR: a story about how Dr. Muyembe discovered Ebola.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/11/04/774863495/this-congolese-do...

#TIL for #NFNov
@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I love it when things like that happen. 5y
rsteve388 4pts , 5y
Amiable @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @barbarathebibliophage I know! It's like the universe is approving of my reading choices. LOL (edited) 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Amiable I know exactly what you mean, that‘s it exactly. 5y
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Amiable
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#TIL for #NFNov: I am not a scientist. At all. So this explanation of virus amplification may be simple to some of you, but I find it fascinating that with all of the many advances made in science and medicine we still have no idea where and how viruses originated.

@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Aimeesue We don't even really know where DIRT came from! 😄 True story. 5y
rsteve388 4 pts 5y
Crazeedi Yep, viruses are an unknown bit of creation, maybe to remind us we will never understand everything 5y
Amiable @Aimeesue @crazeedi True that! Good point. 😃 (edited) 5y
47 likes4 comments
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Amiable
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I‘m such a geek —I love maps! I should have been a cartographer. Is that still an option as a major in college?
#NFNov

@rsteve388 @Clwojick

Butterfinger My 8 year old could spend all day looking at maps. 5y
MaGoose Cartography is certainly interesting. I enjoy perusing maps, too. I would think the field has changed significantly since Magellan and others sailed out to map the world. And even since Lewis and Clark trekked the American West. Nowadays, there's probably a lot of analysis of satellite data involved. 5y
Amiable @MaGoose Yes, it's probably very technical now! I'm not sure how well I could do with that. 5y
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Caterina I met someone in Rome whose specialty was the history of maps, and he gave a lecture at my program on the history of maps of Rome, and particularly that one really famous one by Nolli. Maybe you could do that! 😂👍 5y
Amiable @Caterina That actually sounds awesome! 😀 5y
rsteve388 I am a cartographer for the USGS it's a great career but is as some have suggested very technical. 5y
rsteve388 1 pr 5y
Amiable @rsteve388 How very cool! What did you major in? Is it a computer-type degree, or similar to engineering? I‘m too old to go back to college but I find it fascinating. (edited) 5y
59 likes8 comments
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Amiable
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Next up for #NFNov is this follow up to “The Hot Zone.” What will I learn about Ebola? 😳
@rsteve388 @Clwojick

LauraJ It was recently announced that a vaccine has been made to protect people from Ebola! 5y
Amiable @LauraJ I did see that in The New York Times! 5y
rsteve388 1 pt 5y
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Amiable
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Just picked up this new one — the latest installment in what my husband calls my “Disease of the Month Book Club.” I admit it. I have a fascination with these kinds of books. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Rissa1 This is on it's way to my house should be here next week. 5y
MicheleinPhilly 😂😂😂 “Disease of the Month.” 5y
ReadingOver50 Love these books too 5y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage I love me a good pandemic story. 5y
Amiable @Rissa1 @readingover50 @barbarathebibliophage I'm so happy to find fellow fans of this genre! :) 5y
Amiable @Rissa1 @readingover50 @barbarathebibliophage I'm so happy to find fellow fans of this genre! :) 5y
Amiable @MicheleinPhilly Seriously, it's like an obsession. I've read books about Ebola, yellow fever, polio, malaria, influenza, HIV, cholera, MRSA, radiation poisoning, anthrax ... I mean, I do work at a hospital, but I'm not a clinical person so I don't really know why I'm so enthralled by pandemics. I think my husband is sleeping with one eye open about now. ;) 5y
Rissa1 I blame my obsession on my mom. She introduced me to Outbreak when I was around 10. I read it so many times the book fell apart. If you like podcasts I recommend This Podcast Will Kill You. 5y
Amiable @Rissa1 It's weird -- I don't really like fictional books about pandemics (with the exception of “Station Eleven“-- I enjoyed that one). I want my biological and epidemiological horror straight up with nonfiction and facts! I don't know what that says about me, really. Probably not good things. 😬 5y
Rissa1 @Amiable I really don't either. I think because Outbreak was my introduction it has stick with me. I think for me, since I enjoy Thriller/horror categories, that truth is far more frightening than fiction. 5y
62 likes10 comments
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JPeterson
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Woo! Guess who got the ARC of Richard Preston‘s upcoming book?!? 😄

I‘m not excited. You‘re excited. 😆

Thanks, #NetGalley!

BookDragonNotWorm I always lose sleep after reading his books! So much scarier than any fiction book! 5y
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