Author:
Kaszeta, Dan, author.
ImprintNew York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021]
Imprint2021
Descriptionxvi, 379 pages ; 23 cm
Note:Axis of weevils: Germany, 1920s to 1939 -- Otto's fortunes: Germany, 1939-45 -- The end: Germany, 1944-45 -- Dustbins and paperclips -- Mites: VS, a British nerve agent -- Rocks and shoals--Building a stockpile that was never used: Alabama, Colorado, and Indiana, 1950-70 -- Cribbing from the wrong notebook: The Soviets -- Coming off the rails: The USA: 1968-70 -- Binary decisions: The USA, 1970s to the 1990s -- The newcomers: Russia, 1970s to the 1990s -- Wars in Iraq and Iran -- The Tokyo attack -- The psychological effects of nerve agents -- The Syrian war -- Assassinations -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1: Technical vignettes -- Appendix 2: The rest of the world.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (pages 331-347) and index.
Note:A dark and chilling story of the invention, proliferation, and use of nerve agents. Nerve agents are the world's deadliest means of chemical warfare. Nazi Germany developed the first military-grade nerve agents and massive industry for their manufacture- yet, strangely, the Third Reich never used them. At the end of the Second World War, the Allies were stunned to discover this advanced and extensive program. The Soviets and Western powers embarked on a new arms race, amassing huge chemical arsenals. From their Nazi invention to the 2018 Novichok attack in Britain, Dan Kaszeta uncovers nerve agents' gradual spread across the world, despite international arms control efforts. They've been deployed in the Iran-Iraq War, by terrorists in Japan, in the Syrian Civil War, and by assassins in Malaysia and Salisbury- always with bitter consequences. Toxic recounts the grisly history of these weapons of mass destruction: a deadly suite of invisible, odorless killers. -- From dust jacket.
