Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World--Told from the Inside by the Man Who Ran It [ペーパーバック]

Alibek was one of the key leaders and scientists in the Soviet Union's biological weapons. Until he defected in 1992, little was know in this country about the extent of the Soviet program--a program that was supposed to be dismantled by treaty agreement in the early 1970's. Alibek made us aware of how advanced the Soviet program was. And he warns us that Russia still works on advancing their program despite claims to the contrary.

Certainly this is a frightening prospect, especially in light of recent events in this country. Though I do not personally consider Russia a threat, it is painfully clear that Russian technology is leaving Russia and falling into the hands of people who are not afraid to use it. One of the things I like most about Alibek's book is that he gives tremendous insight into the Russian mentality. How even he, as a high-level soldier in the Soviet military, was brainwashed into believing the United States had an extensive bioweapons program. (I am not naive enough to think our program is non-existent despite treaty agreements but it certainly does not compare to the Russian production machine.) Additionally, he points out that in the trying economic times of post-communist Russia, anything and everything is up for sale.

I am not easily made paranoid. I prefer knowledge and will not have my life altered by fear. Despite the current anthrax scare, I am not afraid to open my mail or travel to Manhattan. This book did not change any of that for me. If you are a worry-wart, however, I would suggest you stay away from this book. If you want to be aware of what's out there, I suggest you take a look at this interesting story.

While Alibek is certainly telling the story from his perspective, the fact that Americans were ignorant of the extent of the KGB's bioweapons program is undeniable. After reading this book, I personally cannot see any defense against the inevitability of a large-scale bioattack, and our helplessness in the face of such an attack. Viruses respect no geographical boundaries.

In one especially horrifying sequence, the Biopreparat researchers are forced to witness a colleague's slow death from Marburg (a cousin of Ebola) as a result of accidental exposure. When the colleague finally dies, the researchers are ordered by the KGB to weaponize the virus in the man's bloodstream, since it is now considered more lethal after having been inside a human host.

The moral of the story: Never assume we really know what those governmental institutions are up to. Highly recommended.

When one thinks about it, the world was probably safer before the Soviet collapse. At least there were massive safeguards in place to provide ultimate secrecy to this program and to keep the organisms in check in case of accidents. Now, there measures have dissolved with the Soviet state..... who is controlling/maintaining these bioweapons? Dr Alibek makes you think about these very hard questions.

It is also very interesting to realize that both Yeltsin and Gorbachev were deeply involve in propogating these weapons under the guise of countermeasures/vacine development. All this was done with total disregard to the 1972 Bioweapon Treaty signed by the USSR. This certainly gives a new meaning to Peristroika!

It is not easy to like or even accept the choices the author made in his life. He is quite frank in how he came to his decisions and the realizes the abhorrent results of his decisions. He apologizes for none of his work which is understandable considering the mindset of the Cold War mentality of a Soviet official in his position. It is amazing to read the extent to which Soviet leaders went to elude Western detection and keep their own reseachers "propagandized" against the West in order to perpetuate this deadly research. I applaude Dr Alibek's candor in stating his involvement and forthright reasons for participation in this research even I am totally opposed to such work. The past is done...Dr Alibek has shown tremendous courage in writing this very readable account that warns the world of what is out there and is a very real threat to all living thing. But, be forewarned... you may find the information presented here extremely disconcerting, creating more questions in your mind than the book has answered! This is a must read for everyone, but most especially for our civilian/military leaders!