The emir of Bukhara used assassin bugs to eat away the flesh of his prisoners. General Ishii Shiro during World War II released hundreds of millions of infected insects across China, ultimately causing more deaths than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. These are just two of many startling examples found in Six-legged Soldiers, a brilliant portrait of the many weirdly creative, truly frightening, and ultimately powerful ways in which insects have been used
as weapons of war, terror, and torture. Beginning in prehistoric times and building toward a near and disturbing future, the reader is taken on a journey of innovation and depravity.
Award-winning science writer Jeffrey A. Lockwood begins with the development of "bee bombs" in the ancient world and explores the role of insect-borne disease in changing the course of major battles, ranging from Napoleon's military campaigns to the trenches of World War I. He explores the horrific programs of insect warfare during World War II: airplanes dropping plague-infested fleas, facilities rearing tens of millions of hungry beetles to destroy crops, and prison camps staffed by doctors
testing disease-carrying lice on inmates. The Cold War saw secret government operations involving the mass release of specially developed strains of mosquitoes on an unsuspecting American
public--along with the alleged use of disease-carrying and crop-eating pests against North Korea and Cuba. Lockwood reveals how easy it would be to use of insects in warfare and terrorism today: In 1989, domestic ecoterrorists extorted government officials and wreaked economic and political havoc by threatening to release the notorious Medfly into California's crops. A remarkable story of human ingenuity--and brutality--Six-Legged Soldiers is the first comprehensive
look at the use of insects as weapons of war, from ancient times to the present day.
The emir of Bukhara used assassin bugs to eat away the flesh of his prisoners. General Ishii Shiro during World War II released hundreds of millions of infected insects across China, ultimately causing more deaths than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. These are just two of many startling examples found in Six-legged Soldiers, a brilliant portrait of the many weirdly creative, truly frightening, and ultimately powerful ways in which insects have been used
as weapons of war, terror, and torture. Beginning in prehistoric times and building toward a near and disturbing future, the reader is taken on a journey of innovation and depravity.
Award-winning science writer Jeffrey A. Lockwood begins with the development of "bee bombs" in the ancient world and explores the role of insect-borne disease in changing the course of major battles, ranging from Napoleon's military campaigns to the trenches of World War I. He explores the horrific programs of insect warfare during World War II: airplanes dropping plague-infested fleas, facilities rearing tens of millions of hungry beetles to destroy crops, and prison camps staffed by doctors
testing disease-carrying lice on inmates. The Cold War saw secret government operations involving the mass release of specially developed strains of mosquitoes on an unsuspecting American
public--along with the alleged use of disease-carrying and crop-eating pests against North Korea and Cuba. Lockwood reveals how easy it would be to use of insects in warfare and terrorism today: In 1989, domestic ecoterrorists extorted government officials and wreaked economic and political havoc by threatening to release the notorious Medfly into California's crops. A remarkable story of human ingenuity--and brutality--Six-Legged Soldiers is the first comprehensive
look at the use of insects as weapons of war, from ancient times to the present day.
Preface
Introduction
Section 1: Stinging Defeats and Venomous Victories
1: Bee Bombs and Wasp Warheads
2: Toxic Tactics and Terrors
3: Insects as Tools of Torture
Section 2: Vectors of Death
4: Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
5: The Victories of the Vectors
6: A Most UnCivil War
7: All's Lousy on the Eastern Front
Section 3: Bringing Fever and Famine to a World at War
8: A Monstrous Metamorphosis
9: Entomological Evil
10: Japan's Fleas and Flies
11: Japan's Pleas and Lies
12: Beetle Bombs
13: Waking the Slumbering Giants
Section 4: Cold Blooded Fighters of the Cold War
14: Korea's Hailstorms of Hexapods
15: A Swarm of Accusations
16: An Imaginary Menagerie?
17: The Big Itch
18: Yankee (and Vietnamese) Ingenuity
19: Cuban Missiles vs. American Arthropod
20: A Tiny Terrorist in Castro's Crops
Section 5: The Future of Entomological Warfare
21: Medflies, Fruits and Nuts
22: Fear on the Farm
23: Wimpy Warmups and Real Deals
24: Six-legged Guardian Angels
25: Insect Cyborgs and Roboflies
26: "Vigilant and Ready"?
Epilogue
Chapter Notes
Jeffrey A. Lockwood is Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities
at the University of Wyoming, where he teaches in the department of
philosophy and in the MFA program in creative writing. An
accomplished writer, his work has been included in the popular
anthology Best American Science and Nature Writing, and he is
winner of both a Pushcart Prize and the John Burroughs Award. He is
the author of Grasshopper Dreaming:
Reflections on Killing and Loving and Locust: The Devastating Rise
and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American
Frontier.
"Six-Legged Soldiers is a fascinating account of the many ways that
scientists and military strategists have used insects to torture,
starve, and kill targets."--ScienceNews
"Six-Legged Soldiers is an excellent account of the affect
arthropod-borne diseases have had on warfare...This book will
inspire readers to understand...threats and prepare new methods to
combat them."--Nature
"Both science and military history buffs will learn much from
Lockwood, a self-described skeptic with a sense of
humor."--Publisher's Weekly
"An infectious, haunting read."--The Financial Times
"Lockwood thoroughly and objectively assembles an engaging
chronicle on a topic for which official documentation is often
sparse and the opportunity for propaganda is rife."--Science
News
"Highly Recommended."--CHOICE
"Lockwood...makes this history of entomological warfare morbidly
entertaining...thanks to a lively writing style that ranges from
the sardonic to the arch."--BioScience Magazine
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