Scourge by Jonathan Tucker, Atlantic Monthly Press, $26, ISBN
0871138301
I DIDN’T know my own country, Canada, might owe its existence to biological
warfare. During the American War of Independence, the British commander
defending Quebec sent civilians infected with smallpox out among Benedict
Arnold’s besieging troops. The resulting outbreak broke the siege.
That’s history. Is there really anything new to be said about smallpox?
Plenty, to judge by the number of exclamation marks I have scribbled in the
margins of my copy. It’s tough going to cover everything from the invention of
vaccination to the politics of the World Health…
