Type of bind: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 496
Printing Date: February 07, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 1382151
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Statesmen, generals, and diplomats have long debated the military utility and morality of chemical warfare. In 1925, the use of chemical weapons in war was prohibited by international treaty; in 1997 the ban on the use of chemical weapons was extended to cover their development, production, and stockpiling. Nevertheless, Iraq employed chemical weapons on a large scale as recently as the 1980s, very first during its eight-year war with Iran and then against its rebellious Kurdish minority.
In War of Nerves, Jonathan Tucker, a leading expert on chemical and biological weapons, writes about chemical warfare from World War I to the present.
The author makes clear how, at the turn of the twentieth century, the large-scale use of toxic chemicals on the battlefield became feasible and cheap; how Germany very first developed and employed toxic weapons during World War I, burying some 6,000 cylinders (containing 168 tons of chlorine) opposite the Allied trenches defending the town of Ypres, in Belgium. German troops simultaneously opened the chlorine cylinders, panicking two French divisions and tearing a gap four miles wide in the Ypres front.
Chemical warfare had begun: five months later, the Allies retaliated with their own use of chlorine gas. By the end of the war, chemical warfare had inflicted roughly one million casualties, 90,000 of them fatal.
Tucker writes about the synthesis of the very first nerve agent—Tabun—in 1936 by a German industrial chemist developing new pesticides how its high toxicity made it unusable as a pesticide but viable as a weapon for the Nazi regime. A few years later, two even more toxic nerve agents—Sarin and Soman—were developed for military use. Hitler never employed this secret weapon; German intelligence concluded—incorrectly—that the Allies had developed a similar capability.
Following World War II, we see the rise of a Cold War chemical competition between the United States and the Soviet Union that paralleled the nuclear arms race, as each pursued the secrets of the German nerve agents; how the United States and Britain planned to mass-produce Sarin (only the United States did); how the superpowers developed and mass-produced V-agents, a new generation of nerve agents of extraordinary potency; and how nerve agents spread to the Third World, including their suspected use by Egypt during the Yemen Civil War (1963—1967), as well as Iraq’s use of nerve agents in its war against Iran and on its own people. Iraq’s use of nerve agents hastened the negotiation of an international treaty banning the use of chemical weapons, which went into effect in 1997. Although the treaty now has more than 175 member-states, al-Qaeda and related terrorist groups are seeking to acquire nerve agents.
In this important and revelatory book, Jonathan Tucker makes clear that we are at a crossroads that could lead either to the further spread of these weapons or to their ultimate abolition.
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Rated by buyers 
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Great review of chemical warfare past & present. Perfect reference for anyone involved with homeland security or disaster preparedness.
Rated by buyers 
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For my money, the best and certainly the most current book on the history of Chemical Warfare. Provides a lot of extraordinary detail on both the U.S. and Soviet Union's offensive Chemical Warfare programs. Easily readable with good, clear prose. Contains more detail than a casual reader might prefer, but for those with an interest, this book definitely satisfies. Deserves a place on the shelf of anyone that is engaged in this profession or with an active interest.
Rated by buyers -
Any studying modern warfare won't want to miss WAR OF NERVES: CHEMICAL WARFARE FROM WORLD WAR I TO AL-QAEDA: it provides a long-range history of the world use of chemical weapons in war and comes from an expert on chemical and biological weapons who considers such usage from World War 1 to modern times. It was during this war when the large-scale use of toxic chemicals in battle became cheap and feasible, resulting in over a million casualties on both sides. His survey includes investigation of the inventors of gasses, weaponry, delivery systems and more, blending in world politics with a survey which is clear and powerful. A 'must' for any who would receive solid background for understanding modern events.
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch
Rated by buyers -
In my opinion, this book has a slight misnomer in the title. It's not really on chemical warfare as it is on nerve agents -- It could almost be titled 'All you ever wanted to know about nerve gas but didn't know who to ask.' The story begins with World War I, and the standard gasses that were used such as mustard and chlorine.
It is an excellent primer on the history, manufacture, use, storage, disposal, and just about everything else regarding nerve gas. One thing that I was surprised to not find was any reference to Japan's Unit 731 which conducted chemical warfare experiments in China during World War II.
Finally, since the book was written information has come out about one of the roadside bombs that the insurgents set off in Iraq. This was a binary nerve gas artillery shell. Fortunately, the shell was designed so that it had to be fired from a cannon to be armed. When it was set off on the ground the two agents did not mix and only a very small amount of nerve agent was generated.
This book is not exactly light, fun reading, but it is a sign of our times and it is to be expected that al-Queda or some other organization will succeed one day.
Rated by buyers -
The subtitle of this book, Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda, is a bit misleading. While the very first chapter does provide a quick overview of the military use of chemical weapons in the Great War, this is really a history of one type of chemical weapon: nerve agents. And, as a history of nerve agents, it is an outstanding one. Covering the early days of German development in a fine detail as well as post-war US and, a more difficult proposition, Soviet work (And even a few words about the French and British), it presents a coherent picture of the whys and wherefores of these agents. Its coverage of the Novichok/Foliant programs is probably the best unclassified version you will see. It also gives a good overview of the Iraqi projects and use, and provides a useful level of detail about the Aum uses of sarin. In short, if you are interested in these agents, either from a historical perspective or because you need to know what to do about them, this is worth your time. (And it is not a painful read, although one doesn't use words like entertaining when talking about this topic.)
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