Richard Preston was born in 1954 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and received a Ph.D from Princeton University. He is the author of The Hot Zone; American Steel (about the Nucor Corporation's project to build a revolutionary steel mill); and First Light (about astronomy and astronomists) which won the American Institute of Physics award in science writing. An asteroid has been named 'Preston' in honour of First Light. Preston is a lump of rock the size of lower Manhattan. It is likely some day to collide with Mars or the Earth. Richard Preston is a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and has won numerous awards, including the AAAS-Westinghouse Award and the McDermott Award in the Arts from MIT.

"One of the most terrifying books I've ever read. Move over Stephen King and Michael Crichton - this really happened, within sight of the Washington Monument. And sooner or later it will happen again" -- Arthur C. Clarke "Reads like a nightmarish Stephen King thriller...It will keep you awake at night because you know that this is not a figment of the author's imagination" Today "A nightmarish scenario...dramatic...frightening" Daily Mail "The spookiest story of 1994...A terrifying premonition of what might come out of the woods" The Sunday Times "The first chapter of The Hot Zone is one of the most horrifying things I've read in my entire life...And then it gets worse. What a remarkable piece of work. I devoured it in two or three sittings and have a feeling the memories will linger a long time" -- Stephen King

Richard Preston was born in 1954 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and received a Ph.D from Princeton University. He is the author of The Hot Zone; American Steel (about the Nucor Corporation's project to build a revolutionary steel mill); and First Light (about astronomy and astronomists) which won the American Institute of Physics award in science writing. An asteroid has been named 'Preston' in honour of First Light. Preston is a lump of rock the size of lower Manhattan. It is likely some day to collide with Mars or the Earth. Richard Preston is a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and has won numerous awards, including the AAAS-Westinghouse Award and the McDermott Award in the Arts from MIT.

"One of the most terrifying books I've ever read. Move over Stephen King and Michael Crichton - this really happened, within sight of the Washington Monument. And sooner or later it will happen again" -- Arthur C. Clarke "Reads like a nightmarish Stephen King thriller...It will keep you awake at night because you know that this is not a figment of the author's imagination" Today "A nightmarish scenario...dramatic...frightening" Daily Mail "The spookiest story of 1994...A terrifying premonition of what might come out of the woods" The Sunday Times "The first chapter of The Hot Zone is one of the most horrifying things I've read in my entire life...And then it gets worse. What a remarkable piece of work. I devoured it in two or three sittings and have a feeling the memories will linger a long time" -- Stephen King