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War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda. By Jonathan B. Tucker. New York: Pantheon Books, 2006. ISBN 0-375-42229-3. Photographs. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xi, 479. #30.00.
Jonathan Tucker's War of Nerves is a splendid history of nerve gas. Beginning with chapter three, the author, in clear language, offers both the experts in the field and the layperson a gripping narrative, interspersed with analysis. Proceeding in chronological fashion, he casts new light on aspects of the various nerve gas programs and deepens the reader's knowledge of the formidable challenge posed by these deadly weapons. Dr. Tucker describes the secret nerve gas program, undetected by the Allies, developed by Nazi Germany, in the later 1930s, and the debate within high Nazi circles during World War II as to whether it should be unleashed against the Western...