Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism - Hardcover

Biological Weapons is as an excellent introduction to the problems biological weapons pose for contemporary policymakers and public officials, particularly in the United States. It addresses how best to deter the use of such weapons, the resulting policies of the Department of Homeland Security, and the ways to constrain proliferation. Jeanne Guillemin recounts the circumstances under which scientists, soldiers, and statesmen were able to mobilize resources for extensive biological weapons programs in the wake of the events of September 11 and the anthrax attacks of 2001. She then analyzes why these weapons, targeted against civilians, were never used in a major conflict. Guillemin wisely points out that public awareness through education can help calm fears in today's tension-filled climate and promote constructive political action to reduce the risks of a biological weapons catastrophe. Biological Weapons is required reading for every concerned citizen, government policymaker, public-health official, and national-security analyst who wants to understand this complex and timely issue.
A major goal of this book is to help readers understand the relevance of the historical restraints placed on the use of biological weapons for today's world. The last three chapters serve as an excellent introduction to the problems biological weapons pose for contemporary policymakers and public officials, particularly in the United States. How can we best deter the use of such weapons? What are the resulting policies of the Department of Homeland Security? How can we constrain proliferation? Jeanne Guillemin wisely points out that these are vitally important questions for all Americans to consider and investigate. Public awareness through education can help calm fears in today's tension-filled climate and prepare the nation for preventive action against the possibility of an attack.

Jeanne Guillemin is professor of sociology at Boston College and senior fellow in the Security Studies Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the author of Anthrax: The Investigation of a Deadly Outbreak.