Review - 'Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come' by Richard Preston

These days, nothing get our collective attention quite like an epidemic, and Ebola is about as terrifying as they come. Not only are the symptoms gruesome, but the way it propagates via touch as people care for their sick loved ones sounds like something straight out of dystopian sci-fi.

In Crisis in the Red Zone, we follow the horrific 2013-2014 Ebola epidemic that engulfed Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia and eventually went on to infect almost 30,000 people. The book focuses on the Makona Triangle, where the virus first grabbed hold and exploded, and also on Kenema Government Hospital as it quickly became overwhelmed as the only hospital in Sierra Leone with a functional infectious disease unit that could handle Ebola.

What's so riveting about this book is that the virus's effects on humans and its vicious propagation methods are more horrifying than any fictional epidemic/pandemic book I've ever read. During the initial outbreak, the international community did not take this very seriously, and so very little aid arrived. These three relatively poor countries had fragile medical infrastructures which quickly reached their limit and became swamped by the deluge of sick people.

It's one thing to understand a catastrophe from the macro level, another altogether to see it from up close. And that's what Richard Preston aims to achieve with this book. He takes a disaster happening far away and brings humanity to it by telling the story through the eyes of the people on the ground—the doctors, nurses, and scientists fighting on the front lines. Their courage is awe inspiring and their terror is visceral as they battle against this virus that's spreading faster than they can contain it and could possibly kill them in the process.

The book delves into the epidemiological roots of the virus, its current mutations, and where it can go from here if we are not careful. It also explores the ethical implications around who to treat if there are limited resources available or if the only potential medicine is unproven and untested against humans.

I found this whole read to be captivating and informative. It's as gripping as a thriller, but more real and horrifying because it isn't fiction. It's easy to feel a sense of distance when something bad is happening on the other side of the world, to feel as if it could never touch us. So to read this book is to understand the minds and emotions of the medical professionals battling Ebola and to see their fight come alive. These people are the real heroes, and I'm glad their story is being told.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!