Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but not Harrowing
Review: "Germs" covers the recent history of biological warfare as well as may be expected, given the extremely secretive nature of the subject. It sheds light on the fact that America is very unprepared for a massive biological attack, yet at the same time is not likely to experience one. While small-scale attacks are possible and maybe even likely to occur, the fact is that they are not likely to succeed to any great extent due to the difficulty of creating a bug that is sufficiently virulent and able to survive on its own outside of the lab. Certainly more can and should be done to prevent and/or contain any such attacks, but at the same time, people should not be losing much sleep over it.
Probably the most interesting thing about this book is the level of paranoia and moral superiority displayed by the American government. They spent so much time and money scrutinizing the Soviet Union, sure that they were violating the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972, even after the collapse of the Union. And of course, the soviets were doing just that and even admitted to it. But the level of moral superiority is just disgusting, as the U.S. was just as guilty as they were, probably even more guilty than the book leads one to believe.

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Summary: By the time you read this....
Review: ...it's quite possible that this book's worst fears will have been proven justified. The authors are extremely well-informed, and have mapped out the recent history of biological warfare developments in some depth, based on three years of careful research for the New York Times. The problem is, despite ample warning, the US government has not treated this topic with the seriousness it deserves, relegating it to the back seat in concerns over nuclear proliferation and conventional chemical warfare (which is a second-best alternative, as all experts have realized for some time). The bugs are out there: The Soviets made enough to kill everyone on earth several times over. The Iraqis have plenty, too, thanks to the inefficiency of the UNSCOM's work after the Gulf War. Some 'favorite' bugs like anthrax and the extracted botulinum toxin only kill those they hit. Others, like smallpox, Ebola or Marburg Fever, will make the predictive powers of Stephen King's "The Stand" seem uncanny. They're "the gift that keeps on giving."
This book will give you a new respect for Bill Clinton, who was at least awake to the threat. And new contempt for the pork barrel politics of the USA, since much of the money (billions of dollars) allocated to counterterrorism -- and biological warfare in particular -- has been frittered away on technology that doesn't work, and the high-priced but fatuous work of 'beltway bandits.' There's not enough antibiotics, there aren't enough trained staff, and there are few (or no) doses of vaccines for the threats.
Read it and weep, is all I can say. If you can get a copy, that is. It's sold out everywhere I went, and I finally got one by bribing someone at Borders to give up his own copy

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Summary: Real, nuts and bolts information about potential dangers
Review: After watching the World Trade Center attacks, trying frantically to reach friends in New York and then watching the day's events unfold (with an increasing feeling of horror and disbelief) while worrying about possible biological and chemical agents that might have been released (thank goodness, a false alarm in this case) I knew that I wanted more information about the potential dangers that face our country. This book provides that information, from accounts of experiments with various biological weapons and agents, interviews with workers in the field and more. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to be as informed as possible and who wants to make whatever decisions are possible to protect their families and friends. I won't kid you- the book doesn't purport to say that we are in control of the future or that all dangers can be avoided. But it does provide the type of information that you may be seeking about what has been done to provide national security against germ warfare - and what still needs to be done - in our country and in other countries.

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Summary: Miller's NYT reporting needs to be remembered
Review: Anyone who's read this book, or is considering doing so, should consider what has come to light about Judith Miller's reporting in the build-up to the Iraq war (simply do a search on google for "Judith Miller" - see, in particular, the articles in Slate). Miller was regularly writing front page columns for the New York Times which contained sensational claims (now known to be wildly inaccurate) about Iraq's possession - or efforts to obtain - WMDs. One telling detail to the quality of Miller's reporting can be gleaned from her concession in May of 2003 that the now-discredited Ahmed Chalabi provided most of the scoops (aka lies) for her front page stories on WMDs.

Based on the sheer extent of errors in her pre-war reporting, I think readers of Miller's work need to utilize a heightened degree of skepticism when assessing her claims.

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Summary: GERMS--America's Next War?
Review: As a crime fiction writer with my debut novel in initial release, I found GERMS fascinating. Within minutes of the shameful attack on our twin towers, I mentioned to my wife the possibility that truly determined terrorists could have planted biological weapons within their luggage as they boarded those airliners they planned to turn into bombs. GERMS confirmed, to this reader, that such a possibility was at the very least possible. Fortunately, it appears now that our nation has dodged that bullet on this occasion, but this book is a must-read work. The journalists who collaborated on GERMS present frightening details involving the possibilitiy of biological warfare in our modern age. They also report on our government's attempts to prepare for and, we hope, prevent such an attack. We are living a new age. Warfare will not be what we have witnessed in the past. GERMS makes that fact clear. Anyone who wants to be an informed citizen, ought to read this bok.

Rating:
Summary: Scary to say the least
Review: As a molecular biologist, I was shocked at what was discussed in this book. Descriptions of potential weapons, or weapons that were being worked on when the Soviet Union fell sent shivers down my spine. The authors have thouroughly researched the material and present it more as fact rather than a story.

To learn that West Nile virus was used as a "model" to demonstrate how the government could "contain" an invectious disease, only to find that we totally failed to contain demonstrates how real this danger may be. Unfortunetly, you also gain the insight of how politics actually works. The creation of the programs would cost billions and if they "work" they appear as wasted money since the programs success would result in no attacks.

Some parts of the book read rather slowly, but serve as the foundation required for the modern discussions that are addressed later in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Scary to say the least
Review: As a molecular biologist, I was shocked at what was discussed in this book. Descriptions of potential weapons, or weapons that were being worked on when the Soviet Union fell sent shivers down my spine. The authors have thouroughly researched the material and present it more as fact rather than a story.
To learn that West Nile virus was used as a "model" to demonstrate how the government could "contain" an invectious disease, only to find that we totally failed to contain demonstrates how real this danger may be. Unfortunetly, you also gain the insight of how politics actually works. The creation of the programs would cost billions and if they "work" they appear as wasted money since the programs success would result in no attacks.

Some parts of the book read rather slowly, but serve as the foundation required for the modern discussions that are addressed later in the book.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Has Been Discredited
Review: Even a week ago I would have said this is book is probably the best popular introduction to the subject. Now that the New York Times has effectively called into question every word published on the subject by its reporter, Judith Miller, I feel I should warn folks to read the book with the NYT's admitted failures in mind. It's not clear how this scandal relates to the information in the book not associated with Iraq's bio-chem weapons programs, but those sections at least are thoroughly tainted by the evolving story of how Iran/Chalabi/White House/DoD collaborated to manipulate public/government opinion by feeding Miller disinformation.

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Summary: From Oregon to the Soviet Union, bioterror can happen
Review: Since September 11 and the Anthrax letters people have become more aware of the threat of biological weapons. In this book we can read about two attacks that have happened before: salmonella by the Baghwan Cult in Oregon and the famous sarin gas attack in the Tokyo Subway.

These three journalists have done a lot of research into the different bio weapons programs in the US, USSR and other nations. Through personal interviews we also know that President Clinton was very knowledgable about the threat.

There is also a nice chapter on Iraq and their programs during the 80s and 90s and the role the US played in this.

They have been given documents by the Pentagon and the White House, so you are never really sure if they can write absolutely free, but it's worth reading as a good book on bio terrorism, a not so visible threat

Rating:
Summary: File under fiction
Review: This book came out at the same time that Judith Miller was doing the incredibly bad reporting for the NYTimes that lead the US into the Iraq War. Much of her reporting on WMD spurred interest in her book and increased its sales. I wonder how much her incredibly bad reporting that the Times has now repudiated as false and misleading can be credited to unconscious credulousness centered on the knowledge that more WMD fear would increase her book sales?

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