Book Log 2008 #37: Panic in Level 4 by Richard Preston

Preston name-drops John McPhee early on in the introduction to this book, which is fitting as the book takes a McPhee-like wander through the fringes of science. The majority of the stories take place in Preston's medical/biological wheelhouse, from his own encounter with a possible exposure to Ebola to a rare genetic disorder that results in self-cannibalism. The other stories feature the Chudnovsky brothers, whose focus on higher math - specifically determining pi - led them to build a supercomputer in their New York apartment.

I liked the stories in general, but I think there's a kind of disconnect between stories that doesn't lead to the sort of unified whole that McPhee gets in his work. As fringey as the Chudnovskys might be, they may be a little out of place in a book that references high-level biohazards. But that shouldn't dissuade you if you like Preston's previous work.