Richard Preston

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Richard Preston (b. August 5, 1954) is a New Yorker writer and bestselling author of books about alarming infectious disease epidemics and bioterrorism. Whether journalistic or fictional, his writings are based on thorough background research and extensive interviews.

His 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone" was expanded into his best known book, The Hot Zone (1994). It is a "non-fiction thriller" about the Ebola virus. He came to know the virus through such contacts as U.S. Army researchers Drs. C.J Peters and Nancy Jaax. His fascination began during a visit to Africa where he was an eyewitness to epidemics.

Preston's novel The Cobra Event (1997), about the terroristic release of a fictional virus combining various qualities of different diseases upon New York City, alarmed even former President Clinton ^{[citation needed]}. The book strove to tell a fast-paced thriller narrative within the bounds of well-researched bio-terroristic possibility.

Richard's brother Douglas Preston also became a best-selling author, together with his writing-partner Lincoln Child.

The Hot Zone served as the (very loose) basis of the Hollywood movie Outbreak (1995) about military machinations surrounding a fictional "Motaba virus".

1 Bibliography
- 1.1 Fiction
- 1.2 Non-fiction
2 External links

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Fiction

(1997) The Cobra Event. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-45714-3.
(2003) The Boat of Dreams: A Christmas Story, illus. George Henry Jennings, New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-4592-X.

[edit] Non-fiction

(1987) First Light: The Search for the Edge of the Universe. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-200-1.
(1991) American Steel: Hot Metal Men and the Resurrection of the Rust Belt. New York: Prentice Hall Press. ISBN 0-13-029604-X.
(1994) The Hot Zone. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-43094-6.
(2002) The Demon in the Freezer. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50856-2.