The Demon in the Freezer

A True Story

By: Richard Preston

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

“The bard of biological weapons captures the drama of the front lines.” (Richard Danzig, former secretary of the navy)

The first major bioterror event in the United States - the anthrax attacks in October 2001 - was a clarion call for scientists who work with "hot" agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. In The Demon in the Freezer, his first nonfiction book since The Hot Zone, a number-one New York Times best seller, Richard Preston takes us into the heart of USAMRIID, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland, once the headquarters of the US biological weapons program and now the epicenter of national biodefense.

Peter Jahrling, the top scientist at USAMRIID, a wry virologist who cut his teeth on Ebola, one of the world’s most lethal emerging viruses, has ORCON security clearance that gives him access to top-secret information on bioweapons. His most urgent priority is to develop a drug that will take on smallpox - and win. Eradicated from the planet in 1979, in one of the great triumphs of modern science, the smallpox virus now resides, officially, in only two high-security freezers - at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and in Siberia, at a Russian virology institute called Vector. But the demon in the freezer has been set loose. It is almost certain that illegal stocks are in the possession of hostile states, including Iraq and North Korea. Jahrling is haunted by the thought that biologists in secret labs are using genetic engineering to create a new superpox virus, a smallpox resistant to all vaccines.

USAMRIID went into a state of Delta Alert on September 11 and activated its emergency response teams when the first anthrax letters were opened in New York and Washington, D.C. Preston reports, in unprecedented detail, on the government's response to the attacks and takes us into the ongoing FBI investigation. His story is based on interviews with top-level FBI agents and with Dr. Steven Hatfill.

Jahrling is leading a team of scientists doing controversial experiments with live smallpox virus at CDC. Preston takes us into the lab where Jahrling is reawakening smallpox and explains, with cool and devastating precision, what may be at stake if his last bold experiment fails.

©2002 Richard Preston (P)2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Richard Preston has brought us another book that reads like a top-notch thriller. Would that it were fiction. As the movie unfolds in your mind, remember this: It can happen here.” (Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague)

“The Demon in the Freezer is fascinating, frightening, and important. It reads like a thriller, but the demons are real. Richard Preston has a ‘black patent’ on this kind of reporting and storytelling. He is the only writer on the scene who can make the inside story of biological weapons so darkly entertaining. Read this book and pray that its heroes can lock the demon back in the freezer.” (Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch)

Very Enlightening

I learned a lot about smallpox and how horrific it would be if this monster got loose in the world. I must admit, I had only a passing knowledge of this particular virus. I am a boomer and was vaccinated against smallpox as a child and learning that it would not necessarily protect me anymore was a true eye-opener! I expect a few sleepless nights.

very good book

this books was actually a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I had to read it for a science class and I immediately became enthralled in it. I highly recommend if you like nonfiction and science books!

The demons are not in the freezer anymore.....

This book scares me silly! When you really consider what could happen to end the world--you don't want it to be a horrible sickness that just kills every one.....but that seems like it may actually be a strong possibility. If you didn't believe in vaccines before--you will be begging for them at the end of this read.....

Very Informative and Well Written - but...

Where does The Demon in the Freezer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This type of book will only appeal to a specific audience, but overall i'd say its in my top 10 books.

What aspect of Paul Boehmer’s performance would you have changed?

The performance was well done, the audio book editing was horrible. Clearly no one listened to the final product because there are no less than 8 audio edits were the track repeats itself by 4-5 seconds. This throws off the flow of the story and simply irritates the listener. Audible or whomever did the editing should refund every listeners money and appoligise for such poor quality work.

Too many names...

This is an interesting account of the bio terror attack on the US. There are a lot of names (who cares) and the flow is painfully slow in parts as a result. Information about other countries bio programs was interesting. My Mom is a nurse, so I find biology interesting. If you don't have an interest in what Smallpox can do to a human body, I would suggest skipping this one. The point was: there are bad people out there and Smallpox is a nightmare...

Terrifying.

Wow, the depths of human depravity. Fascinating information but the narrative feels a little unfocused with jumps from subject to subject.

Nightmarish medical thriller that is non-fiction

Where does The Demon in the Freezer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is like listening to a nightmarish medical thriller, except its a non-fiction book. Excellently written and presented.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes! It provides horrific details of smallpox as a disease, how quickly it spreads and kills, the agony and disfigurement it causes before it kills, and the fact that we face the danger of some terrorist group creating a weaponized smallpox device that could bring the entire earth to its knees.

Which scene was your favorite?

N/A

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The description of a patient as his symptoms progressed.

Any additional comments?

We fear diseases that have been with us since the beginning of time, such as cancers, plagues, and super flus, and we worry if any of these will once again take off. When an outbreak of Ebola or Marbourg or some other hemorrhagic disease breaks out, we fear it will spread out of control from the remote parts of the world.But none of these diseases has been more horrific than smallpox. No other disease has killed more people, more rapidly with such horrific ferocity than smallpox. While the disease is currently eradicated, there are still living samples of different strains in the freezers of various labs around the world. It would take the actions of one twisted individual to bring havoc upon the world far beyond any other disease we currently live with.

Terrifying

fascinating book. but good luck sleeping at night. more terrifying than any Stephen King novel. this is real life.

Can we handle the truth?

I read this book 20 years ago, and had many conversations with my veterinarian about it, as this is a medical book. This needs to be read by everyone, as we all need to understand the reality of these viruses. Read this, and you will know where Covid is headed. This is not going to be a feel good read, but we all need to understand what is happening.

terrifying

another great book by Richard Preston. when you consider everything going on in the world today this book makes complete and total sense..