Anthrax: A Practical Guide for Citizens--What You Should Know, What You Can Do, & How It Came to This [Paperback]

The Parents' Committee for Public Awareness (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Harvard Perspectives Press has announced the publication of Anthrax, A Practical Guide for Citizens, a softcover book that distills the most up-to-date information in a direct, authoritative, and easy-to-use manner, and compiles useful public materials so that no family, individual, employer, public institution or medical facility will have to hunt them down.

Edited by the Parents’ Committee for Public Awareness with an underlying message that says “Don’t be afraid, be informed,” Anthrax, A Practical Guide for Citizens is a must-have reference and guide for home, school, library, workplace, clinic, and media outlet. It is the first book of its kind of anthrax and is, for the most part, accessible to the layperson.

The book provides information current through mid-October 2001 on means of contracting anthrax, antiobiotic therapies, vaccines, and history, and also surveys other potential bioterror agents as well as providing a lively review of the history of biowarfare. It includes appendices and informational boxes from a number of official sources including the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, the Health Alert Network and the U.S. Postal Service.

From the Author

from the authors' Foreword

In the days after the world changed on September 11, 2001, many of us in America began to cast around for positive things that we could do. Some people enlisted in the military, some marched for peace, some gave blood, some went to New York to help in the work to be done there. Julia Roberts made a public service announcement and Paul McCartney pulled together, with a little help from his friends, a concert. We all had things to do, and it is important that we did them. As parents, we wanted to do something concrete that could help provide information that would be useful to a variety of people including those who care for our children and try to keep them healthy. As the news about anthrax became a bit more grim each day, we decided to pull together this book, also with a little help, and ultimately we decided to publish it. We hope it will help provide useful information to people in a variety of settings as we all face a terrible terrain that few of us ever expected ! we would encounter. We have drawn upon a wide array of public sources, books, and journals for the information presented here, and although we are not medical professionals or scientists we have checked and double-checked painstakingly to assure that the information provided here is accurate. We encourage feedback to our publishers’ email address printed on the copyright page, and if there is sufficient interest to update and revise in the future we will certainly try to incorporate such feedback into that effort. The Parents Committee for Public Awareness October, 2001

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Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Perspectives in Current; 1st edition (October 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971577803
• ISBN-13: 978-0971577800
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,611,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concern vs. Panic, October 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Anthrax: A Practical Guide for Citizens--What You Should Know, What You Can Do, & How It Came to This (Paperback)

Sure there is concern. Why not? At my house, we like online shopping. A great deal of mail comes in and out of this house. I have relatives and friends who are USPS employees. There is a lot to be concerned about.

But panic? Nope.

I am one of the lucky ones. A friend gave me an advance copy of 'Anthrax: A Practical Guide' and my questions are answered. I don't have the patience for the political agendas I hear on television, or the panic-mongers drumming up viewership, or the multi-syllabic scientific medical explanations that I can't understand -- I want facts, spelled out in simple and straightforward language. I want to understand what is happening, why, and what I can do about it. This little book does this for my household.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a handbook about anthrax for their family, or office. When/if something happens, people don't always think fast -- or clearly. A book like this, simple and direct, is an ideal addition to our health care book shelves.

The best cure for panic is knowledge.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource !!, October 27, 2001

By 

ace "[e-mail]" (Belmont, Morocco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anthrax: A Practical Guide for Citizens--What You Should Know, What You Can Do, & How It Came to This (Paperback)

This book is a must read...no scare tactics, rumors, or hysteria..just the facts.. I found the section on helping children deal with catastrophes most enlightening... This is an
excellent compilation, loaded with current information, written just this month, and practical, sound advice...if you buy one book on this important subject, this should be the one...

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best I have seen on anthrax, November 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Anthrax: A Practical Guide for Citizens--What You Should Know, What You Can Do, & How It Came to This (Paperback)

Since anthrax has become a major preoccupation not only for the media but for millions of Americans, it is important to have an accessible, readable handbook that tells people what to look for, what to expect, and what to do. This book accomplishes that in a very straightforward way. As a nurse I will be recommending it to people in the regular course of my duties.