Kirkus Reviews says: "Preston guides us deftly on another scary excursion (Hot Zone, 1994) into the world of really bad viruses—this time smallpox, with a side helping of anthrax. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide from microscopic infectious agents? Welcome to Mr. Preston’s frightening neighborhood."

One of the Spooky (but Not Too Scary) books, although if "terrifying" is in the subtitle, perhaps this one goes beyond merely "spooky"? In this nonfiction thriller, Preston details the emergence of the ebola virus in a pageturning, day-by-day, truth-is-scarier-than-fiction account, starting with the initial discovery of the virus in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, and tracing its origin back to the central African rain forest.