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Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Preston
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $12.93
You Save: $13.07 (50%)
New (35) Used (4) from $12.93
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 8730
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1
ISBN: 1400064902
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.024
EAN: 9781400064908
ASIN: 1400064902
Publication Date: May 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Bizarre illnesses and plagues that kill people in the most unspeakable ways. Obsessive and inspired efforts by scientists to solve mysteries and save lives. From The Hot Zone to The Demon in the Freezer and beyond, Richard Preston’s bestselling works have mesmerized readers everywhere by showing them strange worlds of nature they never dreamed of.
Panic in Level 4 is a grand tour through the eerie and unforgettable universe of Richard Preston, filled with incredible characters and mysteries that refuse to leave one’s mind. Here are dramatic true stories from this acclaimed and award-winning author, including:
• The phenomenon of “self-cannibals,” who suffer from a rare genetic condition caused by one wrong letter in their DNA that forces them to compulsively chew their own flesh–and why everyone may have a touch of this disease.
• The search for the unknown host of Ebola virus, an organism hidden somewhere in African rain forests, where the disease finds its way into the human species, causing outbreaks of unparalleled horror.
• The brilliant Russian brothers–“one mathematician divided between two bodies”–who built a supercomputer in their apartment from mail-order parts in an attempt to find hidden order in the number pi (π).
In fascinating, intimate, and exhilarating detail, Richard Preston portrays the frightening forces and constructive discoveries that are currently roiling and reordering our world, once again proving himself a master of the nonfiction narrative and, as noted in The Washington Post, “a science writer with an uncommon gift for turning complex biology into riveting page-turners.”
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Panic in Level 4 July 21, 2008
I was pretty disapointed with this book. I really enjoyed some of Preston's novels however this one jumped around to much. I did not like the fact that this book was made up of 6 stories. Though each story was interesting, the book skipped around to much and was at times too repetitive.
 panic in level 4 July 8, 2008
Mr preston always delivers. The book is informative and scary. His books alway make you think. Enjoyed it.
carol
If you read the essays in a magazine, skip this book June 21, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a collection of essays, of varying caliber. There isn't much to tie them together: one is about trees being destroyed by an Asian beetle, one is about a hideous genetic disease, another is about medieval tapestries. Any one of the essays could probably have been turned into an interesting book, but, somehow, this motley collection is more distracting than riveting.
Preston's writing can be a bit stilted, but when the subject matter is good enough, I don't mind reading on.
My biggest problem with this book is the length vs the price. At 188 pages, it is barely as long as a series romance, yet you need to shell out $26 for it. Since the original essays were all available in periodicals like "The New Yorker", which you can get at the library, this really seems like an insult to the reader's wallet.
If you haven't already read his essays, and want to browse through these, I'd definitely recommend the library. This book is not a keeper, and not worth the cover price.
Felt like bait-and-switch given the title of the book... June 21, 2008
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
This sounded like a great idea when I found it on the shelf at the library... Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science by Richard Preston. I opened the book, expecting to have around 200 pages of talk about killer viruses and the war against them. Instead, I got a seemly random assortment of stories that mostly bore little resemblance to the "Panic in Level 4" title. I almost felt like a victim of bait-and-switch.
Contents:
Introduction - Adventures in Nonfiction Writing; The Mountains of Pi; A Death in the Forest; The Search for Ebola; The Human Kabbalah; The Lost Unicorn; The Self-Cannibals; Glossary; Acknowledgments
The title actually comes from the Introduction chapter. It's there that the author relates his story of being allowed to enter a level 4 biohazard room as part of his background research as a writer. This is something that normally is never allowed, but a few rules were bent and he learned what it's like to be working with viruses that can kill you 100% of the time. Had the whole book stayed in that vein, it would have been great. But then Preston launched into an assortment of stories that, in my opinion, failed to deliver on the promise of the intro and title.
The Mountains of Pi examines two mathematicians who built their own supercomputer and dig deeply into the calculations of the value of Pi. Not a bad story in itself, but not exactly "panic" and "level 4" excitement. A Death in the Forest gets into how an insect infestation kills off eastern hemlock trees, and follows the people who try to prevent the deaths. Far from riveting... The Search for Ebola gets back to the title premise a bit, and shows how difficult it is to trace down the source of a disease that has no cure. The Human Kabbalah then reverts back to the "switch" category by following the story of the mapping of the human genome. An inordinate amount of time is spent looking at the personalities involved between the two groups trying to complete the mapping, as well as the motivation and lifestyle of each. Again, perhaps not a bad story in itself, but off the path of expectations. The Lost Unicorn goes into the efforts to restore the Unicorn Tapestries and the computing power needed to blend together digital images of the tapestries so that a digital record of the work is maintained. We're not only "off the path" now, but I'm not sure there was ever a path to begin with! The Self-Cannibals veers back towards the title, covering a syndrome known as Lesch-Nyhan where people are compelled to mutilate themselves in strange and painful ways. It could be a book by itself, but unfortunately it's a small chapter that only helps to counterbalance the other chapters that were out in left field.
I really enjoyed Preston's other works, which capture the danger and intensity of working with killer illnesses that approach a 100% level of mortality. Panic lacked a cohesive thread based on the title, and I was really disappointed that so many of the chapters failed to deliver on expectations. If you come into the book knowing that it's not all about microbes and germs, you may be more forgiving on the choice of chapter subjects. Unfortunately, I didn't, and I wasn't...
 extremely disappointing June 18, 2008
Do not buy this book because of the title. The book has nothing to do with Level 4 containment. And that was the disappointment. The book consists of several short stories that were originally published in a newspaper. A vast majority of the book deals with two mathematician brothers who really lead a very boring life trying to determine pi to umpteen decimals. And Preston goes on and on about their life. The Ebola chapter is an interesting chapter, but still has nothing to do with Level 4. The chapter on a strange disease where people are eating themselves is very interesting...again, nothing to do with Level 4. Another chapter describes the steps taken to photograph a tapestry called "The Unicorn". Nothing exciting there either. The introduction to the book goes on seemingly forever, giving all the punch lines to the chapters and is the only reference to Panic in Level 4 when the author is potentially exposed to microbes while researching part of the book. That's it. "Panic in Level 4" refers to the introduction in the book. The book is also poorly written in that even each chapter seems disjointed. The people eating disease chapter is possibly the best written in the book.
This does not compare in the slightest to Hot Zone, which is a far more cohesively written book and interesting book, in my opinion.
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