The United States and Biological Warfare: Secrets from the Early Cold War and Korea (Hardcover)

by Stephen Endicott (Author), Edward Hagerman (Author) "Discharged soldier Shi Hongru, 25, left his native place in the early morning hours of 10 March 1952, carrying a sturdy travel bag, half empty..." (more)
Key Phrases: bacteriological warfare program, disease prevention committee, warfare readiness, United States, North Korea, Chemical Corps (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
An airplane flies over enemy territory, dropping a shiny cylindrical object near a town. When the townspeople go to investigate, they find flies, spiders, and feathers scattered among bomb fragments in the snow. Biological testing reveals that all the items are contaminated with the anthrax bacillus. The Iran-Iraq war? International terrorism? Or the United States in northeastern China, 1952?

The term "biological warfare" brings to mind images of ruthless dictators, delusional terrorists, and cartoonish movie villains. The assertions made by Stephen Endicott and Edward Hagerman, that the United States engaged in germ warfare against China and North Korea in the 1950s, are therefore both shocking and disturbing. The United States and Biological Warfare is an important yet flawed history of the American program, from its origin in 1941 as the Bacteriological Warfare Committee (quickly and obfuscatingly renamed the WBC) to its abrupt closure in the 1960s. The main focus of the book, however, is the United States' activities in Korea and China during the Korean War--where, Endicott and Hagerman claim, the U.S. launched a number of biological attacks to spread anthrax, cholera, and smallpox viruses, as well as other disease-causing agents.

This book is bound to draw criticism from many sides; despite their thorough research, the authors have yet to find a proper "smoking gun." Some of the science is muddled, as well--though it is at times difficult to tell if the confusion began in the military documents or with the authors. The circumstantial evidence and overall argument, however, are quite compelling. What is even more disturbing than these activities (including the fact that scientists who were active in Japan's biological warfare program in World War II were granted immunity for their war crimes in return for sharing their knowledge) is the wartime mentality that causes countries to contemplate and even commit atrocities in the name of national security. A chilling read.

From Publishers Weekly
If nothing else, Canadian historian Endicott and American historian Hagerman will make thoughtful readers see the irony in the U.S. government's ongoing showdown with Iraq over biological weapons. This history of the U.S. biological weapons program alleges that the U.S. actually deployed biological weapons during the Korean War. The authors marshal an impressive array of evidence that the military and executive branch lied to Congress and the public about the development of biological weapons. At the end of WWII, the American military enlisted the aid of top Japanese biological warfare officers; when the Korean War broke out, the U.S. embarked on an ambitious program to produce offensive biological weapons, despite Pentagon protestations that the research was geared toward defensive weaponry. During the war, Chinese officials learned of mysterious outbreaks of disease after some U.S. raids and began to suspect that biological weapons were being used. The authors were the first foreigners allowed to inspect Chinese archival documents dealing with the possible American use of biological weapons. They rely heavily on these sources, as well as on Canadian, British and American documents. The research is bolstered by endnotes and an array of photographs (not seen by PW).
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; illustrated edition edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253334721
• ISBN-13: 978-0253334725
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #284,017 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #52 in	Books > History > Military > Weapons & Warfare > Biological & Chemical
  #56 in	Books > History > Military > Korean War
  #69 in	Books > History > Asia > Korea > South

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unacceptable scholarship by any standard., June 28, 1999

By A Customer

I reviewed this book in the New York Times Book Review, June 27, 1999. The review shows that the authors present, as if it were genuine and unproblematical, evidence long ago shown to be fabricated. The last paragraph of the review states:Carl Sagan used to say that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. The evidence Endicott and Hagerman present for their extraordinarily dubious claim is notable only for its weakness. The Chinese and North Koreans themselves had the means, motive and opportunity to fabricate evidence, and were known to rewrite history for propaganda purposes. Any plausible defense of the claim that the Americans were guilty of biological warfare in the Korean conflict must address the question of fabricated evidence. Endicott and Hagerman do not even raise it. If theirs is the best case that can be made for American germ warfare activities in China and Korea, it amounts to a dismissal of the charges and an exoneration of the accused. ---Separately, additional proof that the North Korean and Chinese evidence was fabricated can be found in: Leitenberg, Milton. New Russian Evidence on the Korean Biological Warfare Allegations: Background and Analysis. Cold War International History Project Bulletin II. (Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center) Winter, 1998: 185-199. And:Weathersby, Kathryn. Deceiving the Deceivers: Moscow, Beijing, Pyongyang, and the Allegations of Bacteriological Weapons Use in Korea. Cold War International History Project Bulletin II. (Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center): Winter, 1998. 176-185.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting, March 1, 1999

By A Customer

I found this book highly interesting, especially in the light of other publications on that subject (e.g., "The eleventh Plague") and think it is a valuable basis for discussion. One has to agree to a certain extend with Professor Crane, though, that some of the claims made in the book seem not very well substantiated, although I would not fully dismiss them. More thourough references might have added credibility. Except for that minor detail - an important book. It would have been nice of Prof. Crane, by the way, to suggest a book that he finds more "balanced" (or does that mean "mainstream U.S. military propaganda oriented"; I hope not!).

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read book on how U.S. conducted the germ war in Korea, April 22, 2009

By	Dr. History ""dr. true"" (USA) - See all my reviews

The book used multiple sources

1) original studies and reports from China and Korea, including medical studies, photos, reports of the germ war activities, the symptoms the bio analysis, etc, etc;

2) confessions of U.S. pilots (including officers), which provided great detail of the U.S. germ war program, with names, places, dates, types of bio-agents, policies, delivery methods, etc etc. The book proved that the US POWs provided the information without being physically abused (in any case, the Chinese could have not made up those details);

3) recently declassified US documents and germ war programs, including the use of bio weapon in Korea.

The picture was: 1), 2) and 3) matched exactly.

And then it analyzed the recantation of the POWs who made the confessions after they returned to the US, and found that (1) they were made under threats of severe punishment; (2) the contents of recantations were inconsistent with the declassified US documents.

The book is well researched. Read it for a correct understanding of history.