Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox by Jonathan B. Tucker; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Patrick Cullen

Smallpox, the only infectious disease to have been eradicated, was one of the most terrifying of human scourges. It covered the skin with hideous, painful boils, killed a third of its victims, and left the survivors disfigured for life. In this riveting, often terrifying look at the history of smallpox, Jonathan B. Tucker tells the story of this deadly disease, the heroic efforts to eradicate it worldwide, and the looming dangers it still poses today.

Beginning in the sixteenth century, smallpox afflicted rich and poor alike, repeatedly altering the course of human history. No vaccine existed until 1796, and even then it remained a major cause of death in the developing world. Finally, in 1967, the World Health Organization launched an intensified global campaign to eradicate smallpox worldwide. But when it had succeeded, Soviet leaders cynically exploited the world's new vulnerability to smallpox by mass-producing the virus as a strategic weapon. In recent years, concern over the possible return of smallpox has taken an even greater urgency with the realization that clandestine stocks of the virus may still exist.

“Tucker’s in-depth report on the tremendous resources and scientific brainpower toiling away in maximum-security Russian labs is mightily compelling, and his command of the myriad international political players and details is masterful. His vivid descriptions of the disease’s symptoms, revolting and riveting in equal measure, ensure that only the most jaded reader could lay the book aside. A true-life tale of heroes and villains, frighteningly real and marvelously told.”—Kirkus Reviews

"The unabridged audio recording of Scourge is superbly read by Patrick Cullen. Although this is primarily a history book, the narrative is as suspenseful and compelling as any contemporary thriller, and Cullen's reading captures the horrific nature and history of the disease called smallpox."—Large Print Reviews

“The book is difficult to put down.”—Publishers Weekly

“Tucker provides an engrossing look at the continuing debate over the destruction of smallpox.”—Library Journal

“Tucker describes in detail the long struggle over maintaining research stocks of the virus—an effort that rather leaves smallpox as a terrorist weapon looming threateningly over this well-written, thoroughly documented book.”—Booklist

Jonathan B. Tucker is an expert on biological and chemical weapons in the Washington, D.C. office of the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He studied biology at Yale University, received his Ph.D. in political science from MIT, and served in the State Department, the congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. He is the editor of Toxic Terror: Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons.