ANTHRAX: Bioterror As Fact And Fantasy. Translated (from German) By Giselle Weiss.

Sarasin, Philipp

ISBN 10: 0674023463 / ISBN 13: 9780674023468

Published by Cambridge MA &London UK. 2006. Harvard Univ. Press, 2006

About this Item

square silver metallic cloth hardbound 8vo. no dustwrapper. fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of all markings. nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking , underlining, remainder markings etc ~ first edition. first printing (same date on title & copyrightpg, no additional printings indicated). 322p. notes. acknowledgments. index. world history. history of science. biology. biochemistry. chemical warfare. biological warfare. anthrax letters al qaeda. anthrax in iraq. bacteriology. george w bush. the cobra event. CDC. conspiracy theory. WMD. defense department. ebola virus. epidemiology. michel foucault. saddam hussein. islam. israel. september 11 terrorist attacks. soviet union. twelve monkeys. viruses. smallpox liberalism.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: ANTHRAX: Bioterror As Fact And Fantasy. Translated (from German) By Giselle Weiss.
• Publisher: Cambridge MA &London UK. 2006. Harvard Univ. Press
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674023463
• ISBN 13: 9780674023468
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis

The potential for creating and using biological weapons to wreak havoc is an urgent concern not just in America, but worldwide. In fact, many security experts believe that the next act of widespread terrorism will likely come from a weapon of biochemical means. In "Anthrax: Bioterror as Fact and Fantasy", Philipp Sarasin explores the real threats of biological weapons - in contrast to the idea of biological substances as nebulous agents of terror - by analysing the famous anthrax scares that occurred in the United States in 2001. Basing his analysis on government documents and media coverage between the events of September 11, 2001, and the beginning of the Iraq War in March 2003, he shows that the anthrax letters became the necessary fantasy-link between the 9/11 attacks and Saddam Hussein's "weapons of mass destruction". While many bioterrorism experts agree that it would be difficult to use anthrax effectively as a weapon in a large-scale attack, the anthrax scares that occurred in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks amplified the American public's fear and uncertainty about what might come next. In effect, these incidents infected the American psyche and created an increased sense of vulnerability that shaped the public's understanding of the War on Terror. Sarasin, in offering a European's view of the U.S. reaction to the anthrax scare, argues that while threats of bioterrorism are real, they are disproportionate to the fantasmal fears and illusions that now permeate American politics and culture. In short, fear of bioterror has contaminated modern American life.

About the Author

Philipp Sarasin is Professor of Modern History at the University of Zurich.