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The great equalizer between humans and sheep, anthrax has filled us with morbid curiosity as far back as records exist. Once believed to be a manifestation of unholy fire, today it is seen as a weapon of deranged terrorists or sinister governments.Medical anthropologist Jeanne Guillemin's Anthrax: The Investigation of a Deadly Outbreak examines the 1979 deaths of 64 Soviet citizens in the Ural mountains.Blamed at the time on tainted meat, Guillemin's team proved that a plume of spores from a nearby military site caused the event (Boris Yeltsin admitted this much at about the same time). Not just a medical detective story, Guillemin's book is also an insightful look into the effects such an outbreak has on survivors and a penetrating analysis of the prospects of biological warfare in the not-too-distant future. Starting in the local cemetery to find the victims' identities--the KGB had long ago seized their records--the team interviews survivors and kin, unleashing long-repressed feelings and yielding valuable information about those struck down. Ultimately, despite interference from the Russian military and civil service, the tainted meat hypothesis is refuted and clear evidence of illegal and dangerous research released.The reader is left to wonder about one Russian's suggestion that if the wind had changed course one day in 1979, hundreds of thousands might have died. Where does that leave us today? --Rob LightnerBook Description
In April of 1979 the city of Sverdlovsk in Russia's Ural Mountains was struck by a frightening anthrax epidemic. Official Soviet documents reported sixty-four human deaths resulting from the ingestion of tainted meat sold on the black market, but U.S. intelligence sources implied a different story, and the lack of documentation left unresolved questions. In her riveting investigation of the incident, Jeanne Guillemin unravels the mystery of what really happened during that tragic event in Sverdlovsk.
Anthrax is a virulent and deadly bacteria whose spores can remain in soil for as long as seventy years, killing grazing animals and putting humans in jeopardy of eating infected meat. Contemporary concern is more centered on anthrax as an airborne biological weapon whose inhaled spores can result in ninety percent mortality for those infected.
As part of a team of doctors and researchers, Jeanne Guillemin traveled to Russia in 1992 to determine the cause and extent of the epidemic. Her affecting narrative transforms a case of epidemiological investigation into a politically charged mystery. She creates a vivid sense of immediacy and drama with her insider's account of the team's investigative work--the analysis of pathology photos and slides, meetings with political and public health officials, the retrieval of essential medical data--and candidly reveals the subjective side of science as she conducts interviews with afflicted families, visits sites, and interacts with those suspected of clouding the truth.
Complete with medical case information and three epidemiological maps, this classic account relates directly to growing concern over bioterrorism and how the United States and other nations should respond. In the final chapters Guillemin surveys past and present covert biological weapons arsenals scattered around the world and the international legal efforts to eliminate them.Download Description
In April of 1979 the city of Sverdlovsk in Russia's Ural Mountains was struck by a frightening anthrax epidemic. Official Soviet documents reported sixty-four human deaths resulting from the ingestion of tainted meat sold on the black market, but U.S. intelligence sources implied a different story, and the lack of documentation left unresolved questions. In her riveting investigation of the incident, Jeanne Guillemin unravels the mystery of what really happened during that tragic event in Sverdlovsk. Anthrax is a virulent and deadly bacteria whose spores can remain in soil for as long as seventy years, killing grazing animals and putting humans in jeopardy of eating infected meat. Contemporary concern is more centered on anthrax as an airborne biological weapon whose inhaled spores can result in ninety percent mortality for those infected. As part of a team of doctors and researchers, Jeanne Guillemin traveled to Russia in 1992 to determine the cause and extent of the epidemic. Her affecting narrative transforms a case of epidemiological investigation into a politically charged mystery. She creates a vivid sense of immediacy and drama with her insider's account of the team's investigative work--the analysis of pathology photos and slides, meetings with political and public health officials, the retrieval of essential medical data--and candidly reveals the subjective side of science as she conducts interviews with afflicted families, visits sites, and interacts with those suspected of clouding the truth. Complete with medical case information and three epidemiological maps, this classic account relates directly to growing concern over bioterrorism and how the United States and other nations should respond. In the final chapters Guillemin surveys past and present covert biological weapons arsenals scattered around the world and the international legal efforts to eliminate them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Passe
I looked to this book for more details about the Sverdlovsk outbreak after reading "Biohazard," the excellent expose by Ken Alibek published a year after this book.Comparisons of the two books are inherently unfair and at the same time unavoidable because Alibek, who spent two decades directing major parts of the Soviet Union's covert biological warfare programs, knows so much more than everyone involved with this investigation could have ever hoped to uncover.Bottom line:I strongly recommend "Biohazard" over this book.Alibek's chapter on Sverdlovsk has riveting first-hand accounts of the accident at the anthrax production facility.And he names names!

This book presents circumstantial evidence from people who were outside the biological warfare program:attending doctors, victims' families, etc.Like "Biohazard," it also refutes the official "contaminated meat" story.

I did get a bit of the additional detail I was looking for, and for that I give it two stars, but it meanders quite a bit with childish, off-topic editorial musings that belong in a travelogue rather than in a presentation of findings, and I found it dull.I have more criticisms of this book but see no use in presenting them:there are nearly 400 used copies for sale here as I type this.It's dead.

Epidemiologically valuable, but incomplete
Professor Guillemin's work on the 1979 Sverdlovsk outbreak in the former Soviet Union is written in a very conversational tone, which makes the book a quick read.

This conversational quality however quickly leads to off-topic meanderings; for example, parallels are drawn from classical Russian literature to situations she experiences (at least a fourth of her footnotes are to quoted Russian literature), and she often cannot resist waxing personal philosophic on the conditions of life in the world today (not necessarily in Russia).While she disowns the expected clinical descriptions and warns she chose a first-person, emotional narrative in the introduction, some (particularly specialists) might find this type of writing annoying.

This first-person approach has the deliberate quality of putting a human face on this situation of clinical interest -- and it is this attitude that dominates the work.She recounts the 1979 Sverdlovsk outbreak in terms of human loss and the suffering the families endured as a result.Her primary purpose is therefore to give the victims a voice.Not a bad thing, but not what I expected based on the title.

The down side to this emotional narrative is that the author often becomes whiny, even to the point of naivety (particularly about the realities of Cold War politics, the Biological Weapons Convention Treaty [which both the US and the USSR, not just the USSR, violated at will] and the extent and nature of the American bio-chemical weapons production programs.Unconscious assigning of white and black hats is an unfortunate bias to the work).

This work therefore should have been subtitled "A Sociological Exploration of the Aftermath of the Sverdlovsk Outbreak" or somesuch.

Methodologically, the approach is also problematic.While the testimony of the people of Sverdlovsk is vital, some of the critically important survivors could not be located, while others could not recall (or chose to forget) the details of the incident, which makes their accounts sometimes contradictory and the study itself largely incomplete.Moreover most of the citizen's testimony is hearsay, rumourmongering, or just plain speculation, usually governed by Soviet Cold War propaganda and disinformation.Many of the governmental officials simply refused to comment.

Professor Guillemin is a Sociologist and not a Bacteriologist/Epidemiologist, and this really affects the format of the work.She often quotes other Sociologists/Political Scientists on theoretics of social situations in transitional Russia (ostensibly as backgrounders), but these rarely have any relevance to the Sverdlovsk incident; often one is left with the impression she'd rather talk about the contemporary Russian people (or her husband!) and not the outbreak at all.

Of note is Professor Guillemin's aloofness to the 'scholarship' and eyewitnesses to Soviet bioweapons production during the Cold War.Although she names a few key individuals, she seems to give their first hand testimony almost no attention.I recommend Ken Alibek's _Biohazard_ (which includes a chapter on the Sverdlovsk incident), which Guillemin seems to have ignored.The reader is left wondering why Guillemin's many interviews didn't include Alibek/Alibekov or even Pasechnik (like Alibek, director of a biological weapons production facility in Russia before his defection), both of whom now reside in the US.Neither is any attention paid to the publications of KGB activities now emerging from the former Soviet Union.IOW, Guillemin doesn't seem to have done her homework.

Guillemin's work is however valuable, but ultimately for epidemiological reasons and for her reporting of the findings of the research team to which she was attached.The research team's conclusions are epidemiologically incomplete as well (the KGB seized all records and squelched the officials that could have assisted in an epizootic examination), but nonetheless the work advances the understanding of the 1979 Sverdlovsk outbreak.
As she was told by several Russians, this mystery will never be solved.

Avoid the book if you expect to find more than a paragraph of clinical detail or bacteriological discussion, to which Guillemin seems squeamish.She is however to be commended for presenting all her findings, incomplete or no.Such is good science.

Academic approach to an anthrax outbreak
Jeanne Guillemin attempts to unravel the complex mystery of the 1979 Siberian outbreak of anthrax.Was it really from tainted meat, as the Soviet officials would have the world believe? Was the cause due to burningof dead anthrax-infected animals or due an accidental or purposeful releaseof weaponized anthrax spores from the Soviet facility, Compound19?

Guillemin approaches her study of the events and its root causefollowing all of the principles of sound science.

As a human being,however, her outrage over this incident continues to surface. As sherecounts her investigation she interjects this outrage, often digressingfrom the story line to vent her indignation.

Unlike a possibly drystandard scientific thesis this story could have turned into, she includesmany human elements in her writing. She describes the families of thevictims, their losses, and sorrow.She also goes into great detail aboutwhat her team ate and drank, the meals they missed, and every possibleincident interesting or otherwise about the trip to Siberia. She evenincludes a description of her inappropriate wearing of sandals for aSiberian spring. The author is writing for a general audience rather thanfor the scientific community and she or her publisher understands the needfor the appealing human element. Sadly this takes the reader away fromfocusing on the many fascinating scientific and public health aspects ofthe study that almost become an aside to her story of the quest forinformation on the victims.

It is a worthwhile, though in parts wordyread.Read in conjunction with "Biohazard", the dark side ofscience is well represented.

Anthrax
Jeanne Guillemin's masterful account of the Sverdlovsk outbreak of anthrax in 1979 is a suspenseful medical mystery; a thoughtful analysis of the threats, real and imagined, of bioterrorism; and an intelligent tour of thesociological, political, and psychological ramifications of the event.Avery appealing element of the book is the sheer power of the storytelling. We are drawn in by a personable, human, plucky narrator who, as asociologist, a westerner, a woman, has to navigate the maze of Sovietbureaucracy to reach the human heart of the story.The portraits of thosewho died in the outbreak are highly detailed and poignant; the book is, inpart, a testimony to the specific people who lost their lives as the resultof a complex chain of events quite beyond them.I found the bookcompelling and moving -- a great read.

Recommended Reading by Nervegas.com
Jeanne Guillemin writes a first person account of an independent investigation of the 1979 Anthrax outbreak in Soviet Sverdlovsk.The style of writting is unique in that she intersperses throughout the book looselyrelated discussions of sociological and cultural literature.Anthrax comesto the conclusion that the outbreak was pulmonary anthrax emminating fromMilitary Compound 19.The books one and only disappointment is the groupsfailure to investigate the military compound (they couldn't get onit)...leaving the reader with the body, the smoke, but no gun.

The authorfreely expresses her opinions throughout the book.She describes thepersonal losses from the anthrax fatalities.Her description of thecasualty presentation is a must read...the mild onset followed by a suddencollapse after the anthrax eclipse.She points out several times theexagerations of risks and the BW terrorist threat.

The ending leaves onefeeling uneasy with Russian officials now seeming to be less candid aboutthe incident, and former ones pointing out the matter should be dropped dueto the multi-lateral aspect of BW today. ... Read more

Book Description
Who was the anthrax killer?
Six days after the 9/11 attacks, a new terror began to spread...

September 17, 2001: A Florida tabloid receives a love letter addressed to Jennifer Lopez. The paper's photo editor opens it--and, unknowingly, inhales thousands of toxic spores. By 10/5 he's dead.

October 12, 2001: NBC anchor Tom Brokaw's assistant tests positive for cutaneous anthrax, a result of exposure to a powder in an envelope she inhaled three weeks before.

In the days that followed, 28 more people tested positive for anthrax, plunging an entire country into the frontlines of an insidious bioterror.

The anthrax war had begun.

This is the most comprehensive work to date about the plague of terror that arose in the wake of 9/11--and the relentless scientific manhunt to answer the question of who the anthrax killer was.Download Description
"The astonishing true story of THE HUNT FOR THE ANTHRAX KILLER, the man who held America hostage by preying on our worst fears. Updated with New MaterialFeatures photos and transcripts of the original anthrax lettersNational bestselling true-crime author Robert Graysmith lends his investigative insight to the definitive case study of America's invisible terrorist.Based in part on information from the FBI's Amerithrax task force, as well as the author's independent research, and with official photos and transcripts of the anthrax letters, this is the most comprehensive work to date about the plague of terror that arose in the wake of 9/11/01--and the relentless scientific manhunt to stop it." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

All Over the Map
(This is a review of the Kindle edition.)

The author has unquestionably done a lot of work on researching the history and personalities involved in the anthrax killings. The problem I had with this book was how unevenly it plays out. It jumps from a fairly good narrative true crime story to a poorly written overly detailed look at topics that are barely relevant to the story. Most irritating were the numerous repetitions of facts and quotes, as if the author were being paid by the word or presumed that the reader could not retain simple facts from one chapter to the next. The narrative is choppy and jumps back and forth across time more than is really necessary.

I bought it as a reader with an interest in human response in disasters, not as a professional researcher. It may be useful to keep as a reference to refresh my memory on facts, but it is not what I would consider an enjoyable and informative narrative in the genre of true crime.

National Preparedness BioDefense
I work in biological counter-terrorism and I found this book to be extremely helpful to better my understanding of the mail based attacks that took place in September and October of 2001.
Interestingly , I discovered that my company's product the Mail Defender was mentioned on page 411 of the hard copy.
One point the book makes is that is extremely difficult if not impossible to unmask the predator, while the United States mail system still remains the most open and largest distribution system in the world.
Please feel free to contact me anytime by email to discuss.

Needs editing or a screenwriter
I was attracted to this book because I enjoyed the movie "Zodiac", (which was written by screenwriter James Vanderbilt) and I thought the Robert Graysmith criminal element may prove interesting.

Sadly Graysmith had few cohesive thoughts in the book. It bounces around far too much from the death of Bob Stevens, to Mohammed Atta, NBC, Homeland Security, the CDC and back to AMI among others. The aforementioned are all critical to the story. When there is a gap in time and with such a detailed story it would have been better had it been tighter.

Graysmith has not turned out to be my favorite author. But, when it comes to movies based on his original writing, such as "Zodiac" or commentary he provides on the Autofocus DVD discussing the investigation into the murder of Bob Crane, I have become a fan.

Well researched but poorly written
Although an intersesting account of the investigation of the anthrax mailings in 2001, this book is poorly written and hard to follow. I often got the impression that the author was quoting sources that he doesn't understand which made for a confusing and dissapointing read.

Poorly written, poorly researched
Why do I keep wasting my money on books written by this author? I should have learned my lesson after buying his awful "The Bell Tower" (Jack the Ripper) and his even worse "Zodiac Unmasked" (Zodiac killer).

Well, after reading "Amerithrax" with all of its factual inaccuracies and research blunders, Graysmith's writing career will have to be funded by someone else. ... Read more

Book Description
At 2:00am on October 2, 2001, Robert Stevens entered a hospital emergency room.He was feverish, nauseated, and barely conscious.Notations on his admitting chart indicate that he was "not oriented to person, place, or time." Perplexed by the sudden and especially severe onset of his symptoms, doctors ran a variety of tests. As armies of bacterial agents attacked and shut down every major organ in Bob Stevens's system, doctors quickly accumulated and analyzed medical data, fitting the pieces of this complicated puzzle together to arrive at a stunning diagnosis. Bob Stevens had anthrax -- and he was soon to become the first official bioterrorism fatality in America.

Behind the panic and the politics that would quickly ensue there remained a key line of defense. For while the police and FBI frantically investigated a crime, there were other professionals at work, conducting their own painstaking inquiry -- medical and scientific detectives hot on the trail of deadly organisms deliberately set loose in the postal system. Modern heroes in a quickly changing world, the public health officials, physicians, researchers, and scientists who staff our hospitals, clinics, and laboratories will be among the first responders on the scene of any future biowarfare event.

Conducting his own detective work, bioterrorism expert Leonard Cole has composed a fascinating account that gets right to the heart of all the noisy sound bytes and hysterical headlines. Cole is perhaps the only person outside law enforcement to have interviewed every one of the surviving inhalation-anthrax victims, along with the relatives, friends, and associates of those who died, as well as the public health officials, scientists, researchers, hospital workers, and treating physicians -- indeed, anyone who has something of value to add to the story. Speaking through their voices, the narrative reflects the tension and emotions stirred by the events from that fall in 2001.

Fast paced and riveting, this minute-by-minute chronicle of the anthrax attacks recounts more than a history of recent current events; it uncovers the untold and perhaps even more important story of how scientists, doctors, and researchers perform life-saving work under intense pressure and public scrutiny. The Anthrax Letters is a spellbinding behind-the-scenes expose that amply demonstrates how vulnerable America and the world really were in 2001 -- and how critical scientific research promises to strengthen our ability to address the challenges we must meet in the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Not Perfect, But Maybe the Best Available Today
"The Anthrax Letters" provides a good deal of background information on the Anthrax attacks of 2001, and perhaps until the culprit(s) are identified, this book may remain as the credible only work available.The book provides a great deal of information on both the victims and the professionals that treated them (maybe even too much?).I would have preferred a bit more on the science of the forensics used to try to track down the perpetrators (but in the author's defense, that may still be kept closely under wraps by the FBI).Would also have liked more information on the method, costs and procedures used to clean up the effected buildings.But the book is easy to read.Author does not subscribe to the lone disgruntled scientist theory and sees a possible link to Al-Queda.

Real Life Horror Story
I was drawn into this book from page 1.An intriguing and scary look into just how deadly biological weapons are, and how easy it would be to release a deadly pathogen into a population.One cannot help but sympathize with the residents of this Ural town who were unfortunate enough to breathe in the deadly spores.It is also heartbreaking to read the effects felt by family and friends of the deceased as they mourned the untimely, sudden and unexplainable deaths of their loved ones.

But the most disturbing part of all is how the victims contracted the disease (though this is still up for debate) by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as the deadly pathogens were borne here and there by the wind.One victim happened to be out gardening while the invisible, deadly breeze swept by, while her neighbors who remained in their homes at that moment were unaffected.One comes away from reading this book with the realization of how fragile and precious life is, and how it can be ended by the vagaries of Fate.

Comparing this book with others written about Anthrax is inevitable, but this publication is written from the viewpoint of the author's occupation.As an added feature, one learns about the paranoia that still continues to exist in that part of the world, and the roundabout methods the writer sometimes had to employ to fully investigate this terrible event.

I give the book 4 stars because of its sometimes very academic approach, which may discourage some readers.But in this era when any country can obtain such dangerous and deadly microbes, each book on this subject is a must read in order to understand the seriousness of biological weapons and how easily this type of warfare can decimate a population.

A lesson on the medical mysteries
This book was based on the mysterious medical cases of anthrax that occurred through the mail during the year of 2001.Author Leonard A. Cole takes the reader personally through the many accounts of the anthrax sicknesses that have been reported following the September 11, 2001 attacks on America.

After the first case of anthrax was discovered it would soon become obvious that these acts were of biowarfare towards our country.Cole educates you on the history and mannerisms of the anthrax bacteria.He describes how it forms, grows and infects the people who come in contact with it.He takes you inside the hospitals to the doctors that treated the suffering patients and into the homes of those who were left behind wondering what was wrong.The medications used to treat the victims and procedures they underwent are drawn out for the reader to see as well.Not only were the families of these victims left in the dark, but our nation as a whole was left shocked and fearful of what was happening during this time.Cole went inside the police cases and FBI findings in their attempts to try and catch the culprits of these offenses.They take you through the procedures they undertook in their endeavors to track down the source of the attacks. Desperately trying to discover the cause of these biohazard assaults and being able to diagnose them quickly enough to save lives, is the aspect of this novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you thought you knew all that had happened with the anthrax you will become surprisingly more aware of what really transpired after reading this book.As the author leads you from case to case of the reported diagnoses, the reader becomes more frightfully conscious of the bio-terrorism threats that our nation faced.It's fast moving pace and hard hitting facts keeps the reader's interest throughout the entirety of the book.Though at some points it can be slightly difficult to follow due to the medical terms and research discussed about anthrax, it is still a highly enjoyable read.

Book Review for The Anthrax Letters
The Anthrax Letters is an elaborate chronicle of incidents our nation was exposed to when the horrifying bio-terrorism attacks were conducted by mail in the year 2001. It was only three weeks after September 11th occurred that a Florida man by the name of Bob Stevens died due to inhalation of anthrax. His death became the first to be caused by bio-terrorism in the United States. This book describes in-depth, the many lives anthrax affected and how it affected our nation as a whole.The measures that many doctors, scientists, policemen, etc... took to try and put a stop to such a terror are thoroughly acknowledged throughout this book.
The Anthrax Letters greatly portrayed the concerns about bio-terrorism as being seen from theory to a reality. This was a very scientific book and provides the viewer with a better understanding of the substance anthrax itself and the horrifying effects that it can have.This book was very informative and definitely keeps ones interest. Though at times it is scientifically hard to follow, and understand, it is still very enjoyable and well written. This book is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the anthrax bio-terrorism attacks that so dolefully struck our nation during the year of 2001.

Interesting and Informative
The Anthrax Letters by Leonard Cole is a detailed account of the events that took place when the nation was terrorized by the sudden cases and deaths caused by the highly destructive anthrax bacilli. On October 5, 2001, Bob Stevens, became the first confirmed bioterrorism fatality in the U.S. After him, four more people died because of this terror attack. This book was very informative and never left out any details. If you ever wanted to know anything about what happened in those weeks of terror, then this would be the book to pick.
When these attacks were happening, I was eighthgrade, so I knew they had happened, but not really knowing what was going on. I didn't even know that five people had died from these attacks. This book was packed with information with what really happened and it gave me a new understanding to it. It was never uninteresting at any point and was alwayswanting to keep reading to know what was the next events that took place in those weeks.
One thing that I didn't like too much was the way the books order of events went. It kept skipping around a lot and for younger readers, it may have been hard to understand. Also, I found that there was a large amount of unneeded information that the book really could have done without and it would have been fine, like a background story to every person introduced in the novel. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and it was a well written, information packed book. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know the events that took place during the weeks of anthrax terror and this book will tell you who did what to try to control it andsave the people infected with it. The book brings the terror from those weeks to real life and make you really feel like you know went on, which I think makes it a very well researched and written book.


... Read more

Book Description

A lethal germ is unleashed in the U.S. mail. A chain of letters spreads terror from Florida to Washington, from New York to Connecticut, from the halls of the U.S. Congress to the assembly lines of the U.S. Postal Service. Five people die and ten thousand more line up for antibiotics to protect against exposure. A government already outsmarted by the terrorist hijackers of 9/11 stumbles, leaving workers vulnerable and a diabolical killer on the loose.

The Killer Strain is the definitive account of the year in which bioterrorism became a reality in the United States, exposing failures in judgment and a flawed understanding of the anthrax bacteria's capacity to kill. With the pace and drama of fiction, this book goes behind the scenes to examine the confused, often bungled response by federal agencies to the anthrax attacks of 2001. It shows how the Bush administration's efforts to control information and downplay risk led to mistakes that ultimately cost two postal workers their lives.

Based on hundreds of hours of interviews and a review of thousands of pages of government documents, The Killer Strain reveals unsung victims and heroes in the anthrax debacle. It also examines the FBI's slow-paced investigation into the crimes and the unprecedented scientific challenges posed by the case. It looks into the coincidences of timing and geography that spurred the FBI's scrutiny of Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, a key "person of interest" for the authorities. Hatfill, a medical researcher turned "bioterror expert," proclaimed his innocence but spent most of 2002 under round-the-clock FBI surveillance.

The Killer Strain is more than a thrilling read. It is a clarion wake-up call. It shows how billions of dollarsspent and a decade of elaborate bioterror dress rehearsals meant nothing in the face of a real attack.

Customer Reviews (14)

Connections to al Qaeda????Not credible
I cannot believe that a Washington Post investigative writer would include allusions to "connections to al Qaeda" in a book on the anthrax attacks.Why do we find this in the offical book description?Why would an author or publisher want that as part of the official description, unless they're pandering to the neocons and collaborating with damage-control propaganda?

These connections were "hinted," of course, by the bogus letters talking about Allah, which were sent along with the anthrax.And the Bush administration and its fans are working very hard to get the public (and the FBI) to stop thinking, and claiming, that the profile of the perpetrator points to a domestic, right-wing, inside job.

Surveys have shown that a high percent of US citizens, never much lower than 50%, have believed for years that Iraq and al Qaeda were in league with each other for the 9-11 attacks.This has been disproved, and Bush has even admitted as much--but then Cheney keeps talking as if the connection is there.

Give it up.It was the Easter Bunny.It was Santa Claus.It was the Great Pumpkin who sent the Anthrax letters, cooking up and weaponizing the anthrax in the pumpkin patch, weaponizing it by a process known only to a relatively small group inside the US military-intelligence community.That makes as much sense as any speculation about al Qaeda, which only serves to deflect attention from the FBI's findings, that it was an inside job.

Read the news stories since the events first unfolded, and you will notice the damage control, the effort to blame al Qaeda or Iraq, and to turn public opinion away from the FBI's original findings.

A government exposed?Not quite, not enough, not in their propaganda-producing role, and not in their ability to compromise the journalistic integrity of some investigative reporters by suspending their disbelief in the Bush myth that dark-skinned, middle-eastern extremists were behind the anthrax attacks.

C.O. Conscientious Objectors expose
The main fact I walked away from this book was, when it first came to the City Island Library, in New York City, in the Bronx, was twofold. One, it was made by the same people who brought us the Watergate Scandal (but perhaps failed to bring the second Watergate dweller, Ms. Lewinsky, a resident next to the Doles, to light) and two, that C.O.'s Conscientious Objector's a Draft Board designation, were used in the testing of anthrax exposure, and just recently given awards for risking their lives. It also gave some credence to a story of C.O.'s being used in other devious ways to service bombsights, perhaps. I live in the Bronx, where Kathy Nguyen, one of the victims was from. The WP did a good job investigating the 1987 "Wedtech Scandal" here too, where military field deployed bridges were supposed to be made and vast sums of money were embezzled. Unfortunately, 9/11/01 and subsequent acts stopped the Maya Lin designed newspaper recycling plant proposed for the South Bronx, where the US Capitol Dome was forged during the Lincoln Administration. See "Bronx Ecology: Blueprint For A New Environmentalism".

Well reported, buta (mostly) slow read
This book is a little dense and sometimes repetitive. For those looking for a medical mystery this book will probably not be very satisfying. The point of this book, which is made several times and then some, is that the response from federal agencies to the 2001 anthrax attacks was not perfect.And those mistakes cost lives.

The history of US anthrax production was interesting and offered perspective, and the chapter on the US Justice Departments attack and smear of a scientist was good and should have been developed more.

Fine recapitulation of the anthrax mailings story
This is a very carefully written account of the anthrax mailings with an emphasis on the victims and the governmental response.It sheds little new light on the investigation which to this day has still not turned up a suspect.

Marilyn W. Thompson, who is an editor at the Washington Post, and her research assistants, Davene Grosfeld and Maryanne Warrick, interviewed scores of people from Leroy Richmond, a postal employee who almost died from inhalation anthrax, to Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, then director of the Centers for Disease Control, in putting together the story.But apparently they were not able to interview anybody in the FBI, nor did they talk to Steven J. Hatfill, who was dubbed by Attorney General John Ashcroft as "a person of interest" in the investigation and was prominently in the public eye as a possible suspect.Much of the material was culled from news sources and public records.Consequently, what we have here is a presentation of what is publically known about the case and a record of events.

One of the aspects that Thompson concentrates on is the differential between the public health response to the anthrax found on Capitol Hill and the response to that found at the Brentwood Mail Processing and Distribution Center in Washington, D.C. with the suggestion that there was a dual standard at work, one for the white and powerful and another for the black and blue collar.This may be so, but the most damaging criticism she presents--against the CDC at least--is their failure to realize that anthrax could escape a sealed envelope.However it could, and did, especially in the Brentwood Center.

Thompson does get into "who done it," hinting that Al-Qaeda may be responsible as she recalls the pre-9/11 activities of Mohammed Atta, alleged ringleader of the hijackings, who is reported to have met with Iraqi intelligence in Prague where he accepted "a glass container" that may have contained an anthrax sample. (pp. 53-54)She also recalls Atta's interest in crop dusters and his visits to a south Florida rural airstrip to check out an Air Tractor AT-502 crop duster. (p. 54)

Even more sensational (to me at least) is the write up of "a textbook description of cutaneous anthrax" by Dr. Christos Tsonas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida after treating Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi, one of the hijackers who went down with United Airlines Flight 93 in Somerset County Pennsylvania, for a "dry, blackish scab covered wound" on his leg.As Thompson remarks, "skin anthrax could be acquired in only one way: through direct contact with anthrax spores." (pp. 51-52)

A lot of ink is also spent on Hatfill, although Thompson is careful not to propose that he is the culprit.What she does is give a report on his background including his partially falsified resume, including a false claim that he has a Ph.D in microbiology (p. 191) and a report on his soldier of fortune persona.She also quotes scientist Barbara Hatch Rosenberg's "likely portrait of the perpetrator," a portrait that fits Hatfill very well.(See pages 202-205.)However, Rosenberg also refused to name Hatfill.The way Thompson organizes this information in Chapter 15, "A Person of Interest," with the juxtaposition of the characterizations and the profiling and Hatfill's grand-standing insistence that he is innocence, suggests that he is, if nothing else, a prime suspect.Of course, this is nothing new.Since his name first surfaced he has been "a person of interest" in the media and in the minds of many people.But the FBI, despite investigating every aspect of his life, has failed to arrest him.

The big question here is why the FBI has not solved this case.As reported here and elsewhere the number of people who could have the expertise, the opportunity, and some kind of motive for this crime (involving "weaponized" anthrax, remember) probably can be counted without taking off our shoes.I have speculated that either the FBI has somehow compromised the evidence and is stuck without enough for an indictment, or the identity of the culprit (or the details of the investigation) would somehow embarrass the administration--or (that old standby) compromise the investigation of other, perhaps larger crimes or even crimes being planned.Thompson allows Rosenberg to add a third possibility, namely that the perpetrator "participated in the past in secret activities that the government would not like to see disclosed." (p. 204)

I have one small question.On page 174 and page 185 it is suggested that "over irradiation" of the mail (to kill possible anthrax spores) could cause those opening such letters to feel sick to their stomachs or feel some other illness.From what I know about the use of radiation to kill germs, whatever is radiated contains no residue of radiation (how could it?) and poses no health hazard whatsoever.Thompson's suggestion of the "post-traumatic stress of returning" to the once contaminated mail facility is the more likely reason for illness.

Bottom line: this is a thoroughly professional tiptoe through the tulips that allows Thompson to maintain a journalistic objectivity while pointing an accusatory finger at governmental incompetence in the face of the first bioweapons attack ever in the United States.

enthralling
enthralling,
I wrote this review which you now have posted under the author's name.

This book is totally engrossing from the first page to the last. It manages to take a story about a real-life incident (the anthrax letters of 2001) and spin it into a fascinating yarn that has shades of fiction. The characters are richly drawn -- Leroy Richmond, the devoted postal worker who contracts anthrax when his boss asks him to leave his work station and clean up some rubbish behind the anthrax-contaminated Machine 17; John Ezzell, the scientist who frets during sleepless nights about how to protect the public from this menace; Jeff Koplan, the dedicated bureaucrat who ends up being the Bush administration's fall guy. Despite its title, which is a play on words about anthrax exposure, Thompson tries to engage the reader and succeeds in spinning a story that informs, enrages and leaves lingering questions about our government's ability to deal with acts of orchestrated terror. Can't put it down reading. ... Read more

Book Description
In the late 19th century deadly diseases such as tuberculosis and anthrax were unstoppable killers. Doctors were helpless to prevent or effectively treat their patients because nobody knew what caused the disease in the first place. It wasn't until German scientist Robert Koch showed anthrax and other scourges were caused by specific types of bacteria that mankind began to win the war on disease. In addition to being a renowned researcher, Koch was also an important technical innovator. He was the first to develop an effective system for staining and photographing the microbes he studied under the microscope, the first to establish a scientific protocol to isolate and identify pathogens, and the first to use agar as a medium to grow bacterial cultures in the lab. Koch's lifelong dedication to eradicating disease earned him the 1905 Nobel Prize for Medicine and ensured his legacy as the founder of modern bacteriology. ... Read more

Book Description
How could so many people be so wrong about the anthrax attacks of 2001?This book explains how.

Using published scientific data confirmed via one-on-one discussions with America's top anthrax experts, this book shows that simple laboratory mistakes made in the first days of the investigation were leaked to the media before they could be corrected and led to wild conspiracy theories which dominated discussion of the case for the next three years.Totally erroneous information has been accepted as "fact", and attempts to correct the errors have become accepted as attempts to cover up a conspiracy.

The book shows example after example of how a careful examination of the available evidence totally disproves popular misconceptions about the case.Plus, errors by the CDC, the FBI, the New York Department of Health, and other govenment agencies have never been publicly corrected and continue to mislead people.

The book provides a careful scientific analysis of the anthrax attacks of 2001.Details about the letters and envelopes are carefully examined.The nature of the anthrax and how it was handled are carefully studied.Bad information is traced to its source, and the effect of the errors are carefully documented step by step. The book lays out detail by detail, fact by fact, as it builds a description of events that is totally at odds with the way the case has been depicted in the media today.

Filled with fascinating details which often boggle the mind, the book is intended to make the reader reconsider all prior thinking about the case.

The book concludes that it is an absolute certainty that the person behind the anthrax attacks of 2001 will be more easily brought to justice if the scientific evidence is carefully examined by more people in the scientific community, instead of simply relying upon rumor, speculation, innuendo and baseless conspiracy theories, as has been the situation to date. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Terrible! Avoid at all costs!
Edward Lake's Analyzing The Anthrax Attacks is the worst book I have ever voluntarily read. [...] Beginning with the absurd, rambling explanation for writing the book, every page reveals such rich ineptitude in thinking and writing that its 250 or so pages feel endless.

[...]

Readers of the book are subjected to a bizarre self-ego-gratification trip by the author in which he makes the ridiculous claim that thousands of FBI agents, reporters, journalists, medical doctors and scientists all made repeated errors in the case. [...] However, other than endlessly repeating that there is some undisclosed conspiracy belief at work amongst the media, military and medical profession, he offers absolutely nothing to advance the case.

For some reason or another, Mr. Lake seems to persistently hold onto the belief that a major breakthrough in the anthrax case is always right around the corner. I expect that ten years from now he'll probably be last guy on the face of the earth who still believes that an actual arrest is just a few weeks away.

This book is a vanity publication. The author himself paid a publisher to print and bind his offering, thus the editorial standards are zero.

There's nothing worthwhile here that you can't learn for free simply by perusing the www.anthraxinvestigation.com website. The next time you go to Vegas you can take the money you saved, go to the roulette table, and put the money on number Zero, which is the actual number of stars the book really deserves.

Don't waste your time reading this confused drivel and don't make the mistake of buying a copy.

an interminable mega-bore
If I had to live my life all over again I'd do it all exactly the same, only I wouldn't read Edward Lake's "Analyzing The Anthrax Attacks".

This book brings a new meaning to the word awful. Reading a book you cannot abide but have forced yourself to read because of your interest in the topic can make you feel as though you're chained to a madman or dining with a monster of solipsistic preciousness. The book has bascially two parts- one part is the ranting pretension of the author - the other is his fuming incomprehension.

I forced myself to the end, hoping there would be something new concerning the anthrax case - anything. It was an exercise in futility on my part, much as it was an exercise in futility in the writing of this work of nonsense.

Lake's book is fascinating
I think Ed Lake's "Analyzing the Anthrax Attacks" is a must-read for anyone interested in the unsolved anthrax terrorist attacks of 2001.It's thoughtful, intensely and passionately researched and argued, and intelligently probing about the mysterious events.Lake brings a wealth of detailed factual knowledge to his acccount.He comes to provocative conclusions that not everyone will agree with.He is critical of the media and of scientists for speculating too much--and he occasionally takes issue with my book, The Demon in the Freezer--but, hey, so what?We in the media ought to be able to handle criticism just the way we dish it out.I think Lake's thought and work deserve to be taken seriously.We can only hope that one day this horrendous crime will be solved and the perpetrator or perpetrators brought to justice.Lake's book should serve to remind federal authorities, and all of us, that there has so far been no justice delivered for the lives of ordinary people lost in this heinous act of terrorism.

The anthrax letters - not worth reading
This book is really awful [...]

This was the second book I had read on the anthrax letters. The first one I read was by Marilyn Thompson. Thompson's book is in a different league than the one by Lake. Thompson has real sources and you can tell that she researched the subject thoroughly. I think Lake made most of his analysis up and he seems to have a hidden agenda of some kind. His writing style is particularly awful.

Best written review of a complex investigation
Highly recommended for anyone seeking to gain a better understanding of the complex investigation into the Anthrax attacks of 2001. Ed Lakes does a yeoman's job in compiling all that can be known about the investigation from hundreds of open source documents.

Mr. Lake also presents a working hypothesis of who the criminal(s) behind the attacks might be. His theory relies almost entirely on media reports and scientific discussion of the case, rather than the type of wild speculation others often resort to. You might disagree with his conclusions, but you'll find them difficult to debate without straying from the confines of what is really known about the case.

This book will also be fascinatingto anyone who is interested in the new breed of journalism evolving from the web. Ed Lake is part blogger, part amateur sleuth, and part journalist.

His methods ofen involve combing through hundreds of open source articles about part of the case, looking for unique quotes, local angles, or other under-reported details. Then he combines those details to infer things that the mainstream media might have missed. It's a textbook for the new journalist, and should be required reading for researchers.

Also unique is that Mr. Lake gives permission for his critics to say, "I told you so", if his theory about the case is later proven wrong. You may disagree with his hypothesis, but it's hard to argue with his passion for the case.

An insightful book into one of the most important criminal cases in American History. ... Read more

Product Description
Dr. Robert Crusso discovers anthrax in a routine meat sample from Brazil.A ninja torches the lab with Crusso bound and gagged in a roaring inferno.He manages to escape and whizzes off to the hospital into the adept hands of shapely ER nurse, Jenny Lynn Bateman.Emotions stir a burgeoning romance.But the unsuspecting couple plunges headlong into a traumatic conspiracy of terror and mystery - the biowar of the century. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Columbia Journalism Review, published by Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism on November 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1493 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: `They are trying to kill us': on the receiving end of an anthrax attack.
Author: Robert Windrem
Publication: Columbia Journalism Review (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2001
Publisher: Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
Volume: 40Issue: 4Page: 18(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

So you know.
This is a book for young adults with reading deficiencies.Often, young adults with reading difficulties are not interested in the topics of books at reading levels at which they are proficient, especially if that level is three to four years below their true age.Books such as this are meant to get such children to read, even if the topic is somewhat unconventional.This book is not meant for adults, unless they are looking for the most cursory overview of these weapons.

Disappointing for this Physician
I was hoping to find something that would be more medically related to specific symptoms and treatment options when considering this horrific possibility.The book did a good job of describing the Saran attack in Japan. ... Read more

Product Description
Spores, Plagues and History is the tale of one of history's most deadly bacterium, which has been causing natural disease since the time of Moses and man-made illness since World War II. Beginning with a description of the U.S. anthrax bioterrorism attacks of 2001, the story goes back in time to the earlist hint of the disease, the 5th and 6th plagues of Moses. Several epidemics are then described where anthrax was the putative cause, (e.g. , the Plague of Athens in 430 B.C. and Woolsorter's Disease in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries), arriving at the modern era, when anthrax and other pathogens were studied and used as weapons of mass destruction by several nations, including Japan, Russia and the U.S.The story concludes where it began, with a description of how the U.S. has prepared itself -- or not -- for a future bioterrorist attack. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

More Than You Expect
I read Dr. Holmes' "Spores, Plagues and History" after having finished his two novels, "The Medusa Strain" and "Garden of Evil."Coming to "Spores" from two fiction pieces, I expected an informative, but probably academic treatment of the subject.To my surprise, I found the book to be highly readable and captivating.It held my interest more than I had expected.

Dr. Holmes launches us into the subject and makes it relevant to today by looking at the anthrax breakouts in the US after 9/11.From this starting point, he traces the history of anthrax from early Greek times to the present, but takes in much more than just the medical side.He leads us through areas of military history, sociology, biological research and bio-weaponry.Most riveting are the disclosures of activities related to chemical and biological warfare in the 20th century - including activities undertaken by elements of the US government.

I rate this book as riveting as the top-tier offerings of the science-based fiction writers of today.It should appeal most to readers with wide-ranging interests.

A straightforward accounting of this devastating disease
Medical epidemiologist Chris Holmes, M.D. presents Spores, Plagues, And History: The Story Of Anthrax, a straightforward accounting of this devastating disease and its effects on humanity throughout history. From "woolsorter's disease" during the Industrial Revolution, to modern-day biological weapons, and so much more, Holmes' extensively researched sources aptly traces a path in clear, no-nonsense terms that students of both World History and Medical History will greatly appreciate. A work of impeccable scholarship, Spores, Plagues, And History is very strongly recommended for academic library reference collections.

Great Book About Anthrax History - Moses Forward...
This great book about the history of anthrax covers a lot of ground in relatively few pages.The more I learn about the author, the more I realize this man knows what he is talking about. I feel calmer about anthrax after reading this book.

The author is a native of Canada, Chris Holmes, and he received his M.D. from the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine and served in the Air Force during Vietnam. After stints in private practice and academia, he became a Navy physician and has studied extensively nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. He led the medical team aboard the USS Tripoli during the 1992 U.S. intervention in Somalia.

Captain Holmes, MC, USN (Ret.) has been studying the history of medicine for over 35 years.He is the author of two books dealing with Anthrax. He is a physician, epidemiologist, an authority on disease and bio-warfare past and present,and is arguably the world's leading authority on the history of anthrax.Dr. Holmes has taught at medical schools, has published many scholarly articles, and is certified in submarine and diving medicine with the U.S. Navy, just to survey some of his extraordinary experience.

His Op-Ed's have appeared in newspapers from San Diego to Tennessee, and he has been interviewed on radio talk-shows from San Francisco to Boston.Dr. Holmes has also appeared on Fox News with Mr. John Gibson, being interviewed aboutmonkeypox and infectious diseases and on XETV in San Diego, being interviewed on Fox in the Morning aboutanthrax and bioterrorism.

One Doctor's Opinion
ANTHRAX! SMALLPOX! PLAGUE!Until recently, most Americans were unfamiliar with these terms or assumed they were a part of history.The October, 2001 anthrax cases catapulted this condition into the headlines and the minds of many.What are the agents and the illnesses they cause?How worried should we be and what can we do to protect ourselves?With new infectious diseases emerging and old ones resurfacing, the challenge of early detection, containment and prevention is urgent.

Dr. Chris Holmes has written a provocative, engrossing book that offers the general reader the answers to these questions.'Spores, Plagues and History' follows the trail of anthrax from prebiblical times to the present.The reader gains an appreciation for the challenge early investigators faced in responding to clusters of illness when the cause was not known.'Spores, Plagues and History' also provides a highly readable, authoritative perspective of the role other infectious agents have played in world history.

Michele Ginsberg, Chief of Community Epidemiology
HHSA, San Diego County, California ... Read more

Book Description
This easy-to-follow book offers descriptions of 29 likely toxins, viruses, gases and other agents that could be used by terrorists; the symptoms these substances produce; treatment options and ways to prevent exposure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

In depth
For somenoe searching for information on biological and chemical agents, this book efficiently informs the reader.I feel much more secure with my new found knowledge.Well written.

Yawn!!!
What a boring book.Most all of this information can be found on the internet for free.This book is just another example of the hysteria imposed on citizens of this country.We will likely never be exposed to these agents and are probably more likely to die in our sleep from boredom due to reading this book!

informative but not a do it yourself at home book
I got this book because I was curious about the symptoms of exposure to the various agents listed and interested in treatment of a victim.
For your money you get descriptions of 27 different things you really do not want to get exposed to, symptoms, treatment and prevention are also mentioned. Drugs and dosages for each subject are listed (most of this stuff the private citizen can't get ahold of anywhere, some of it would be hard for most Doctors to find.), some of it is administered by injection, some orally and some by intravenous drip.
There are pretty extensive reference lists at the end of each chapter (John Q. Public won't have any access to most of it)and Q&A tests for the reader.
Not really suited for the average person but aimed at trained medical people. ... Read more

Book Description
Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax in all mammals, including humans. Depending upon the route of entry of B. anthracis spores, infection can result in cutaneous lesions, which are readily treatable with antibiotics, or systemic lethal disease, which is nearly always fatal. The continuing worldwide incidence of anthrax in animal populations, the risk of human infection associated with animal outbreaks, and the threat of use of B. anthracis as a biological weapon warrant continued investigation of this organisms and its virulence mechanims. Furthermore, B. anthracis is an excellent model system for inverstigation of virulence gene expression by bacteria. ... Read more

Book Description
The book portion of this title is a reproduction of the highly acclaimed "Blue Book" written by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute Of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Maryland - "Medical Management Of Biological Casualties Handbook" newly revised Fourth Edition, February 2001. In the introduction, the authors state: "The global biological warfare threat is serious, and the potential for devastating casualties is high for certain biological agents. There are at least 10 countries around the world currently that have offensive biological weapons programs. However, with appropriate use of medical countermeasures either already developed or under development, many casualties can be prevented or minimized. The purpose for this handbook is to serve as a concise manual that will guide medical personnel in the prophylaxis and management of biological casualties. It is designed as a quick reference and overview." The handbook, with 124 pages, covers every bacterial and viral agent, with important information on prevention and treatment. Please see the Table of Contents link on this page for additional content details.

With the handbook we're including our best-selling CD-ROM, "21st Century Complete Guide to Bioterrorism, Biological and Chemical Weapons, Germs and Germ Warfare, Nuclear and Radiation Terrorism - Military Manuals and Federal Documents with Practical Emergency Plans, Protective Measures, Medical Treatment and Survival Information" (ISBN 1-931828-09-1). This incredible CD-ROM provides the best, most up-to-date and comprehensive collection available anywhere of official information and documents on the threats posed by terrorism and weapons of mass destruction: bioterror agents like anthrax, smallpox, and plague; chemical agents including nerve gas; military and improvised nuclear weapons; radiological weapons; and radiation from nuclear facility sabotage and accidents. It is an encyclopedic collection of manuals, handbooks, self-study courses, government plans and programs, and reference works including virtually every public domain document pertaining to every aspect of the risk to civilians from terrorism, and to military personnel in warfare. Over 30,000 pages in 146 documents (occupying over 600 MB) from all major Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, U.S. Army, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Dept. of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), EPA, and GAO give detailed, useful, practical, current information on the NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) threat.

The documents on the CD-ROM are reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software - allowing direct viewing on Windows and Apple Macintosh systems. Reader software is included on the CD. ... Read more

Book Description
Both animals and humans can be infected with anthrax, a deadly contagious disease caused by a bacteria, Bacillus anthracis. Cutaneous, inhalational, and intestinal forms of anthrax are discussed, along with methods of prevention and treatment. The use of Bacillus anthracis as a biological weapon is also explored. ... Read more

Book Description
Beyond Anthrax: The Weaponization of Infection covers the gamut of potential biological threats related to biowarfare/bioterrorism as well as significant issues related to classical and new epidemics. Various aspects of the public health response to infections in both pre-event and post-event situations are also covered. ... Read more