Plague Makers: The Secret World of Biological Warfare Third Edition / Edition 3

by Wendy Barnaby

Overview

The growing threat of bioterrorism on American soil over the past year has unleashed uncertainty and anxiety from coast to coast. Since the tragic events of September 11, and increasingly with every passing day, anthrax and other biological agents have become very real threats to public safety. Yet most Americans remain ignorant of the facts on biological agents, relying primarily on the government for accurate information. The Plague Makers informs a nervous public about the realities of biological warfare. Barnaby acquaints the reader with the evolution of biological weapons in countries around the world, from primitive ancient technologies used by the Greeks to high-tech weaponry developed secretly by the United States government. Aum Shinrikyo's Tokyo subway attack and the emergence of the West Nile virus in New York are only two of the many recent incidences of terror addressed by the author. Barnaby also provides a comprehensive overview of the different types of chemicals used in chemical warfare, as well as analyses of their use around the world. Barnaby further discusses the international regulations aimed at controlling the development and production of biological weapons, as well as possible defense strategies against biological agents of destruction. In The Plague Makers, she has outlined a sobering history of biological warfare.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826414151
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/30/2002
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Wendy Barnaby is a science writer and broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist in Sweden and the UK, where she broadcasts regularly for the BBC and the ABC. From 1992-95 she chaired the Association of British Science Writers.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	9
1.	The Growing Threat	19
2.	Agents of Biological Warfare	31
3.	Terrorism	43
4.	Iraq's Secret Biological Weapons	59
5.	Brothers in Arms: UK, US and Canadian Programs	75
6.	Germany, USSR, Japan and South Africa	101
7.	Scientific Developments and BW	127
8.	Defense against Biological Warfare	143
9.	International Regulation	163
10.	By Opposing End Them	179
	Notes	191
	Index	203

Editorial Reviews

."..even more relevant than it was in past editions..."
Bookwatch, December 2002

."..offers a gripping outline of 'public health in reverse' and how close societies have come to unleashing biomedical havoc on each other."
The Tampa Tribune, 9/24/02

"A readable and well-researched account, from a skilled science writer, of what one day might befall large numbers of us."
The Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher

A science writer (who happens to be married to a defense analyst) discusses the growing threat of biological weapons, friendly nations' BW programs as well as Iraq's, defenses, and progress toward international regulation through the BW Convention. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews