Panic in Level 4 is a grand tour through the eerie and unforgettable universe of Richard Preston, filled with incredible characters and myst...
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Jun 10, 2008
Joanna
rated it: 
I was a bit disappointed when I received this book and realized that it was a collection of six separate stories, and not all of them were about scary germs. My disappointment, however, was short-lived. Richard Preston has expanded and updated pieces he has written for The New Yorker about different, yet somewhat related, topics in science.
Preston's "Introduction: Adventures in Nonfiction Writing" gives interesting insights into the process of writing, while illustrating More...
Preston's "Introduction: Adventures in Nonfiction Writing" gives interesting insights into the process of writing, while illustrating More...
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Dec 10, 2008
Schnaucl
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This book contains a collection of essays originally published in The New Yorker. It made for an interesting read but at times it become repetitive as a few of the essays were on related things and so necessitated the same basic background information which I'm sure was useful when they were originally published over several issues but became merely annoying when read in quick succession.
The introduction is an essay itself, and the only one to take place inside USAMRIID's Level 4. More...
The introduction is an essay itself, and the only one to take place inside USAMRIID's Level 4. More...
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Apr 14, 2010
Patrick
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This is the first Richard Preston book that I have read, and as such I had no expectations of the book other than it was going to be a collection of essays on popular science topics.
Given this qualification, I can't say that I was at all disappointed. Yes, the book has a few flaws (see essay reviews below), but overall I found it informative, entertaining, and easy to read, which is exactly what books on popular science should be.
A breakdown of each essay:
The Introduction was More...
Given this qualification, I can't say that I was at all disappointed. Yes, the book has a few flaws (see essay reviews below), but overall I found it informative, entertaining, and easy to read, which is exactly what books on popular science should be.
A breakdown of each essay:
The Introduction was More...
Jun 27, 2009
Anastacia
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I hadn't read any of the shorter versions of these stories in the New Yorker, so these were all completely new to me. I enjoyed this book immensely. Preston writes with ease and threads his personal touch through the scientific details about which he writes, ultimately setting a tone of a certain intimacy that usual scientific discussions tend to avoid. He writes these stories as though he were writing a biography, not as a science minded person bent on scientific instruction and tedious deta
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Jan 07, 2009
Dad's a medical epidemiologist - I remember riding in the back of the Land Cruiser in Cameroun, leafing through his tropical medicine books, looking at the horrible pictures of people with elephantitis, leprosy, etc. I'm sure that this is where my fascination with medical mysteries started....
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Jun 30, 2009
Simon
rated it: 
‘The Hot Zone' was an exceptional book and so 'Panic in Level 4' sounded very promising at first. The book is a collection of writings Mr. Preston did over a period of a few years. Only a couple of them refer to the terrible viral outbreaks, such as the African Ebola. I wasn't to fond of reading about the self-cannibalization disorder, it seemed to depressing. I recommend 'Demon In The Freezer', much more engaging read.
Feb 05, 2009
Reviewers had few complaints about Panic in Level 4, and they were usually of the sort that accompany any book assembled from a series of magazine pieces. They found much more to be impressed by—from Preston's excellent, insightful character studies to his ability to master so many different kinds of knowledge. But perhaps more significant for readers who only know Preston from The Hot Zone was the absence of inside-the-cover blurbs like "thrilling" and "action-packed." Crit
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May 07, 2009
Sarah
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This was a really fascinating book and a very excellent audio choice. If only all non-fiction were this engaging! Preston is an excellent storyteller - I remember something about each story in this collection (which may not seem that impressive but my memory is terrible!). This is a anthology of articles Preston has written over the years on various topics, each having been slightly expanded and updated for publication here. The topics range from ebola virus to the limits of pi, from the invasio
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Nov 16, 2011
Mandy
rated it:
I love Richard Preston and was excited to read some short stories by him - thinking that the shorter format would be easier to get through - less back story.
This was a mixed bag, however.
Story #1, The Mountains of Pi, is about the Chudnovsky brothers, their super computers, and the quest for patterns in the number pi, bored me to tears overall. There were parts that were interesting, but for the most part I just wanted to get through it. Had I been reading, I would have skippe More...
This was a mixed bag, however.
Story #1, The Mountains of Pi, is about the Chudnovsky brothers, their super computers, and the quest for patterns in the number pi, bored me to tears overall. There were parts that were interesting, but for the most part I just wanted to get through it. Had I been reading, I would have skippe More...
Jan 03, 2009
Terri
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This book confused me a bit. I picked ti up because of the title and that it was Richard Preston (Hot Zone, Demon in the Freezer, Cobra Event). It looked like another cool book about hot viruses. And part of it was. The other parts didnt seem to fit: men building a supercomputer to compute pi in their apt., A pest that is killing the Eastern Hemlock trees, then there was a story about an ebola outbreak. Also a story about the human genome project and a horrifying story about a disease that
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May 22, 2011
Kate
rated it: 
Not as fun, nor as intense, as The Hot Zone, this collection of essays, most of which were originally published in The New Yorker, nevertheless entertains. I admit to being most interested in the ebola essay and the one about Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (parts of which made me laugh out loud, much to my relief, since this terrible disease mostly afflicts young boys and I was afraid I couldn't handle it). I could not get into, and skipped, the tree-infestation piece, and was underwhelmed by the essay o
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May 13, 2011
Rae
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With the title Panic in Level 4, Preston seems to be riding the tide of his popular medical books. The title is somewhat misleading, however, as this book contains six essays he wrote for The New Yorker magazine. The reader shouldn't be disappointed as the articles are really interesting and stand on their own. The subject matter is all over the place: the mysteries of pi, critters eating trees, an Ebola doctor, the Human Genome Project, the famous unicorn tapestry, and a genetic disorder that c
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Jan 11, 2009
Colleen
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I read mostly fiction (in book form at least) with a non-fiction book now and then. This was one of my non-fiction reads. Richard Preston is a very good writer who explains difficult subjects in an easy to understand manner. The topics in this compilation are fascinating and have a scientific thread in common. Mr. Preston did repeat himself a little bit (the chapters in the book were expanded New Yorker Magazine articles) and I really didn't think Panic in Level Four was a good title for the boo
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Jan 01, 2011
Sandra
rated it:
This nonfiction collection of essays about scientific anomalies begins with a very good discussion of the author's approach to writing nonfiction narrative and how he "climbs into the pot" to write about "soup," that is, comes as close as he can to experiencing what the people he writes about experience. The accounts of such diverse scientific adventures as the account two brothers who build a homemade supercomputer to compute pi, the story of the doctors who worked on an Eb
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Jul 20, 2010
Bryce
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This is one of those rare books where the subject matter truly stretched the boundaries of my mind. It takes you places you can't imagine...the very fringes of science, math and the human experience. The best parts of this were an eye-opening article on Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, the hunt for the genesis of Ebola and the photographic mapping of the Unicorn Tapestries via mathematics. There are a few places where you simply have to be patient and get through the quagmire of facts and raw data (espe
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Sep 19, 2009
Chris
rated it:
It was a great read, though sometimes slow at times. The author goes into detail that I found somewhat irrelevant at time, but he even describes his process for, as a means to better create a relatable environment using details to better understand and relate to the people he describes.
The book is really a collection of stories - expansions on his writings for various publications, and insights into his own experiences with deseases, genetics and observations of some of the great peo More...
The book is really a collection of stories - expansions on his writings for various publications, and insights into his own experiences with deseases, genetics and observations of some of the great peo More...
Mar 01, 2009
Jeb
rated it:
It's okay. I always have problems with Journalist books. They just seem to lack depth. And, this book is no different. Some of the shorts are interesting, most don't take you anywhere. The best story is the Ebola story...and, the most frightening.
Based on this book, I wouldn't read another one by Preston, but, I was at a Starbucks and a 20-something student came over when she saw I was reading the book. She said that she didn't like it all that much either, but, that The Hot Zone was r More...
Based on this book, I wouldn't read another one by Preston, but, I was at a Starbucks and a 20-something student came over when she saw I was reading the book. She said that she didn't like it all that much either, but, that The Hot Zone was r More...
Feb 01, 2009
Donna
rated it:
This is a series of only occasionally related essays about various science-related topics. The best parts were the sections related to the Chudnovsky brothers. This surprised me, because I'm not that into either math or supercomputers. But they seem like such likeable, interesting people that their enthusiasm towards their work was a little infectious, at least while I was reading about them.
The part about the Ebola outbreak was okay, but I didn't connect with the other stories at al More...
The part about the Ebola outbreak was okay, but I didn't connect with the other stories at al More...
Dec 18, 2008
Jon
rated it:
This book is very underwhelming, and very difficult to get engaged in. The cover is indeed misleading, as many other reviews have noted, and the stories are much more mundane than his other books.
The author states that this book is a collection of New Yorker stories that have been "fleshed out", and in reality they probably could have been published in original form and made for a much more readable book. The pieces become overly long and repetitive, and in the end simply borin More...
The author states that this book is a collection of New Yorker stories that have been "fleshed out", and in reality they probably could have been published in original form and made for a much more readable book. The pieces become overly long and repetitive, and in the end simply borin More...
Oct 02, 2011
Tom
rated it:
I first thought this Preston book would build on and continue in the vein of The Hot Zone, etc. However, this collection of this writings is much more than that. The Panic in Level 4 title subject is in that vein, but not as impactful and explorative as the much more interesting topics of the genetic, self-destructive disorder Lesh-Nyhan syndrome and what it tells us about free will and genetic determination. Also very interesting is Preston's detailed analysis and advice on interviewing for res
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Oct 02, 2011
Tom
rated it:
I first thought this Preston book would build on and continue in the vein of The Hot Zone, etc. However, this collection of this writings is much more than that. The Panic in Level 4 title subject is in that vein, but not as impactful and explorative as the much more interesting topics of the genetic, self-destructive disorder Lesh-Nyhan syndrome and what it tells us about free will and genetic determination. Also very interesting is Preston's detailed analysis and advice on interviewing for res
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Oct 02, 2011
Tom
rated it:
I first thought this Preston book would build on and continue in the vein of The Hot Zone, etc. However, this collection of this writings is much more than that. The Panic in Level 4 title subject is in that vein, but not as impactful and explorative as the much more interesting topics of the genetic, self-destructive disorder Lesh-Nyhan syndrome and what it tells us about free will and genetic determination. Also very interesting is Preston's detailed analysis and advice on interviewing for res
More...
Oct 02, 2011
Tom
rated it:
I first thought this Preston book would build on and continue in the vein of The Hot Zone, etc. However, this collection of this writings is much more than that. The Panic in Level 4 title subject is in that vein, but not as impactful and explorative as the much more interesting topics of the genetic, self-destructive disorder Lesh-Nyhan syndrome and what it tells us about free will and genetic determination. Also very interesting is Preston's detailed analysis and advice on interviewing for res
More...
Oct 02, 2011
Tom
rated it:
I first thought this Preston book would build on and continue in the vein of The Hot Zone, etc. However, this collection of this writings is much more than that. The Panic in Level 4 title subject is in that vein, but not as impactful and explorative as the much more interesting topics of the genetic, self-destructive disorder Lesh-Nyhan syndrome and what it tells us about free will and genetic determination. Also very interesting is Preston's detailed analysis and advice on interviewing for res
More...
Oct 02, 2011
Tom
rated it:
I first thought this Preston book would build on and continue in the vein of The Hot Zone, etc. However, this collection of this writings is much more than that. The Panic in Level 4 title subject is in that vein, but not as impactful and explorative as the much more interesting topics of the genetic, self-destructive disorder Lesh-Nyhan syndrome and what it tells us about free will and genetic determination. Also very interesting is Preston's detailed analysis and advice on interviewing for res
More...
Oct 02, 2011
Tom
rated it:
I first thought this Preston book would build on and continue in the vein of The Hot Zone, etc. However, this collection of this writings is much more than that. The Panic in Level 4 title subject is in that vein, but not as impactful and explorative as the much more interesting topics of the genetic, self-destructive disorder Lesh-Nyhan syndrome and what it tells us about free will and genetic determination. Also very interesting is Preston's detailed analysis and advice on interviewing for res
More...
Mar 05, 2010
Nathan
rated it:
I listened to this book on tape. It was a fun "read" to get the science juices flowing again in my brain. It details the author's investigations of several sexy scientific phenomena: ebola, the human genome project, number theory, computational problem solving, and frightening genetic diseases. The way it's written, it's very engaging, sucking you in from start to finish. It includes a large human element, profiling quirky, brilliant scientists and mathematicians. Overly dramatic
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Mar 10, 2009
Alethea
rated it:
As with most of Preston's work, this is well-written pop-sci. The original format of this book--magazine articles--meant that it made for a particularly awkward audio book. I find collections of short works in general to be irritating audio books, and the writing style (I'm blaming this on the magazine writing style and not Preston in general, although I don't know that I have ever listened to any of his books before) is a little awkward read aloud. All in all, entertaining background noise,
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Jan 20, 2012
Deen
rated it:
This one is a slight mixed bag as it is comprised mostly of previously published articles from the 'New Yorker' and covers a range of near-fringe science topics as the genesis of the Ebola virus, the maddening quest to unravel the complexities of pi, a genetic condition that causes one to self-mutilate in cannibalistic fashion, etc. Nonetheless, Preston crafts compelling narratives around complex subject matter by focusing on the humanistic elements of each section which ultimately makes for a
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May 16, 2011
Rachael
rated it:
I'm a big fan of Richard Preston. The Hot Zone is one of my favorite books. Okay, maybe it is a little weird that I am totally fascinated by Ebola and other level 4 viruses. Whatever. I recently found my copy of The Cobra Event and started re-reading it last weekend during my garage sale, and am enjoying it just as much the second time around. I stopped at the library last week to pick up something to listen to on my drive to Seattle, and since I had Sam with me I didn't have much time to make a
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