War and Nature

This latest addition to Cambridge's Studies in Environment and History series is a fascinating account of the coevolution of chemical warfare and insecticide use through the first half of the twentieth century, one that thoughtfully examines the complicated symbiosis between three groups of participants. The American military's development of toxic gases is shown to have encouraged entomologists to press for more aggressive "peaceful warfare" (p. 13) against insect pests, while the needs of both these institutions fueled the growth of the chemical industry. Following these interactions from the First World War through the opening round of the Cold War, Edmund Russell provides insight into the formation of a major component of the military-industrial complex that burst upon public consciousness at the end of Eisenhower's presidency

Ancient history · Biological warfare · Biology · Chemical warfare · Cold war · Consciousness · Environmental ethics · First world war · Political science · Presidency · Spanish Civil War · Spring (device) · World War II · American Environmental and Regional History · Engineering · History · Law · Philosophy