View source for Social:Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War

{{short description|2001 book by Judith Miller}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War
| title_orig    = 
| translator    = 
| image         = Germs - Biological Weapons and America's Secret War.jpg
| image_size    = 193px
| caption = 
| author        = Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, William J. Broad
| illustrator   = 
| cover_artist  = 
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series        = 
| subject       = [[Biology:Biological warfare|Biological warfare]]
| genre         = Nonfiction
| publisher     = Simon & Schuster
| pub_date      = October 2, 2001
| english_pub_date = 
| media_type    = Hardcover
| pages         = 382
| isbn          = 0-684-87158-0
| dewey         = 358/.38/0973 21
| congress      = UG447.8 .M54 2001
| oclc          = 47182085
| preceded_by   = 
| followed_by   = 
}}

'''''Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War'''''  is a 2001 book written by ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'' journalists Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad.<ref name="simonandschuster">{{cite book|url=http://books.simonandschuster.com/9780743547567|title=Germs Biological Weapons and America's Secret War |date=November 2001 |publisher=simonandschuster.com|isbn=9780743547567 |access-date=2009-02-23}}</ref> It describes how humanity has dealt with [[Biology:Biological warfare|biological weapons]], and the dangers of [[Social:Bioterrorism|bioterrorism]]. It was the 2001 ''New York Times'' #1 Non-Fiction Bestseller the weeks of October 28 and November 4.<ref name="hawes">{{cite web|url=http://www.hawes.com/2001/2001-11-04.pdf|title=The New York Times Best Seller list|date=November 4, 2001|publisher=hawes.com|page=2|access-date=2009-02-23}}</ref>

==Overview==
''Germs'', is a work of investigative journalism employing biographical and historical narrative to provide context.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05EFD81F3DF937A25753C1A9679C8B63|title=No Place to Hide |last=Rose|first=Gideon|date=October 14, 2001|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|access-date=2009-02-23}}</ref> The three authors interviewed hundreds of scientists and senior U.S. officials, and reviewed recently declassified documents, and reports from the [[Earth:Post-Soviet states|former Soviet Union]]'s bioweapons laboratories.

==Summary==
{{Quote box
 | quote  =''"[[Biology:Germ theory of disease|Germs]] were always what I call the [[Engineering:Caboose|Caboose]] of the weapons of mass destruction train."'' (Judith Miller, November 18, 2001)
 | source =<ref name="virginia">{{cite web |url=http://www.virginia.edu/uvanewsmakers/newsmakers/miller.html |title=Judith Miller |publisher=virginia.edu |access-date=2009-02-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109174341/http://www.virginia.edu/uvanewsmakers/newsmakers/miller.html |archive-date=2007-11-09 }}</ref>
 | width  =25%
 | align  =right
}}
The book opens with an account of the 1984 [[Biology:Salmonella|salmonella]] poisonings in The Dalles, Oregon, caused by followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh who sprayed salmonella onto salad bars. Other research shows how [[Place:Moscow|Moscow]] scientists created an untraceable germ that would induce the body to self-destruct, and reveals that the U.S. military planned for germ warfare on Cuba during the 1960s.<ref name="simonandschuster" /> Three classified U.S. biodefense projects are detailed: [[Social:Project Bacchus|Project Bacchus]], Project Clear Vision, and [[Social:Project Jefferson|Project Jefferson]].<ref name="Enemark">{{cite book|last=Enemark|first=Christian |title=Disease and Security|publisher=Routledge|date=April 24, 2007|edition=GoogleBook|page=173|isbn=978-0-415-42234-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bT9j6lhPHHUC&q=%22Project+Clear+Vision%22&pg=PA173}}</ref> ''Germs'' concludes with an assessment of the United States' ability to deter future bio-attack.<ref name="businessweek" />

==Reviews==
''The New York Times Book Review'' was favorable, though it criticized the book's tone as "somewhat [[Alarmism|alarmist]]".<ref name="nytimes" /> ''BusinessWeek'' was also generally favorable, except for pointing out some conflicting views on bioterrorism.<ref name="businessweek">{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_42/b3753045.htm |title=Bio-Terrorism under the Microscope |last=Arnst |first=Catherine |date=October 15, 2001 |publisher=businessweek.com |access-date=2009-02-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215123330/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_42/b3753045.htm |archive-date=2009-02-15 }}</ref> ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'''s book review by British psychiatrist Simon Wessely, cautioned against panic, stating that biological weapons can cause destruction through fear, effectively giving the biodefense industry "the equivalent of a [[Social:Blank cheque|blank cheque]]".<ref name="guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/oct/20/highereducation.news1|title=Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War |last=Wessely|first=Simon |date=October 10, 2001|publisher=guardian.co.uk|access-date=2009-02-23}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
On November 13, 2001, the science TV series ''Nova'' aired an episode entitled ''Bioterror''.  Two years in the making, it chronicled Miller, Engelberg, and Broad's research and investigation into biological weapons.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bioterror/about_p.html|title=About the Program Watch NOVA's Bioterror: Tuesday, November 13 at 8:00 p.m.|last=Collins |first=Rocky |date=November 8, 2001 |publisher=pbs.org|access-date=2009-02-23}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{google books |RBb8ss3GG1MC |Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War}}
* [https://www.c-span.org/video/?167010-1/germ-warfare-biological-weapons Panel discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations with Miller, Engelberg, and Broad, October 29, 2001], {{wipe|C-SPAN}}
* [https://www.c-span.org/video/?167196-1/germs-biological-weapons-americas-secret-war Panel discussion at the 92nd Street Y with Miller, Engelberg, and Broad, November 11, 2001], {{wipe|C-SPAN}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War''}}

[[Category:Biological warfare]]

{{Sourceattribution|Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War}}