The Demon in the Freezer - Softcover

Preston, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 075531218X ISBN 13: 9780755312184

Publisher: Headline, 2002

Synopsis

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. In a chilling new look at the world of bioterrorism, the best-selling author of The Hot Zone explores the return of smallpox, eradicated in 1979 but now returning in a deadlier, genetically engineered form.

About this title

Review

On December 9, 1979, smallpox, the most deadly human virus, ceased to exist in nature. After eradication, it was confined to freezers located in just two places on earth: the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and the Maximum Containment Laboratory in Siberia. But these final samples were not destroyed at that time, and now secret stockpiles of smallpox surely exist. For example, since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the subsequent end of its biological weapons program, a sizeable amount of the former Soviet Union's smallpox stockpile remains unaccounted for, leading to fears that the virus has fallen into the hands of nations or terrorist groups willing to use it as a weapon. Scarier yet, some may even be trying to develop a strain that is resistant to vaccines. This disturbing reality is the focus of this fascinating, terrifying, and important book.

A longtime contributor to The New Yorker and author of the bestseller The Hot Zone, Preston is a skillful journalist whose work flows like a science fiction thriller. Based on extensive interviews with smallpox experts, health workers, and members of the U.S. intelligence community, The Demon in the Freezer details the history and behavior of the virus and how it was eventually isolated and eradicated by the heroic individuals of the World Health Organization. Preston also explains why a battle still rages between those who want to destroy all known stocks of the virus and those who want to keep some samples alive until a cure is found. This is a bitterly contentious point between scientists. Some worry that further testing will trigger a biological arms race, while others argue that more research is necessary since there are currently too few available doses of the vaccine to deal with a major outbreak. The anthrax scare of October, 2001, which Preston also writes about in this book, has served to reinforce the present dangers of biological warfare.

As Preston eloquently states in this powerful book, this scourge, once contained, was let loose again due to human weakness: "The virus's last strategy for survival was to bewitch its host and become a source of power. We could eradicate smallpox from nature, but we could not uproot the virus from the human heart." --Shawn Carkonen

From the Back Cover

Advance praise for The Demon in the Freezer

“Richard Preston has brought us another book that reads like a top-notch thriller. Would that it were fiction. As the movie unfolds in your mind, remember this: It can happen here.”
-Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague

“The Demon in the Freezer is fascinating, frightening, and important. It reads like a thriller, but the demons are real. Richard Preston has a ‘black patent’ on this kind of reporting and storytelling. He is the only writer on the scene who can make the inside story of biological weapons so darkly entertaining.
Read this book and pray that its heroes can lock the demon back in the freezer.”
-Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch

Praise for The Hot Zone

“One of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read in my whole life. What a remarkable piece of work. I devoured it in two or three sittings, and have a feeling the memories will linger a long time.”
-Stephen King

“A tour de force . . . Preston uses the power of simple narrative to drive deep his story’s urgent truths.”
-Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Utterly engrossing . . . Will make your blood curdle.”
-The Washington Post Book World
From the Hardcover edition.

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 075531218X
• ISBN 13: 9780755312184
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240