Customer Reviews

Chemical Terrorism: Horrors in Tokyo Subway and Matsumoto City

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book has some real interesting facts and figures in it.
The author's involvement in helping the Japanese police is fascinating. Although some passages and photos in the book are a little confusing, it is interesting reading about the Aum Shinrikyo cult and their leader, Asahara and how they planned the attacks.

Criminally overpriced! Some good information, but:
--No index.
--No footnotes or end notes.
--First page begins numbered p. 25.
--Typically, title page and two blank pages between chapters.
--Many uninteresting photos added for bulk, e.g. p. 34 (entire page), photo of medal won by author.
--About 55 strikes per line (11 words), about 33 lines per page = about 350 words per full page. That's barely a decent paragraph.
--VERY FEW FULL PAGES!
--Numerous typographical errors and/or mistakes.
--Often unedifying, e.g., p. 47 refers to "coded message system" used by Aum, but gives no explanation.; e.g., includes 5 pages of photos (plus 1 page formulas) to "explain" a complicated chemical process--with no written explanation! Totally ridiculous.
--Obviously written by foreign speaker. Would have been better written in Chinese and translated by professional translator.
--No depth.
This PAPERBACK(!) book would be OK if priced about $9. Super rip-off at $25. Unconscionable.

The author states it was written for the lay person to understand and it is in very basic, easy to read, form. The problem is not too many lay people are going to buy this book. Emergency responders and those involved in preventing and managing terrorst incidents have a vested interest in the nerve agent attacks in Japan and should have been the target audience. This book does not present enough technical information to be of great use to them. As an emergency responder trained to respond to WMD incidents, I was disappointed in the book. The author's knowledge and expertise could have produced an awesome book. I had hoped for casualty information and the long term effects to those exposed to the nerve agentas well as inside information on how the responders performed. If you are looking for a book that's a quick read about the Japan incidents, you might enjoy the book. Otherwise hold on to your money.

This is the untold story of the behind the scene investigation behind the Tokyo subway attacks. There are real lessons interwoven here for local government and emergency first responders. While the number of deaths directly linked to the Sarin attacks was relatively low, hundreds of people were taken to area hospitals, overwhelming the system. And this happened in one of the world's most modern cities. Like the canary in the coal mine, this book should be a five-alarm warning to cities worldwide to be vigilant in their preparedness.