Journal Entry 1 by Firegirl from Annandale, Virginia USA on Tuesday, January 31, 2012

From back cover: Dr. C.J. Peters has been on the front lines of our biological battle against "hot" viruses around the world for three decades. In the course of that career, he has learned countless lessons about our interspecies turf wars with infections agents; called in to contain an outbreak of deadly hemmorrhagic fever in Bolivia, he confronted the despair of trying to save a colleagues who accidentally infected himself with an errant scalpel. Working in Level 4 labs on the Machupo and Ebola viruses, he shows time and again why expensive high-tech biohazard containment equipment is only as safe as the people who use it.

Because of new, emerging viruses, and the return of old, "vanquished" ones for which vaccines do not exist, there remains a very real danger of a new epidemic that could, without proper surveillance and early intervention, spread worldwide virtually overnight. And the possibility of foreign countries or terrorist groups using deadly airborne viruses -- the poor man's nuclear arsenal -- looms larger than ever.

High-octane science writing at its most revealing and best. Virus Hunter is a thrilling first-person account of what it is like to be a warrior in the Hot Zone. 

Journal Entry 2 by Firegirl at Annandale, Virginia USA on Thursday, May 17, 2012

Peters has lead quite the life, travelling around the world chasing viruses. I was really in it for the microbiological/scientific/medical aspect and, at first, was a little concerned about how much personal, straight autobiography there was. As I moved along, though, I found that to be an important part of the book. Reading about his life really gives the reader a great sense of how all-encompasing this particular type of work is. Most people's jobs effect their life, but not always to this great an extent. Though at times it did move a bit slow for me, overall I found it fascinating. Peters doesn't always explain all the scientific and medical terms he uses, which didn't bother me as I'm familiar enough with that language to understand, but it's something laymen may be frustrated by. A successful and satisfying (if frightening) read.