Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 240 pages
• Published by: Random House May 27, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1400064902
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1400064908
• Book Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
The title of New Yorker contributor Preston's new collection refers to the subject of his bestselling The Hot Zone: a series of rooms in a government biohazard laboratory where scientists work with virulent pathogens like the Ebola viruses that would be devastating in the hands of terrorists. The essays (all from the New Yorker) cover such scientific matters as a profile of controversial über-genome mapper Craig Venter; a gene that leads people to cannibalize themselves; and two Russian-Jewish émigré scientists who built a monster computer in their cramped apartment to puzzle out patterns in the value of pi. Preston's essay on the destruction of large swaths of eastern U.S. forests by insect parasites accidentally brought into the country from abroad is the shortest but most compelling. Preston might have done more to update his pieces; for example, the Marburg virus was found in bats last year, supporting his hypothesis that they are the reservoir for Ebola. But Preston's fans will enjoy his showing how few degrees of separation there are between far-flung areas of scientific endeavors. Illus. (June)
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From Bookmarks Magazine
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 byâ€"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.” Critics clearly agreed that Panic in Level 4 is great science writing. But since it is science writing rather than a page-turner, readers looking for another Hot Zone may want to look elsewhere.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Reader Reviews
The potential reader should be warned that despite the title of the book being "PANIC IN LEVEL 4", only the introduction portion of the book takes place at the Army's Level 4 virus laboratories at Fort Detrick, an Army base in the eastern flank of the Appalachian Mountains in Maryland. This is the headquarters of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. (USAMRIID) "Biosafety Level 4, is the highest and tightest level of biosecurity in a laboratory. Laboratories rated at Biosafety Level 4 are repositories of viruses called hot agents-lethal viruses for which there is no vaccine or effective cure. Level 4 labs are sealed off from the outside world." The author does a tremendous job in this area, as his narration makes you feel as if you're inside a pressurized whole-body-biohazard-suit along with him. You'll feel sweat dripping down every orifice of your body as untreatable "live" vials of Ebola and other deadly diseases are in your presence, and all of a sudden the zipper on your suit opens, or you find a hole in your sleeve or pants. Unfortunately this section ends too quickly and then we are in New York visiting with brothers Gregory and David Chudnovsky, two mathematics geniuses, that have built a supercomputer utilizing mail order parts in their rundown apartment. All in their quest to find hidden order in the number "PI". (The division of the circle's diameter into its circumference.) These brothers have built the equivalent of a Cray Y-MP Supercomputer (At the time, one of, if not "THE" fastest computer in the world.) which cost more than THIRTY-MILLION-DOLLARS... while their home-built computer cost them about SEVENTY-THOUSAND-DOLLARS. When the author is first greeted at their apartment door by David, as he slowly opened the door he said: "Don't worry, nothing unpleasant will happen to you here. We will not turn you into digits." The temperature in the apartment is unbearable due to the heat this massive computer puts out, and the landlord doesn't know they've created a supercomputer in their apartment. Eventually they break the world record by calculating "PI" to the 2,260,321,336, decimal, which though impressive still doesn't solve the problem. Note: The author calculated and had verified by a "New Yorker Magazine" fact checker, that there was at least ONE-TON-OF-PAPER in Gregory's bedroom. From there we go to a story about the death of trees in the forest. I believe all six chapters are from prior New Yorker articles. Because of this, some chapters overlap as far as having the same characters or DNA research subjects, so the reader is stuck hearing the exact same information about certain people and subjects. The minute miniscule discussions regarding DNA, genome, bacteria, sequencing equipment, etc. over and over and over... I must admit it was over the head of a layman like me. And it wasn't the type of book I thought I was getting. There is a really interesting and harrowing chapter on the Ebola virus that educates the reader that there is not only no cure, but it has been almost impossible to find out where and what it comes from. The author points out that just in the canopies of the forests there are a million living entities that haven't even been discovered by modern man. There's a chapter on a unicorn tapestry made in 1500 and as I mentioned earlier in discussing overlapping characters... the "math-brothers" are out of their apartment and reintroduced to the reader as if we've never heard of them before. The last chapter is entitled "THE SELF-CANNIBALS" which is about Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. I had never heard of it before, and it is a sad, sad, gut-wrenching illness. It will be hard for any human being with even the smallest amount of empathy to not be distressed reading this. One of the tamer passages is: "Over time, his fingers had gotten into his mouth and nose, and had broken out and removed the bones of his upper palate and parts of his sinuses, leaving a cavern in his face. He had also bitten off several fingers. J.J. seemed happy most of the time, except when he was injuring himself." After getting to know the disease and the affect on the poor human beings and their families that are stricken with it, I wish the author would have used a different title for this chapter. One of the phrases used in this chapter was "self-mutilation", which is still awful but I feel it would show a little more dignity. This book obviously is written with a very high intellect level, but it is not for everyone, and I hope my review will help people to buy and not to buy as the individual case may be. I wish I could have read a review like this before I decided. I wasn't prepared for what I read.