Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War

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Jeffrey A. Lockwood (Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities, Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities, University of Wyoming)

Six-Legged Soldiers

Using Insects as Weapons of War

Jeffrey A. Lockwood (Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities, Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities, University of Wyoming)

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English

Oxford University Press
03 October 2010

Warfare & defence; Chemical & biological weapons; Mathematics & Sciences; Zoology & animal sciences; Insects (entomology)

"In Six-Legged Soldiers, Jeffrey A. Lockwood paints a brilliant portrait of the many weirdly creative, truly frightening, and ultimately powerful ways in which insects have been used as weapons of war, terror, and torture. He concludes with a critical analysis of today's defenses--and homeland security's dangerous shortcomings--with respect to entomological attacks.

Beginning in prehistoric times and building toward a near and disturbing future, the reader is taken on a journey of innovation and depravity. Lockwood, an award-winning science writer, begins with the use of ""bee bombs"" in the ancient world and explores the role of insect-borne disease in changing the course of major battles, from Napoleon's military campaigns to the trenches of World War I. He explores the horrific programs of insect weaponization during World War II: airplanes designed to drop plague-infested fleas, facilities rearing tens of millions of crop-devouring beetles, and prison camps where doctors tested disease-carrying lice on inmates. The Cold War saw secret government operations involving the mass release of specially developed strains of mosquitoes on an unsuspecting American public--along with the alleged use of disease-carrying and crop-eating pests against North Korea and Cuba. Lockwood reveals how easy it would be to use insects in warfare and terrorism today, pointing to how domestic eco-terrorists in 1989 extorted government officials and wreaked economic and political havoc by threatening to release the notorious Medfly into California's crops.

A remarkable story of human ingenuity--and brutality--Six-Legged Soldiers is the first comprehensive look at the use of insects as weapons of war, from ancient times to the present day."

By: Jeffrey A. Lockwood (Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities University of Wyoming)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 155mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780199733538
ISBN 10: 0199733538
Publication Date: 03 October 2010
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

"Preface Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Introduction ONE: STINGING DEFEATS AND VENOMOUS VICTORIES 1 Bee Bombs and Wasp Warheads 2 Toxic Tactics and Terrors 3 Insects as Tools of Torture TWO: VECTORS OF DEATH 4 Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 5 The Victories of the Vectors 6 A Most Uncivil War 7 All's Lousy on the Eastern Front THREE: BRINGING FEVER AND FAMINE TO A WORLD AT WAR 8 A Monstrous Metamorphosis 9 Entomological Evil 10 Japan's Fleas and Flies 11 Japan's Pleas and Lies 12 Beetle Bombs 13 Waking the Slumbering Giants FOUR: COLD-BLOODED FIGHTERS OF THE COLD WAR 14 Korea's Hailstorms of Hexapods 15 A Swarm of Accusations 16 An Imaginary Menagerie? 17 The Big Itch 18 Yankee (and Vietnamese) Ingenuity 19 Cuban Missiles vs. American Arthropods 20 A Tiny Terrorist in Castro's Crops FIVE: THE FUTURE OF ENTOMOLOGICAL WARFARE 21 Medflies, Fruits, and Nuts 22 Fear on the Farm 23 Wimpy Warmups and Real Deals 24 Six-Legged Guardian Angels 25 Insect Cyborgs and Roboflies 26 ""Vigilant and Ready""? Epilogue Suggested Readings Notes Index"

Reviews for Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War

Compelling. Simon Schama, Financial Times Lockwood's approach is fresh. PD Smith, The Guardian The book is an excellent read. Michelle Harvey, Times Higher Education Supplement