Theodor Rosebury and the Beginning of the Biological Cold War

By Steven J. Allen

Department of Molecular and Microbiology, Biodefense Program, George Mason University

Summary

The Cold War’s classic book on biological weapons, Peace or Pestilence: Biological Warfare and How to Avoid It, is remarkable in a number of ways. It is proof that most of the principles of biological warfare were known more than half a century ago. It shows that the issue of BWs has long extended beyond military considerations to encompass political questions. And the story behind the book suggests an effort to influence the BW debate in the U.S. by people who were sympathetic toward the Soviet Union

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