Richard Preston, PhD

 

Richard Preston's critically and commercially acclaimed books have cemented his status as a first-rate investigative journalist and gifted storyteller, as well as put him in the forefront of the emerging diseases and biotechnology arenas. He first took the world by storm with The Hot Zone, the international best seller that introduced the world to the threat of Ebola and other rain forest viruses. Spending 42 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list, The Hot Zone inspired several fictional adaptations (including the hit film, Outbreak, starring Dustin Hoffman and Renee Russo) and has been translated into over 30 languages.

In The Cobra Event, also a best seller, Preston turned his attention to the very real threat of biological terrorism. Although his tale unfolds as fiction, it is backed by nearly three years of in-depth research at the highest levels of American and international intelligence, including the FBI, the Pentagon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), intelligence officers in foreign governments, and scientists who have been involved in the development and testing of strategic bioweapons.

The Demon in the Freezer takes us back into the hot zone, delving with unprecedented detail into the government's response to the anthrax attacks of October 2001--the first major bioterror event in the US and the second largest investigation in FBI history. He takes us into the epicenter of national biodefense, USAMRIID, where scientists are convinced that the next bioterror threat isn't anthrax but a genetically modified strain of smallpox, the world's deadliest disease, that is now vaccine-resistant. With devastating clarity, Preston shows what is at stake for the scientists fighting to stay one step ahead of the new disease, and what it could mean for all of us.

Preston's latest, The Wild Trees, is an account of scientific and spiritual passion for the tallest trees in the world, the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. He expertly explores the startling biosystem of "the canopy" and shares the story of those who are committed to the preservation of this astonishing and largely unknown world. Whether delivering a grim account of what biological terrorism is capable of, sharing the inside story of how scientists are finding ways of proteting civilian populations, or revealing the dangerous and hauntingly beautiful lost world above the canopy, Preston shows audiences the world in a slightly different light than ever seen before.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Preston graduated summa cum laude from Pomona College and went on to earn a PhD in English from Princeton University. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and has won numerous awards including the American Institute of Physics Award, the AAAS-Westinghouse Award, and the McDermott Award in the Arts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the only non-physician to have received the Champion of Prevention Award from CDC.

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