Bioweapons: The History, The Present and The Future

Bioweapons threaten global security as evolving technologies enable more potent, widespread, and unpredictable biological threats and responses. Bioweapons are living microbes and microbial toxins used as weapons. They have been used in war, terrorist attacks and political assassination attempts. They are more topical today than ever. This book gives a broad overview over biological weapons throughout history to present day. We learn about how Scythians used snakes to poison their arrows, how smallpox was used against Aboriginal Americans during the Seven Years’ War, and Japan’s gruesome warfare in China before and during World War II. The book also uncovers the bioweapons programmes of various countries, including America's and the Soviet Union's investment in bioweapons during the Cold war, South Africa’s “Doctor Death” and Canada’s Nobel Prize winner who developed bioweapons. The book also considers the controversial views that modern day viruses, such as HIV, Covid-19, or Monkeypox, could have been developed as a bioweapons. The book also describes the use of bioweapons by terrorist organizations and criminals. Today, the threat from bioweapons is increasing.