Six-legged Soldiers

Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War is a nonfiction scientific warfare book written by author and University of Wyoming professor, Jeffrey A. Lockwood. Published in 2008 by Oxford University Press, the book explores the history of bioterrorism, entomological warfare, biological warfare, and the prevention of agro-terrorism from the earliest times to modern threats.[2] Lockwood, an entomologist, preceded this book with Ethical issues in biological control (1997) and Locust: The devastating rise and mysterious disappearance of the insect that shaped the American frontier (2004), among others.

Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War
AuthorJeffrey A. Lockwood
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
SubjectEntomological warfare
GenreNonfiction
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication date
October 10, 2008
Media typeHardcover
Pages400
ISBN0-19-533305-5
OCLC192109802
358/.3882 22
LC ClassUG447.8 .L63 2009

"I think a small terrorist cell could very easily develop an insect-based weapon... The raw material is in the back yard." (Lockwood, to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, 2009)

[1]

Summary

Six-Legged Soldiers gives detailed examples of entomological warfare: using buckets of scorpions during a fortress siege, catapulting beehives ("bee bombs") across a castle wall, civilians as human guinea pigs in an effort to weaponize the plague, bombarding civilians from the air with infection-bearing insects, and assassin bugs placed on prisoners to eat away their flesh.[2][3] Lockwood also describes a domestic ecoterrorism example with the 1989 threat to release the medfly (Ceratitis capitata) within California's crop belt.[4] The last chapter highlights western nations' vulnerability to terrorist attacks.[5]

Interviewed about the book by BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the author describes how a terrorist with a suitcase could bring diseases into a country. "I think a small terrorist cell could very easily develop an insect-based weapon."[1]

Criticism

In its January 2009 review, The Sunday Times criticised the book as being "scarcely scholarly" for its mixed collection of myth, legend and historical facts.[2] Contrary to this critique, reviews from credible scholarly and scientific sources stated, "Six-Legged Soldiers is an excellent account of the effect arthropod-borne diseases have had on warfare...This book will inspire readers to understand...threats and prepare new methods to combat them." (Nature), "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), and "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) [6]

References
  1. Adams, Stephen (5 Jan 2009). "Terrorists could use 'insect-based' biological weapon". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  2. Hastings, Max (January 4, 2009). "Six-legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War by Jeffrey A Lockwood". timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  3. "Nonfiction Reviews". Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War Jeffrey A. Lockwood. Oxford Univ., $27.95. Publishers Weekly. August 18, 2008. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  4. "Six-Legged Soldiers". oupcanada.com. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  5. Linthicum, Kenneth J. (November 5, 2008). "Insects of war, terror and torture". Nature. Nature Publishing Group. 456 (7218): 36–37. Bibcode:2008Natur.456...36L. doi:10.1038/456036a. ISSN 0028-0836.
  6. "Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War". Oxford University Press. 11 September 2008.
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