Weapons Mass Destructn

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-The vulnerability of the United States to attack, demonstrated on September 11, 2001, has revived interest in defense measures. This concern is reflected in the topics discussed in these essays. The four chapters examine the likelihood of terrorist-employed nuclear or biological weapons; means of dealing with threats from Iraq, Iran, and North Korea; U.S. policies toward its own nuclear arsenal; and various ways the nation can defend itself against attack. These topics are similar to those in the earlier edition of this title (Greenhaven, 1999), edited by Jennifer A. Hurley. A significant portion of that volume discussed the value of international treaties in reducing danger, which is not given prominence in this edition. The glossary and chronologies of weapons development in the earlier edition are not included here. Focus questions appear before each essay, and a pertinent periodical bibliography concludes each chapter. Sporadic charts and political cartoons relieve the potentially deadly blocks of text, and a well-annotated list of relevant organizations is appended. Walter Laqueur's The New Terrorism (Oxford, 2000) put forth many of the same arguments, but the quality of the sources and readily grasped concepts in this volume make it more accessible to a broader range of readers.-Ann G. Brouse, Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.