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.
Rating:
Summary: Bio Terrorism becomes a Nightmare, Indeed!
Review: A frightening and unforgettable narrative of cutting-edge science and spy craft. In the groundbreaking investigation 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. Germs shows 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. Germs sprayed in shopping malls, bombs that let scars in battlefields, plague spread in Times Square and all is a common man's hydrogen bombs, hideous weapons of mass destruction that can be made in a simple laboratory. Â
There are some startling revelations found in the Book Germs and these shows bio-warriors, past and present at their trade. There is the American scientist who devoted his professional life to perfecting biological weapons, and the Nobel laureate who helped pioneer the new biology of genetically modified germs and is now trying to stop its misuse. The Germs focus on former Soviet scientists who made enough plague, smallpox, and anthrax to kill everyone on Earth and whose expertise is now in great demand by terrorists, rogue states, and legitimate research labs alike. Germs shows how a small group of scientists and senior officials persuaded President Bill Clinton to launch a controversial multibillion-dollar program to detect a germ attack on U.S. soil and to aid its victims, a program that, so far, is struggling to provide real protection. Its Terrorism everywhere! The world combats to fight the fury of man man weapons leading to endless destruction and violence.
Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
Summary: A detailed and shocking look at biowarfare
Review: Germs is a shocking book. Written by writers from the New York Times, it provides an interesting look at how America and the rest of the world researched biological weapons, and discusses the possible threat to the US.
Starting off with a little known incident in the western United States, the book details how easily a cult was able to poison an entire town and how little the incident got out into the media.
From there, the information goes chronologically, starting with World War II and going through the cold war to present time. There, the workings of the biological programs are shown, and it's shocking. It explains the weapons that we made, such as Anthrax, Plague, Botulinum Toxin and others. The authors write as if it's actually happening as you read, and don't reveal things until they happened in 'time'. Much of the information about the Russian bioweapons research doesn't come in until a defector explains everything to the army in the early 90s.
From everything in the book, it is startling how un prepared we are for this new kind of war. Paticularly interesting was the Army's lack of interest in vaccines until it was almost too late. From the book, the US is unprepared for a biological weapons attack. That is changing, and those changes are shown at the end.
This is a quick read, and very easy to get into. It's a great read for anyone who is interested in this subject, but not if you're too worried about the possibilities that the book presents.
Rating:
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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