Three reporters from The New York Times survey the recent history of biological weapons and sound an alarm about the coming threat of the "poor man's hydrogen bomb." Germs begins ominously enough, recounting the chilling attack by the followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in 1984 on the Dalles, Oregon--no one died, but nearly 1,000 were infected with a strain of salmonella that the cult had legally obtained, then cultured and distributed.

While the U.S. maintained an active "bugs and gas" program in the '50s and early '60s, bio-weapons were effectively pulled off this country's agenda in 1972 when countries around the world, led by the United States, forswore development of such weapons at the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The issue reemerged in the early '90s thanks to Saddam Hussein and revelations of the clandestine and massive buildup of bio-weapons in remote corners of the Soviet Union. The book's description of the Soviet program is horrific. At its peak the program employed thousands of scientists, developing bioengineered pathogens as well as producing hundreds of tons of plague, anthrax, and smallpox annually. The authors conclude that while a biological attack against the United States is not necessarily inevitable, the danger of bio-weapons is too real to be ignored. Well-researched and documented, this book will not disappoint readers looking for a reliable and sober resource on the topic. --Harry C. Edwards


From Publishers Weekly
Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War by Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg and William J. Broad. Three New York Times journalists offer their views on this timely topic. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Dealing with bioterrorism, this audiobook couldn't be more timely. It starts with a chilling tale of an attack carried out a few years ago when terrorists dusted salad bars in an Oregon community with salmonella bacteria. Murphy Guyer's mellow voice and methodical speaking style are ideal for informational nonfiction, and make the journey through the dangers of anthrax, botulism, and smallpox painless and instructive. The warning about the potency of anthrax is eerily clairvoyant of the deadly mailings of fall 2001 and should awaken citizens to the toxicity of many of our tiny enemies. Although scientific and precise, the material and message are appropriate for general readers. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
International treaties are intended to keep us safe, but as the authors, New York Times reporters, show, confidence in international law may be misplaced. The 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention was systematically violated on industrial scales by the Soviet Union and Iraq. Each of these legal reprobates manufactured (as did the U.S., before President Nixon terminated U.S. production in 1969) pathogens in quantities sufficient to annihilate humanity. Reconstructing the Soviet and Iraqi germ warfare programs, the authors recount how these violations impacted the debates and actions of U.S. government officials. Some doubted the Soviets were flouting the convention; others, convinced they were, insisted the U.S. continue "defensive" research on anthrax and its ilk. Because the hard-liners were vindicated, focus since the Soviet collapse has been on keeping scientists from selling their expertise to the Iraqs of the world. Meanwhile, Iraq tried to bamboozle the UN disarmament commission about its involvement in germ warfare, prompting the U.S. military to worry about whether it should vaccinate troops. Though some of the authors' conclusions are being challenged by other experts, Germs provides chilling context about a nefarious weapon. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
David Perlman San Francisco Chronicle Engrossing, well-documented, and highly readable....Both a revelation and a history; [the] authors are both skilled reporters and tellers of vivid stories.


Book Description
In the wake of the anthrax letters following the attacks on the World Trade Center, Americans have begun to grapple with two difficult truths: that there is no terrorist threat more horrifying -- and less understood -- than germ warfare, and that it would take very little to mount a devastating attack on American soil. In Germs, three veteran reporters draw on top sources inside and outside the U.S. government to lay bare Washington's secret strategies for combating this deadly threat. Featuring an inside look at how germ warfare has been waged throughout history and what form its future might take (and in whose hands), Germs reads like a gripping detective story told by fascinating key figures: American and Soviet medical specialists who once made germ weapons but now fight their spread, FBI agents who track Islamic radicals, the Iraqis who built Saddam Hussein's secret arsenal, spies who travel the world collecting lethal microbes, and scientists who see ominous developments on the horizon. With clear scientific explanations and harrowing insights, Germs is a masterfully written -- and timely -- work of investigative journalism.


About the Author
Judith Miller and William Broad are reporters at The New York Times. Stephen Engelberg is managing editor/enterprise of The Oregonian. All three authors have received the Pulitzer Prize for their journalism.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Three New York Times veteran reporters teamed up for this thoughtful and thorough report on bio-terrorism -- from a salmonella attack by cultists in Oregon during the 1980s to the current state of biological weapons.

ANNOTATION

A frightening and unforgettable narrative of cutting-edge science and spycraft, Germs shows us why advances in biology and the spread of germ weapons expertise to such countries as Iran, Iraq, and North Korea could make germs the weapon of the twenty-first century.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the wake of the anthrax letters following the attacks on the World Trade Center, Americans have begun to grapple with two difficult truths: that there is no terrorist threat more horrifying -- and less understood -- than germ warfare, and that it would take very little to mount a devastating attack on American soil. In Germs, three veteran reporters draw on top sources inside and outside the U.S. government to lay bare Washington's secret strategies for combating this deadly threat.

Featuring an inside look at how germ warfare has been waged throughout history and what form its future might take (and in whose hands), Germs reads like a gripping detective story told by fascinating key figures: American and Soviet medical specialists who once made germ weapons but now fight their spread, FBI agents who track Islamic radicals, the Iraqis who built Saddam Hussein's secret arsenal, spies who travel the world collecting lethal microbes, and scientists who see ominous developments on the horizon. With clear scientific explanations and harrowing insights, Germs is a masterfully written -- and timely -- work of investigative journalism.

SYNOPSIS

In this groundbreaking work of investigative journalism, Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad of The New York Times uncover the truth about biological weapons and show why bio-warfare and bio-terrorism are fast becoming our worst national nightmare.