What do you think?
Rate this book
Yellow Rain: A Journey Through the Terror of Chemical Warfare
Excellent Book
- GenresHistory
316 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
19 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Sterling Seagrave
39 books48 followersSeagrave was an American writer, investigative journalist, and historian, his particular focus being topics of the far east.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 15, 2015
While the idea of chemical warfare is terrifying, the book also discusses the limitations of chemical warfare. From this book I learned the chemical weapons are not as deployable as most people think.
It was great comfort to know when I was in the military.
It was great comfort to know when I was in the military.
April 18, 2019
Wow! Be very afraid.
Great writing style that tells the history of chemical warfare in an engaging manner. What is that almost 40 years later the threats have not changed and it is likely that the poisons have only gotten more effective.
Great writing style that tells the history of chemical warfare in an engaging manner. What is that almost 40 years later the threats have not changed and it is likely that the poisons have only gotten more effective.
July 31, 2014
While people on both sides of the Iron Curtain obsessed over the specter of nuclear war, Seagrave took the time to investigate overlooked WMDs. Although many of his facts are now known to be incorrect, the book is still an interesting piece of work. The title is drawn from a diplomatic crisis in 1981, when Secretary of State Alexander Haig accused the Soviets of supplying Vietnam with a deadly mold-based chemical weapon, for use against jungle insurgents. A team of experts investigated and discovered that the yellow rain was nothing other than honeybee scat.
Seagrave does make clear exactly how precarious the world was as recently as the '80s. At the time, thousands of leaky chemical shells were stored at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal on the flight path to Denver airport. A messy landing could have poisoned the entire city. Seagrave also points out that the East Bloc was much better prepared to wage a chemical war, training their troops in clouds of actual nerve gas. NATO lacked good chemical training at the time, and would have faced serious problems when its airbases were attacked. Planes shuttling back and forth would bring contaminants with them, potentially finishing off fatigued pilots without a chance to decon.
Seagrave does make clear exactly how precarious the world was as recently as the '80s. At the time, thousands of leaky chemical shells were stored at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal on the flight path to Denver airport. A messy landing could have poisoned the entire city. Seagrave also points out that the East Bloc was much better prepared to wage a chemical war, training their troops in clouds of actual nerve gas. NATO lacked good chemical training at the time, and would have faced serious problems when its airbases were attacked. Planes shuttling back and forth would bring contaminants with them, potentially finishing off fatigued pilots without a chance to decon.
July 21, 2009
Very interesting on the Russian use, the Nato stuff is dated but historically useful. A seminal work.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews