WEEK 8- Final Assignment.  I know that I am advised/ instructed to elaborate on two of the previous titles at length.  However, I am such an avid reader of Nonfiction that I thought I would provide longer booktalks on two additional titles.

The HOT ZONE by Richard Preston, 614.57 P.  [Subject: Infectious disease, epidemics, medicine].
      IMHO this book is the penultimate in popular, narrative medical non-fiction writing.  The opening chapters read in a similar way to the most gruesome material conceived by Stephen King or Dean R. Koontz--but with one startling difference.  It is all too true. The events in the book all took place between 1967 and 1993 and began in central Africa. There is a disclaimer at the front of the book stating that the events contained therein are indeed true, but the incubation period of the Ebola and other Hemorrhagic Viruses are less than 24 days. It also states that there is no chance of these diseases spreading from the special bio-facilities in the Washington D.C. or Reston areas.
     A few of the major characters in this book suffered and died from the notorious Ebola Zaire virus. Its source has been discovered to be Kittim cave in the province of Zaire, central Africa. It is a Hemorrhagic virus, which means that the interior tissues of the body melt into liquid and blood emerges from every pore and oriface of the body.
     If someone with this disease sneezes in a room full of 100 people, 90 will perish within a short time. Even the Bubonic Plague was only 60 per cent lethal. Two people, in a highly contagious state, shut down an entire hospital for several weeks. The way these people died is too horiffic to read about before lunchtime.
     We are all fortunate that this disease has not spread worldwide.


Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art. by Laney Salisbury, 364.162 S [Crime, forgery, art, Confidence schemes]
      John Drewe is one of the most audacious con men who ever lived.  His scheme was brilliant, his execution meticulous, his assistant was very gifted.  Using his arts of persuasion and false philanthropy, Drewe squirmed his way into the archives of several art museums to create Provenance [written records] for pieces of non-existant artwork by renowned artists.   He then had his expert art forger friend, John Myatt, create the piece of artwork, in the exact style and method of the said artist, which matched the false record.  This artwork was then sold to the museum (at market prices) for exhibition. This process was repeated hundreds of times in museums in several locations.
      This is the first part of the story.  The second exciting portion of the book involves the apprehension and trial of Drewe and Myatt.  Mr. Drewe's trial probably belongs in the Guinness Book of World Records.  As a supremely confident Con Man, he felt obliged to defend himself in the courtroom.  He did this in such a prolonged and eccentric manner that the judge presiding over the case exempted the jury from further duty for the remainder of their lives.
       The kicker, if you will, is the aftermath. It seems that there are several museums throughout the world, whose collections consist entirely of Drewe/ Myatt forgeries. The museums in question do not dare reveal the truth, lest they become embarassed and scandalized by their presumption of the authenticity of their collections. This is one of those cases where truth is stranger than fiction. If someone fabricated a story such as this, it would be deemed highly improbable. This book is completely factual.