Richard Preston

Last updated

Richard Preston
Born
Richard Preston

(1954-08-05) August 5, 1954 (age 69)
Education Wellesley High School
Pomona College
Princeton University (PhD)
Occupation(s)Non-fiction writer, journalist
Years active1954–present
Notable work

Richard Preston (born August 5, 1954) is a writer for The New Yorker and bestselling author who has written books about infectious disease, bioterrorism, redwoods and other subjects, as well as fiction.

Contents

Biography

Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated Wellesley High School in Massachusetts in 1972 and attended Pomona College in Claremont, California. He earned a Ph.D. in English from Princeton University in 1983.

His 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone" was expanded into his breakout book, The Hot Zone (1994). It is classified as a "non-fiction thriller" about ebolaviruses. He learned of Ebola 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. The book served as the (very loose) basis of the Hollywood movie Outbreak (1995) about military machinations surrounding a fictional "Motaba virus".

Preston's novel The Cobra Event (1998), about a terrorism release of a fictional virus combining various qualities of different diseases upon New York City, alarmed even then-President Bill Clinton who, shortly after reading it, instigated a review of bio-terror threats to the U.S. [1] The book strove to tell a fast-paced thriller narrative within the bounds of well-researched bio-terrorism possibility, and was reportedly pressed upon Clinton by a molecular biologist when he was attending a Renaissance Weekend event. [2]

The Demon in the Freezer (2002) covers the story of the eradication of smallpox, perhaps the most destructive virus to have plagued mankind. It details the survival of the virus in research labs and bio-weapon programs of Russia and other nations, despite its eradication in the human population. The narrative continues with anthrax, a bacterial disease of cattle and humans, used in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

First Light and American Steel are non-fiction books addressing astrophysics and the steel industry. First Light centers around the history of the Hale Telescope on Palomar Mountain, and the astronomers who work there. American Steel chronicles the history of the Nucor steel company, and focuses on its newest steel plant in Indiana, whose success depends on a new steel-sheet making machine engineered in West Germany.

Preston's personal hobby of recreational tree climbing is introduced in The Wild Trees (2007). [3] His climbing experience likely led him to write about the largest known redwoods like Lost Monarch in the Grove of Titans, or Iluvatar, described in that book along with delicate forest canopy ecosystems.

Preston's Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science is a collection of essays related to his experiences researching his previous books.

In November 2009, Preston was selected by Harper-Collins and the Michael Crichton estate to complete his unfinished novel Micro after Crichton's death in November 2008. The book was released on November 22, 2011. Approximately a third of Micro was completed by Crichton. Preston completed the book according to the author's remaining outline, notes, and research. [4]

In 2016, Preston served as the Bedell Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program [5] where he judged the prestigious Iowa Prize in Literary Nonfiction.

Preston resides in Hopewell, New Jersey with his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters and one son. [6] He is also the brother of best-selling author Douglas Preston.

Minor planet 3792 Preston is named in his honor. [7]

Bibliography

Novels

Non-fiction

Articles
Nature
Science
True events

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioterrorism</span> Terrorism involving biological agents

Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents include bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same way as in biological warfare. Further, modern agribusiness is vulnerable to anti-agricultural attacks by terrorists, and such attacks can seriously damage economy as well as consumer confidence. The latter destructive activity is called agrobioterrorism and is a subtype of agro-terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biological hazard</span> Biological material that poses serious risks to the health of living organisms

A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect human health. A biohazard could also be a substance harmful to other living beings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McPhee</span> American writer

John Angus McPhee is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourth occasion in 1999 for Annals of the Former World. In 2008, he received the George Polk Career Award for his "indelible mark on American journalism during his nearly half-century career". Since 1974, McPhee has been the Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University.

Steven Jay Hatfill is an American physician, pathologist and biological weapons expert. He became the subject of extensive media coverage beginning in mid-2002, when he was a suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks. His home was repeatedly raided by the FBI, his phone was tapped, and he was extensively surveilled for more than two years; he was also terminated from his job at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). At a news conference in August 2002, Hatfill denied that he had anything to do with the anthrax letters and said "irresponsible news media coverage based on government leaks" had "destroyed his reputation". He filed a lawsuit in 2003, accusing the FBI agents and Justice Department officials who led the criminal investigation of leaking information about him to the press in violation of the Privacy Act.

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Seth Mnookin is an American writer and journalist.

David Volfovich Chudnovsky and Gregory Volfovich Chudnovsky are Ukrainian-born American mathematicians and engineers known for their world-record mathematical calculations and developing the Chudnovsky algorithm used to calculate the digits of π with extreme precision.

<i>The Hot Zone</i> 1995 nonfiction book by Richard Preston

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story is a best-selling 1994 nonfiction thriller by Richard Preston about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers, particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. The basis of the book was Preston's 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR</span> Russian government public health agency

The State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, also known as the Vector Institute, is a biological research center in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia. It has research facilities and capabilities for all levels of biological hazard, CDC levels 1–4. It is one of two official repositories for the now-eradicated smallpox virus, and was part of the system of laboratories known as the Biopreparat.

<i>The Demon in the Freezer</i> 2002 nonfiction book by Richard Preston

The Demon in the Freezer is a 2002 nonfiction book on the biological weapon agents smallpox and anthrax and how the American government develops defensive measures against them. It was written by journalist Richard Preston, also author of the best-selling book The Hot Zone (1994), about ebolavirus outbreaks in Africa and Reston, Virginia and the U.S. government's response to them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases</span> U.S. Army counter-biological warfare research institution

The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases is the U.S Army's main institution and facility for defensive research into countermeasures against biological warfare. It is located on Fort Detrick, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., and is a subordinate lab of the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), headquartered on the same installation.

<i>The Cobra Event</i> 1998 thriller novel by Richard Preston

The Cobra Event is a 1998 thriller novel by Richard Preston describing an attempted bioterrorism attack on the United States. The perpetrator of the attack has genetically engineered a virus, called "Cobra", that fuses the incurable and highly contagious common cold with one of the world's most virulent diseases, smallpox. The disease that results from the virus, called brainpox in the novel, has symptoms that mimic those of Lesch–Nyhan syndrome and the common cold. The book is divided between descriptions of the virus and the government's attempt to stop the imminent threat posed by it.

Clarence James Peters, Jr is a physician, field virologist and former U.S. Army colonel. He is noted for his efforts in trying to stem epidemics of exotic infectious diseases such as the Ebola virus, Hanta virus and Rift Valley fever (RVF). He is an eminent authority on the virology, pathogenesis and epidemiology of hemorrhagic fever viruses.

Dr. Eugene "Gene" Johnson was an American virologist who specialized in filoviruses like Ebola, and Marburg. Formerly of USAMRIID, the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease, he was on staff at the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center, until his death in 2019. While at USAMRIID, Johnson coordinated the first efforts to identify the vector for Marburg virus in Kitum cave, Kenya. He also participated in the joint Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/USAMRIID containment of the 1989 Reston Ebola outbreak near Washington DC.

Reston virus (RESTV) is one of six known viruses within the genus Ebolavirus. Reston virus causes Ebola virus disease in non-human primates; unlike the other five ebolaviruses, it is not known to cause disease in humans, but has caused asymptomatic infections. Reston virus was first described in 1990 as a new "strain" of Ebola virus (EBOV). It is the single member of the species Reston ebolavirus, which is included into the genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae, order Mononegavirales. Reston virus is named after Reston, Virginia, US, where the virus was first discovered.

In the Shadow of Saddam is the first novel by Mikhael Ramadan. The book is a collection of memories. Ramadan, who claims to be an Iraqi defector and former Saddam Hussein body double, asserts that in 1997, Hussein ordered development of "a highly virulent strain of West Nile virus as bioterrorist weapon" capable of killing 97 percent of the population in an urban environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebola</span> Viral hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates caused by ebolaviruses

Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after infection. The first symptoms are usually fever, sore throat, muscle pain, and headaches. These are usually followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash and decreased liver and kidney function, at which point some people begin to bleed both internally and externally. It kills between 25% and 90% of those infected – about 50% on average. Death is often due to shock from fluid loss, and typically occurs between six and 16 days after the first symptoms appear. Early treatment of symptoms increases the survival rate considerably compared to late start. An Ebola vaccine was approved by the US FDA in December 2019.

<i>Zaire ebolavirus</i> Species of virus affecting humans and animals

Zaire ebolavirus, more commonly known as Ebola virus, is one of six known species within the genus Ebolavirus. Four of the six known ebolaviruses, including EBOV, cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other mammals, known as Ebola virus disease (EVD). Ebola virus has caused the majority of human deaths from EVD, and was the cause of the 2013–2016 epidemic in western Africa, which resulted in at least 28,646 suspected cases and 11,323 confirmed deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural effects of the Western African Ebola virus epidemic</span>

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<i>The Hot Zone</i> (American TV series) American television series

The Hot Zone is an American anthology drama television series, based on the 1994 non-fiction book of the same name by Richard Preston and airing on National Geographic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliography of Ebola</span>

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References

  1. Judith Miller and William J. Broad (April 26, 1998). "EXERCISE FINDS U.S. UNABLE TO HANDLE GERM WAR THREAT". New York Times . Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  2. Review of Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War , by Judith Miller, et al., in Washington Monthly, 2001
  3. Preston, Richard (2007), The Wild Trees: A Story Of Passion And Daring. Allen Lane Publishers.
  4. "www.michaelcrichton.com".
  5. "Time for creative nonfiction". Iowa Now. August 14, 2015.
  6. Donahue, Deirdre. "Richard Preston will press your buttons in 'Panic in Level 4'", USA Today , June 16, 2008. Accessed February 15, 2011. "Author Richard Preston at the 75-acre farm where he lives in Hopewell, N.J."
  7. "(3792) Preston = 1980 YF = 1985 FA". Minor planet center.