Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. I expect the end of the world, the people part of it in any case, is likeliest to be the result of loose pathogens. In Demon in the Freezer, published in 2002, Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event takes a look at two of the top candidates for the job, smallpox and anthrax.

In October 2001, a photo-retoucher for the National Enquirer died as a result of a deliberate attack with anthrax. While the CDC was looking in to this, Senator Tom Dashle, among other mostly liberal figures, received mail tainted with the deadly material, and the investigation heated up. Was the USA under attack by Al-Qaeda again so soon after 9/11?

Preston follows several of the people involved in the research, documenting such comforting events at the CDC as faulty gloves and a researcher puncturing her super safe blue space suit. More importantly he looks at the eradication of smallpox in nature and the subsequent attempt to eliminate, or at least sharply limit the availibillty of remaining samples of the disease.

They were to have been divided between CDC facilities in Georgia and a comparable site in the Soviet Union. A treaty was signed by most of the world, Richard Nixon signing for the USA, banning the use of bio-weapons. Most of the signatories kept their word. Sadly, the Soviets not only held onto their stores, but shifted them around like a pea in a hucksterish street game when inspectors came a'calling. Thankfully a high level Soviet scientist defected and spilled the beans. Not that that prevented the Soviets from continuing their activities, but at least the rest of the world was put on to their game.

The author looks at the details of both anthrax and smallpox through the eyes of the researchers as they attempt to determine the provenance of, in particular, the Daschle-targeted anthrax. He offers enough biological detail without wandering too far into techno-speak-land. He learns from those who know how deadly pathogens might be delivered to maximize death.

Preston passes on government suspicions that Steven Hatfill, one of the virologists he interviewed for the book, might be the source of the Daschle anthrax. Another scientist, Bruce Edwards Ivins, believed to be angry over pro-choice stands taken by alleged targets, was later found to have been the guilty party by the FBI, but the case was regarded as inconclusive and no criminal charges were filed before Ivins killed himself. The mystery remains.

Preston is a compelling story teller and his is a tale of potential horror. He makes it crystal clear that deadly diseases, kept in freezers around the world, can, at any time, be thawed out and weaponized. We do not know where all these stores are located, and we do not have a means for protecting people against superpox, specifically designed to get past immune systems and antibiotics. The only real surprise is that the big kill-off has not yet occurred. This is a short book with a very long shadow. You really need to read this.