Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe

by Michael T. Osterholm, John Schwartz

America is one killer organism away from a living nightmare that threatens all we hold dear....

A deadly cloud of powdered anthrax spores settles unnoticed over a crowded football stadium.... A school cafeteria lunch is infected with a drug-resistant strain of E. coli.... Thousands in a bustling shopping mall inhale a lethal mist of smallpox, turning each individual into a highly infectious agent of suffering and death....

Dr. Michael Osterholm knows all too well the horrifying scenarios he describes. In this eye-opening account, the nation’s leading expert on bioterrorism sounds a wake-up call to the terrifying threat of biological attack — and America’s startling lack of preparedness.

He demonstrates the havoc these silent killers can wreak, exposes the startling ease with which they can be deployed, and asks probing questions about America’s ability to respond to such attacks.

Are most doctors and emergency rooms able to diagnose correctly and treat anthrax, smallpox, and other potential tools in the bioterrorist’s arsenal? Is the government developing the appropriate vaccines and treatments?

The answers are here in riveting detail — what America has and hasn’t done to prevent the coming bioterrorist catastrophe. Impeccably researched, grippingly told, Living Terrors presents the unsettling truth about the magnitude of the threat. And more important, it presents the ultimate insider’s prescription for what we must do as a nation to secure our freedom, our future, our lives.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Health, Terrorism, Medicine, Survival, Politics

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Michael Thomas Osterholm (born March 10, 1953) is an American epidemiologist, regents professor, and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Osterholm graduated from Luther College in 1975 with a B.A. in biology and political science. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental health and his M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota.

Osterholm has received honorary doctorates from Luther College and Des Moines University, and is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. His other honors include the Pumphandle Award from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists; the Charles C. Shepard Science Award from the CDC; the Harvey W. Wiley Medal from the Food and Drug Administration; the Squibb Award from the Infectious Diseases Society of America; Distinguished University Teaching Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota; and the Wade Hampton Frost Leadership Award, American Public Health Association. He has also received six major research awards from the National Institutes of Health and the CDC.

Reviews

[Malachi Mojica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this is as research for a zombie book that I'm writing, but obviously this is good stuff to know regardless and I'm shocked that there aren't more reviews. I read this in order to learn more about what would happen during a bioterrorism disaster and how the government would respond, and not surprisingly virtually every book about zombies or some sort of viral outbreak is way off base if not entirely made up. I know that by writing the book I'm working on, I'll be able to raise awareness of the sort of problems Schwartz and Osterholm discuss by weaving it into a good story. Why more writers don't do their research into authenticity is beyond me, but I would highly recommend this to just about anyone. Keep in mind that there's some fictional "mock scenarios" sprinkled throughout the chapters that are really just scary short stories, and could probably have been excluded as they make the book a lot less informative and more "BE SCARED! Be very scared!" But I liked them, as they're really just examples for my research :D Still a good read, and prepare to get the pants scared off you non-fiction style. Seriously, it's not a matter of if but a matter of when a bioterrorism outbreak will hit, and when it does just pray it's nto your city. The dog and pony show of our government will be about as proactive as God anyway.

[Stone Merrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be required reading.

Excellent work and really eye opening. I was aware of the reality of bioterrorism, but this work made me aware of just how unprepared we are to face such madness.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, but a bit dated at this point.

[Katelyn Turek]

It was pretty interesting

[Kim Freitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though the book was an older edition it still had relevance

[David Arnold]

I just finished reading an edition of this book that was written pre-9/11 published in 2000, it was chilling if not prophetic in some ways seeing as how the general war on terrorism has unfolded in the aftermath. This however is a book on policy making and it is unclear to me as to how if in any way our policy and planning coordinators solved the many problems outlined in this book in the years that followed. The basic problems of combating potential pandemics remain the same and having lived an hour outside of Dallas during the 2014 Ebola scare this book can be a little unsettling in its black hat thinking revealing just how bad things can go.

With that in mind I am left wondering how (In what ways) will a GOP repealing the ACA (AKA Obamacare) degrade our national security in terms of our national healthcare systems ability to respond to an actual bio-terror event or other natural pandemic event. Because the response needed to combat pathogenic adversaries is entirely fundamentally different from responding to nuclear or chemical weapons. You might consider posing this question to your congress persons.

[Celina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book to read as research for a book I'm writing, fully expecting to be disturbed by what I found therein. After a summer of reading Richard Preston though, I discovered that this book offered little in the way of new or frightening information. The particular copy I had was published in 2000, so it felt a little outdated in light of the subsequent wars on terror of the last decade.

That said, I think it would be a perfect introduction to the world of biological threats for someone who hasn't done a bunch of reading on the topic already. It is well-written, well-documented, and easy to understand. The book does a wonderful job of illustrating how woefully inadequate the United State's preparation has been for biological warfare.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my "use case" when I worked as a readiness planner.

Remarkably, it was the smallest book on my shelf and the biggest help.

If you are concerned about bioterrorism, this is where you should start. Honest scenarios that make you stop and think about what who handles our food, where we shop, and what we really know about the people we fear.

good stuff

[Alex Lasky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having been written in the pre-9/11 era, this book would have been a 5 star if it wasn't so out of date. Even so, it still provides excellent information on the subject of bioterrorism as well as providing entertaining fictional accounts of potential bioterror acts.

[Corky]

How very easy this type of terroristm would be.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike other books in this genre, this one was far too dry for my taste, and I never finished it.

[Rick Vickers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat at a salad bar again and that's just one incident!

[Steven Raszewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a while ago, a bit dated.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, but outdated, as it was written pre-9/11/01. Particularly informative of the USA's biosecurity mindset at that time.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the current (2017) political climate it is unlikely the problems discussed in this book will be addressed. A robust response to a bio-terrorism event calls for a strong, collaborative health care system. Personnel need to be trained to recognize symptoms as possible indications of a disease thought to have been eradicated or controlled. An agency needs to be able to gather data and recognize the possibility that the incidents are not what would occur naturally but are man-made. To respond once an incident is detected, there must be stockpiles of vaccines and antibiotics to draw on and manufacturers able to ramp up their production. And also needed are multitudinous medical personnel to administer the vaccines and antibiotics. With cuts to the CDCP and the attempts to destroy anything resembling a health care system for a majority of Americans, it is doubtful the US would be able to adequately respond to a bio-terrorist event.