The Infamous White Powder, and Other Worries

While only a small number of Americans have been diagnosed with Anthrax thus far, we've certainly all got it on the brain. Evidence of Anthrax-anxiety is seemingly everywhere we look. Buildings are being vacated, innocuous letters are being handled like pipe bombs, copycatters are pulling hoaxes, and countless folks are bum-rushing the pharmacist for the antibiotic Cipro (which the Bayer Corporation has started producing around the clock). People have even stopped reading the National Enquirer for fear that Anthrax may be contained within the pages of the tabloid -- but rest assured, Enquiring Minds. The Center for Disease Control has issued a statement declaring the publication's pages to be 100% Anthrax-free! Another addition to the surreal nature of our lives these days is the recent news that Anthrax, a heavy-metal band popular in the 1980s, has publicly declared their name is "not so cool" anymore.

What a strange, strange world. While it's easy to make jokes about the odd congruities that arise when our postmodern society is in crisis (who ever thought of referencing a metal band, Tom Brokaw, Tom Daschle, and "The Army of God" in the same sentence before this past week?), it's hard to deny that almost all of us are at least a bit shaken up. We're nervous not just about Anthrax, but also about the possibilities of other biological or chemical weapons being used against us. Yet most of still don't know a great deal about what sort of attacks could occur, and what exactly the aftermath of such attacks might be. Hopefully the reading list below, which likely won't placate any fears, will at least offer a few answers.

Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox
by Jonathan B. Tucker
It's been around since perhaps as early as 8000 B.C. and is set to be eliminated by 2002. Meanwhile, we're all fearing the terrifying disease will make a comeback in the form of bioterrorism. Tucker details the reasons for our fears in his gruesome description of the effects of Smallpox and the dangers it may still pose. The majority of the book, however, deals with heroic efforts to eradicate the disease, making for a thrilling narrative of an epidemic that has played a major role in the history of the last several hundred years, even as a biological weapon (it was used against Native Americans by the colonists, and later by both sides in the Civil War). Much more than just a run-of-the-mill science book, Scourge is a fascinating read.

Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health
by Laurie Garrett
One of the major questions that's been posed regarding bioterrorism is "Will we be able to handle a severe attack?" Here, Garrett answers the question by examining how globalization has caused epidemics to spread beyond all borders, and how woefully inadequate public health care is on the international level -- especially in developing countries, but also in industrialized nations. While the outlook looks grim, Garrett has a consciousness-raising agenda here, which will perhaps gain more respect in governmental circles in light of recent events. Moreover, in the hands of this Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, the plight of our worldwide health care system resonates not only as a work of science and health writing, but as a gripping examination of a crucial global issue.

Underground
by Haruki Murakami
A work of literary journalism, Underground chronicles the 1995 poison-gas attack on a Tokyo subway at the hands of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. Composed of two sections of interviews, Murakami first speaks with survivors of the attack, and then with members of Aum Shinrikyo (none of whom were participants in the attack). The result is a complex reflection of contemporary Japanese culture, and a journey into the root causes of terrorism. What the reader finds is that there is no one story of terrorist acts on a massive scale, but countless different stories. A recommended read for anyone who has struggled to answer how and why such events occur.

Biohazard
by Ken Alibek
Ken Alibek was once a high-level scientist is the Soviet bioweapons program, and this trip inside his former home -- a hidden city that secretly stockpiled and breeded superbugs -- is disturbing stuff. With details recounting destruction plans, dangerous leaks, assassinations, and KGB threats, Biohazard has all the thrills and chills of a fast-paced spy novel. Still, while the behind-the-scenes aspect of the book is fascinating, perhaps the true value of this memoir is in his reflections upon the dangers of bioterrorism. Having dealt with these germs and viruses for years, Alibek knows the enemy quite well, and his account of the possible future is frightening, yet fascinating, all the while.

Germs
by Judith Miller et. al.
If you've been checking out the bestseller list lately, you've probably heard of this one. Written by three New York Times reporters, Germs begins with an account of how followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh poisoned 715 people with salmonella in rural Oregon in 1984 (with no resulting deaths, thankfully), and the book gets more chilling from there, detailing the threat of bioterrorism in full. Through meticulous research and interviews with hundreds of scientists and government officials, the authors compose an informative and accessible piece of reportage that runs the gamut from cold wars to hot wars to spycraft to superbugs to high-tech science. If you're seeking history and insight that goes beyond the current media coverage, Germs is definitely worth a look.