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. 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. The book served as the (very loose) basis of the Hollywood movie Outbreak (1995) about military machinations surrounding a fictional 'Motaba virus'. His fascination began during a visit to Africa where he was an eyewitness to epidemics. He came to know the virus through such contacts as U.S. It is classified as a 'non-fiction thriller' about the Ebola virus.

His 1992 New Yorker article 'Crisis in the Hot Zone' was expanded into his breakout book, The Hot Zone (1994). He graduated Wellesley High School in Massachusetts in 1972 and attended Pomona College in Claremont, California.

Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Whether journalistic or fictional, his writings are based on extensive background research and interviews. Richard Preston is a New Yorker writer and bestselling author who has written books about infectious disease, bioterrorism, redwoods and other subjects, as well as fiction.

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