Author(s): Wendy Barnaby

Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East and War on Terror

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.