There are few left alive who can recall the horrors of WWI. This was a war that brought the use of poison gas to warfare and such was the impact of it, that few combatants have used it since. Ironically, much money and time has been spent in the ensuing 90 plus years to develop even more deadly compounds. Fortunately, most of this has since been destroyed, though the ability to quickly make more will always be a specter that hangs over our heads.

The author has done a superlative job of providing us a most complete look at the development of these agents as well as how they were deployed and the efforts made to protect soldiers from their effects. It was a typical scenario of how one advance was met with counter-agents and then newer and more potent substances were developed. The majority of these gases were designed not to kill, though the death rate was high, but to disable, as it takes more people to take care of a disabled soldier than a dead one.

Having spent time encased in bio-warfare suits while in the military, I can fully understand what it might have been like to try to conduct operations while encumbered with the primitive protection of the time.

In addition to a brilliant read, the artwork of Richard Hook and the selection of period photos makes this a book that you should really consider adding to your collection.

January 2007

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