Customer Reviews

Plague Wars: The Terrifying Reality of Biological Warfare

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Tom Mangold and Jeff Goldberg have written a great book. From the fields of WW2 till the UNSCOM inspectors in Iraq, the curtains have been lifted on the horrific topic of biological weapons and their development. This book belongs on the same shelf as Laurie Garrett's "The Coming Plague"; only this is even more frightening. Where "The Coming Plague" details the natural occurance of viral outbreaks and bacterial infections- and the individuals involved with their containment, "Plague Wars" delves into humanity's dark attempts to harness these powers and apply them not to heal, but to kill. You need not be an expert in biology to understand this, and Mangold and Goldberg have a highly accessable writing style. The chapters vary from a journalistic perspective to factual story telling that uses the participant's own words whenever possible. The major topics of include the Cold War until the BWC of 1972, then the Soviet Union's disregard of that document, South Africa, Iraq and finally the future of BW. All of these areas are well researched and fascinating. The masterminds behind the programs of South Africa and the USSR will become names that you will not forget. These are some very bad people.

One weak point is the reliance on "Confidential Interviews" as a source in the footnotes. This is explained in the begining as protecting sources that might otherwise be endangered. Still, it is frustrating.

It is claimed by experts, quoted in this book, that a major biological attack on a large US city should be expected within 10 to 15 years. Considering the lack of preparation that is apparent in most cities, this is a very scary thought. For as you will learn, once a biological attack has been unleashed it is already too late.

Reading this book has left me believing that what we need is to create a highly proficient BW team that can, if possible, stop an attack before it begins- going on the offensive rather than defensive.

"Plague Wars" is an excellent work.

This book provides a brief history of modern biological warfare from its creation by Japanese Unit 731 during WWII through the BWC and Russia's subsequent violation of that treaty. Deals with the programs used by South Africa, Iraq, and others, giving a political background into the programs as well as the chronology.

Includes the text of the biological weapons convention (BWC), as well as brief descriptions of some of the main bacteria, viruses and toxins employed in this form of warfare.

Overall a good read for anyone looking for basic knowledge on the subject. For detail on the history of the US program, read "the Biology of Doom", and for the Russian program, "Biohazard" by Ken Alibek.

Even if you have no interest in the world of biological warfare, Mangold's deep and thorough investigative technique surfaces again. This book details the biological warfare efforts of a range of countries, such as Japan, Russia, South Africa and Iraq, as well as the Aum Shinrikyo cult and their sarin (albeit a chemical agent) attack on the Tokyo subway. Not advisable to read in conjunction with or shortly after Alibek's "Biohazard," as a large portion is devoted to the Russian weapons programme-meaning you'll skim through maybe 150 pages (but read them both anyway). I found the strong points of this book lay in its investigation and interviews of countries that would normally be difficult to research, such as South Africa. Low points-it does require a fairly concerted effort and can become a little dense at times, as well as needing fairly constant revision on Iraq and South Africa.

Plague Wars tells the truth about germ warfare, tells it the way it is with no holds barred. I thought it was fascinating and terryfing at the same time. I had no idea that the Russians were ready to use smallpox and the plague against us. The stuff about a possible attack on New York is rivetting. This is great material. There ought to be a movie.

This is, quite frankly, a frightening book. Not even so much as to what it details about the programs themselves, but what it says about the people who will use them. From accounts about the Japanese WW2 BW program, with members discussing, without a shred of remorse, performing live autopsies without anesthetic or analgesics to the recent uses of biological agents by Rhodesian and South African forces it shows that these dreadful weapons will be used, have been used, and will be a major problem for decades to come. My only complaint with the book is the rather sensationalistic writing style used, that occasionally renders the hard facts sounding more like tabloid journalism. This does a disservice to the wealth of factual material in the book.

Despite this, this is a very worthwhile read. Be warned, there are parts that will make you out-and-out angry at what people have done, and make you want them brought to justice and punishment.

...

Modern biological warfare began during the 1930s, when the Japanese Army conducted atrocious experiments on Chinese prisoners using lethal bacteria. During the Cold War, both the Soviet Union and the U.S. rushed to build biological weapons programs. In 1972, the Biological Weapons Convention banned the development of bioweapons, supposedly ending the threat. But the threat was only beginning.

Plague Wars tells the stories of the secret battles that are still being waged in many nations, stories filled with international espionage, deceptions, and treachery. Recently, defectors and covert sources from third-world governments such as Iraq have revealed active biological weapons programs, despite international arms inspectors' attempts to eradicate them. A U.S. war game to prepare for a North Korean biological attack went so horribly wrong that the results are still classified. In South Africa, the use of bioweapons represents one of the last untold secrets of the apartheid battles, while in Zimbabwe, people are still dying of anthrax from the dirty wars of independence fought two decades ago. Fringe cults, apocalyptic madmen, and terrorists groups everywhere claim to own bioweapons, and are threatening to use them. Major Western cities are busily planning defenses against such an attack. ...

Researched across four continents with exceptional access to many sources from the United Nations, U.S. Department of Defense, and various civilian and military intelligence agencies, and using previously classified government documents, Tom Mangold and Jeff Goldberg have written the definitive account of the state of biological warfare in the world today. Never before has the complete scope of these terrifying weapons been so thoroughly examined.

A startling look into hidden facets of history, dark secrets of the present, and the anticipated horrors of a none-too-distant future, Plague Wars will make you reconsider your safety in a world where death is just a breath away.

I did not think I was going to like this book because it was written before 9-11 and therefore I thought was out-of-date. UNTRUE! Although this book concentrates on biological warfare and not on airplanes used as missiles, there were people warning about terrorists making an attack on this nation long before it happened. I live near Houston and the first chapter describes a hypothetical scenario that was played out by the military involving some people from the Iraqi government holding hostages at Bush International Airport and dousing them with several biological agents. In a few days, the city of Houston was reduced to martial law according to the forecasts. It gave me chills. This is a very good book if you want to know what our enemies can do without using airplanes to crash into buildings.

Plague Wars is a fascinating book that has become extremely topical in the wake of the terrorism that the US has been facing since September 11. The book is uneven, however, and certain sections are much stronger than others in the book.

The first third of the book is about the ex-Soviet and Russian programs and the information is very worrisome. The Russians created a massive biological warfare program that continues to threaten the lives of everyone in the world. Their efforts are so frightening both because of the size of their BW establishment, but also because of the artificial forms of viral agents they created for which there are no known antidotes. They spent fifty years using all of the strength of their scientific establishment to create the ultimate biological killing machines

The section about South Africa and Rhodesia was interesting since these regimes have used BW agents in the field against their enemies, but the detail is not as vivid as in the Russian section. The section on Iraq was much too short given the threat Iraq continues to pose to the West and especially given the Iraqi use of these agents against the Iranians and the Southern Shiites in Iraq as well as the gassing of the Kurds in the north of Iraq.

The most interesting sections in light of current events are about biological terrorism. The actions of the Japanese Aum Shiriko cult are evidence that the true risk of biological weapons is that they can be produced by well-financed groups rather than sovereign governments. Their failures in Japan are also evidence, however, of the difficulty of using BW agents in killing people and give us some comfort that doom is not around the corner. These chapters were obviously written prior to recent events, but chillingly predict what has come to pass in the US recently.

to a part of modern-day warfare that does not seem to get its proper consideration in light of the massive damage it can do, *Plague Wars* is a fine historical overview that does not get too bogged down in the textbook bio aspect of biological warfare, but rather concentrates on the more easily-appreciated facts of who (who has them, who is willing to use them) what (bio and chemical agents we're looking at), where (have they or could they be expected to be used) and how (what strategies, vectors, etc). I was impressed by the balanced tone of the book, which conveys the seriousness of the topic without tending toward sensationalism

By coincidence I was reading this book as the news about the death of Dr David Kelly became known. Dr Kelly features very prominently in this book, and its a pity that such a fine individual met such a tragic end. Tom Mangold's book pulls together an excellent story over the decades. Very easy to read and to understand. Would be nice to see a revised edition with more information about Iraq post-2001.