Biological Weapons - by Jeanne Guillemin (Paperback)

About the Book

This resource offers readers a highly accessible and informed account of the circumstances under which scientists, soldiers, and statesmen were able to mobilize resources for extensive biological weapons programs and explains why such weapons were never deployed in a major conflict.

Book Synopsis

Until the events of September 11 and the anthrax attacks of 2001, biological weapons had never been a major public concern in the United States. Today, the possibility of their use by terrorists against Western states looms large as an international security concern. In Biological Weapons, Jeanne Guillemin provides a highly accessible and compelling account of the circumstances under which scientists, soldiers, and statesmen were able to mobilize resources for extensive biological weapons programs and also analyzes why such weapons, targeted against civilians, were never used in a major conflict.

This book is essential for understanding the relevance of the historical restraints placed on the use of biological weapons for today's world. It serves as an excellent introduction to the problems biological weapons pose for contemporary policymakers and public officials, particularly in the United States. How can we best deter the use of such weapons? What are the resulting policies of the Department of Homeland Security? How can we constrain proliferation? Jeanne Guillemin wisely points out that these are vitally important questions for all Americans to consider and investigate--all the more so because the development of these weapons has been carried out under a veil of secrecy, with their frightening potential open to exploitation by the media and government. Public awareness through education can help calm fears in today's tension-filled climate and promote constructive political action to reduce the risks of a biological weapons catastrophe.

Biological Weapons is required reading for every concerned citizen, government policymaker, public health official, and national security analyst who wants to understand this complex and timely issue.

Review Quotes

A clear, well-written general survey... it eschews the sensationalism and fear mongering which surrounds much of the current literature.--John Ellis van Courtland Moon "Journal of Military History"

Guillemin's account of biological weapons is lucid and concise, providing an excellent guide through the evidence on the past and issues for the future.--Lawrence D. Freedman "Foreign Affairs"

Guillemin's book is an extremely valuable and insightful work on a topic of significant national and international concern.--Thomas May "Journal of the American Medical Association"

Jeanne Guillemin presents a cogent history of biological warfare and its horrific implications--Karl Helicher "ForeWord"

Read it.--Alan D B Malcolm "Biologist"

The book ranks high as a historical introduction to the subject and a handbook on contemporary remedies.-- "Publishers Weekly"

The scholarship and the clarity of the writing are remarkable...deserves to be read widely--Karl M. Johnson, M.D. "New England Journal of Medicine"

There is no better source for an overview of the history of biological weapons research.--Susan Lindee "Bulletin of the History of Medicine"

This sane and sensible book ends by arguing for a more balanced approach.--Malcolm Dando "Nature"

About the Author

Jeanne Guillemin is professor of sociology at Boston College and senior fellow in the Security Studies Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the author of Anthrax: The Investigation of a Deadly Outbreak.