Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox

291 pp. Smallpox is the only infectious disease to have been eradicated, but the virus still exists in laboratories. Following a 1992 revelation that the Soviet Union had secretly developed smallpox into a military weapon, officials around the globe expressed concern that samples of the virus could fall into the hands of "rogue" states and terrorist organizations. Since vaccination stopped in 1980, most of the world is now susceptible to infection. Tucker (Monterey Institute of International Studies) provides a history of the horrific disease and analyzes urgent efforts by the US and other countries to strengthen their medical defenses against it. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)