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Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox Paperback – August 12, 2002

by Jonathan B. Tucker (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 41 ratings
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A Washington Post Best Book of 2001, Scourge provides a definitive account of the dramatic story of smallpox by a leading "expert on biological and chemical weapons" (The New York Times). Jonathan B. Tucker traces the history of the smallpox virus from its first recorded outbreak around 3700 B.C. through its use as the first biological warfare agent in human history, and draws some decisively important lessons for the future. In a timely debate, Tucker addresses the ever-growing concerns about the proliferation of the deadly smallpox virus and its use by terrorist organizations. Explaining how the eradication of the disease in the late 1970s encouraged military research and production of the virus, he exposes the failure of the Russian government to secure its remaining cold-war stockpiles, and evaluates the past and present measures undertaken by the United States to counter the existing dangers of a smallpox attack. Ultimately, he passionately argues for the strengthening of the existing legal ban on the development and possession of biological weapons. Impeccably researched, Scourge is as arresting as it is indispensable, and as William Beatty in Booklist raves, Tucker "has a sense of ... history that helps him make the story of smallpox as disease and ... weapon fascinating and frightening." Scourge has been acclaimed as "a concise, suspenseful and scientifically accurate narrative." -- The New York Times Book Review" Tucker's fascinating, revealing book affords the reader a sobering look at this new type of warfare...." -- Chris Patsilelis, Houston Chronicle -- "[Tucker] reports the debate evenhandedly and with telling detail." -- David Brown, The Washington Post Book World
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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grove Press
  4. Publication date
    August 12, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 8.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780802139399
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0802139399
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0802139396
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; Reprint edition (August 12, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780802139399
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802139399
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 41 ratings

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Jonathan B. Tucker

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4.5 out of 5 stars
41 global ratings

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Customers appreciate the book's coverage of smallpox history, with one noting its detailed account of inoculation practices. The book is presented as a success story, with one customer describing it as competent.

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3 customers mention "History"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's historical content, with one customer noting its detailed account of inoculation practices, while others praise its comprehensive coverage of the disease's history.

"Good History of the disease and the first vacine" Read more

"...Mr. Tucker accurately records the history of Smallpox, the negotiations, the eradication, and sadly the betrayal that is the story of Smallpox and..." Read more

"...has caused to people in the past, and the history of inocculation was also quite interesting, most of the book discussed the long..." Read more

3 customers mention "Success story"3 positive0 negative

Customers describe the book as a success story.

"...Scourge is at once a success story, recounting the successful efforts of the World Health Organization in the effort to globally eradicate the..." Read more

"A methodical, thorough, competent, sober, sobering and comprehensive account of the efforts over the years to rid the world of smallpox...." Read more

"Great, informative book. Bought a new copy, which is beautiful." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • James D
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good History of the disease and the first vacine
    Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2025
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    Good History of the disease and the first vacine
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  • ealovitt
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2002
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    The author, Jonathan Tucker is an expert on biological and chemical weapons. 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. So, although his descriptions of past epidemics are horrible enough, it's the present and future threat of smallpox---the second half of this book---where Tucker really scared the bejabbers out of me. I had no idea that the Soviet bioweapons program, Vector, had gone as far as it did in developing viral weapons. According to the author, "Some 4,500 people, including about 250 Ph.D.-level scientists, worked at Vector in the late 1980s...One goal of the...program was to develop a smallpox-based biological weapon containing virulence genes from Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus. At least theoretically, such a viral chimera would combine the hardiness and transmissibility of smallpox with the lethality of Ebola, which was between 90 percent and 100 percent fatal, resulting in an 'absolute' biological weapon."
    The real irony of the Vector bioweapons program was that the Soviet Union (along with the United States) was a major factor in eradicating the scourge of smallpox from the world in the 1970s.
    Where are those 4,500 people who worked at Vector, now? Where is the twenty tons of smallpox virus formulation that was stocked at the Center of Virology in Zagorsk? The Soviets supposedly destroyed the stockpile in the late 1980s, but the smallpox seed cultures and the expertise to manufacture biological weapons from them still remain.
    The author clearly presents the arguments for and against retaining the known remaining smallpox virus stocks in Atlanta and Moscow. However, I believe he sides with the 'destructionists' rather than the 'retentionists': "From a practical standpoint, now that the DNA sequences of representative strains of variola virus hade been determined, the live virus was no longer needed to identify smallpox if it were to reappear in the future. Nor would live variola [smallpox] virus be required to protect against a future outbreak of smallpox, since the small pox vaccine--based on the distinct vaccinia virus--could be retained and stockpiled for insurance purposes."
    The long, difficult task of eliminating smallpox from the world (as thrillingly described in "Scourge") will not be complete until all known and rogue virus stocks (believed held by North Korea, Iran, Iraq, and possibly China) are destroyed. The world's population has grown increasingly vulnerable to the disease since the last official vaccination programs were eliminated in 1984, as the protective immunity induced by the vaccine lasts only about seven to ten years. Nor is there an effective medical treatment for smallpox.
    As Tucker states in his closing sentence: "Until humanity's legal and moral restraints catch up with its scientific and technological achievements, the eradication of smallpox will remain as much a cautionary tale as an inspirational one."
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Mary M. Roe
    5.0 out of 5 stars The centers to treat infectious diseases that we used in the Ebola outbreak were designed to contain something far worse - Small
    Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2016
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    Do you remember Dr. Strangelove? Remember how we all laughed at "Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost, if you *keep* it a *secret*!" Smallpox is Doomsday and that is what the Soviets intended. They started developing the weapon shortly after we announced we would no longer vaccinate our people for Smallpox. It was intended as the Doomsday blow to the handful of Americans who would survive an all out nuclear exchange. After the fall of the Soviet Union Smallpox became a nightmare for the American President. A few short months before 9/11 a computer exercise called Operation Dark Winter studied the effects of the release of Smallpox in a couple of locations. Within 28 days 3 million Americans would have contracted the disease and 1 million would have died. Smallpox was fully capable of taking down our entire medical society. Recently we completed the stockpile of enough vaccine for every American and developed a vaccination for the immune compromised. The centers to treat infectious diseases that we used in the Ebola outbreak were designed to contain something far worse - Smallpox. By being prepared to protect our own, we protect the even more vulnerable in the third world. Mr. Tucker accurately records the history of Smallpox, the negotiations, the eradication, and sadly the betrayal that is the story of Smallpox and just like Pandora's box a tiny ray of hope.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • P. Dailey
    4.0 out of 5 stars This is not book that requires a science background, and it might make you lose some sleep
    Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Tucker gives readers a summary of the known history Smallpox infection, from the Pharos to Ali Mao Maalin, the world’s last documented case of smallpox. “The Somali cook was the end point of a continuous chain of human-to-human transmission extending back thousands of years” (118). The author also provides a good epidemiological understanding of the virus, which he not only brings into historical context, but also utilizes to frame his speculation on the potential for a recurrence of this “Scourge.”
    Most of the history Tucker shares pertains to the efforts to defeat smallpox, ranging from ancient religious practices, like the Europeans reverence of St. Nicaise and the African worship of the deity, Sopona, to variolation, to the development of the modern vaccine. But Tucker also takes the opportunity to describe the historical role of smallpox in conquest, noting “In 1616 -19, a smallpox epidemic cut down almost nine-tenths of the Indian population in the Massachusetts Bay area shortly before the arrival of the Pilgrim settlers in 1620” (11). Tucker cites instances when European colonists intentionally provided infected blankets to the indigenous tribes of North America as if to remind readers of the evil that lurks in the dark heart of man. Tucker quotes Thomas Jefferson, who asserted that smallpox had been deliberately used as an agent of biological warfare when the virus was “sent into our army designedly by the [British] commanding officer in Quebec,” speculating that history might have been so drastically changed by the use of Smallpox that perhaps all of Canada would have been part of the United States but for that event (20).
    Scourge is at once a success story, recounting the successful efforts of the World Health Organization in the effort to globally eradicate the disease, and a cautionary tale. The Soviet Union, one of the heroes of the success story presented in the first half of the book, is painted as a villain in the cautionary tale of the second half of the book. The Soviet Union provided leadership in vaccine production and donation for the effort to eradicate the disease in decades that followed WWII. But the role the Soviets played in scientific support of the effort to eradicate the disease ultimately provided the viral specimens and production capability required for the Soviets to scale a major biological warfare program to weaponize smallpox.
    Tucker’s chilling and detailed account of first the Soviets’ and then the Russians biological warfare efforts, including individual’s names, tonnages of viral agent, locations and building names for place of manufacture and test, and descriptions of delivery mechanisms, including intercontinental ballistic missiles will keep many readers from sleeping easily. Particularly as the latest edition of the book includes an added chapter about biological terrorism. Tucker seems to be telling readers not to forget that smallpox has been used in biological warfare in the past, so don’t sleep on the threat now. Despite the fact that the virus has been eliminated from the natural world, the fact that stockpiles of the virus remain in the hands of the Russians, the Americans, and possibly other rogue nations like North Korea, and non-state actors means that pandora’s box could still be reopened.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Ian Muldoon
    3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well written
    Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    A methodical, thorough, competent, sober, sobering and comprehensive account of the efforts over the years to rid the world of smallpox. His analysis of the politics involved as well as luck, timing - good and bad - are interesting.
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  • Amylase
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Great, informative book. Bought a new copy, which is beautiful.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Mary F
    3.0 out of 5 stars interesting information
    Reviewed in Canada on April 15, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I really found the first chapters interesting, but the latter part of the book not so much.
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