"Biological weapons are widely feared, yet rarely used. Biological weapons were the first weapon prohibited by an international treaty, yet the proliferation of these weapons increased after they were banned in 1972. Biological weapons are frequently called 'the poor man's atomic bomb,' yet they cannot provide the same deterrent capability as nuclear weapons. One of my goals in this book is to explain the underlying principles of these apparent paradoxes."—from Living Weapons Biological weapons are the least well understood of the so-called weapons of mass destruction. Unlike nuclear and chemical weapons, biological weapons are composed of, or derived from, living organisms. In Living Weapons, Gregory D. Koblentz provides a comprehensive analysis of the unique challenges that biological weapons pose for international security. At a time when the United States enjoys overwhelming conventional military superiority, biological weapons have emerged as an attractive means for less powerful states and terrorist groups to wage asymmetric warfare. Koblentz also warns that advances in the life sciences have the potential to heighten the lethality and variety of biological weapons. The considerable overlap between the equipment, materials and knowledge required to develop biological weapons, conduct civilian biomedical research, and develop biological defenses creates a multiuse dilemma that limits the effectiveness of verification, hinders civilian oversight, and complicates threat assessments. Living Weapons draws on the American, Soviet, Russian, South African, and Iraqi biological weapons programs to enhance our understanding of the special challenges posed by these weapons for arms control, deterrence, civilian-military relations, and intelligence. Koblentz also examines the aspirations of terrorist groups to develop these weapons and the obstacles they have faced. Biological weapons, Koblentz argues, will continue to threaten international security until defenses against such weapons are improved, governments can reliably detect biological weapon activities, the proliferation of materials and expertise is limited, and international norms against the possession and use of biological weapons are strengthened.

Award-winning essayist and poet Rowan Ricardo Phillips presents a bracing renewal of civic poetry in Living Weapon. . . . and we’d do this again And again and again, without ever Knowing we were the weapon ourselves, Stronger than steel, story, and hydrogen. — from "Even Homer Nods" A revelation, a shoring up, a transposition: Rowan Ricardo Phillips’s Living Weapon is a love song to the imagination, a new blade of light honed in on our political moment. A winged man plummets from the troposphere; four NYPD officers enter a cellphone store; concrete sidewalks hang overhead. Here, in his third collection of poems, Phillips offers us ruminations on violins and violence, on hatred, on turning forty-three, even on the end of existence itself. Living Weapon reveals to us the limitations of our vocabulary, that our platitudes are not enough for the brutal times in which we find ourselves. But still, our lives go on, and these are poems of survival as much as they are an indictment. Couched in language both wry and ample, Living Weapon is a piercing addition from a “virtuoso poetic voice” (Granta).

High above the city, in a multi -million dollar penthouse, Danny Rand, a.k.a. Iron Fist, "The Living Weapon," is haunted by the consequences of choosing death over life. A message from Iron Fist's mystical homeland of K'un Lun brings Danny back to his blood soaked origin of betrayal and vengeance! Revenge is a weapon that cuts both ways.... will Danny survive the bloodletting? A one-of-a-kind kung fu action epic directed by the inimitable Kaare Andrews! COLLECTING: IRON FIST: THE LIVING WEAPON 1-6

Describes the history of the nuclear arms race, examines the dangers of nuclear war, and discusses strategies for stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.

A one-of-a-kind kung-fu action epic directed by the inimitable Kaare Andrews! Danny Rand, Iron Fist, is haunted by the consequences of choosing death over life. But when he receives a message from his mystical homeland of K'un-Lun, he must return and relive his blood-soaked origin of betrayal and vengeance! The mystical city will be reduced to ruins, while Rand Tower will face a hostile takeover -very hostile! With the wolves at the door, and the villain behind it all terribly close to Danny's heart, will he be broken beyond repair? Or can he summon up the will to once again render his shattered hands like unto fists of iron? COLLECTING: IRON FIST: THE LIVING WEAPON 1-12

The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks and military action. The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought. The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers in a particularly bloody manner. It believed the man to be a lost cause. But not even its machine could see the horrors in his past. Ferociously intelligent, both witty and horrific, Use of Weapons is a masterpiece of science fiction. The Culture Series Consider Phlebas The Player of Games Use of Weapons The State of the Art Excession Inversions Look to Windward Matter Surface Detail The Hydrogen Sonata

The year was 2010. PFC Charlie Martin was getting ready for the ride of his life. He was about to deploy along with some 4,000 other Iowa and Nebraska National Guard troops to the pit they call Afghanistan. How would he handle war? But his deployment wasn't just about him. Charlie's brother, Eddie, idolized his older sibling. So much so, he had joined the Guard a year after Charlie. And there was younger brother Dan. He was watching the whole thing way up too close and personal. Then came Mom and Dad. Hope and Rod Martin were part of the process, too. How would they navigate the coming year? Would the family be able to handle all of the stress and uncertainty? In order to find out, they needed to arm themselves with the perfect weapon. One that didn't use ammunition.

One of the country's leading activist curators explores how corporations and governments have used art and culture to mystify and manipulate us. The production of culture was once the domain of artists, but beginning in the early 1900s, the emerging fields of public relations, advertising and marketing transformed the way the powerful communicate with the rest of us. A century later, the tools are more sophisticated than ever, the onslaught more relentless. In Culture as Weapon, acclaimed curator and critic Nato Thompson reveals how institutions use art and culture to ensure profits and constrain dissent--and shows us that there are alternatives. An eye-opening account of the way advertising, media, and politics work today, Culture as Weapon offers a radically new way of looking at our world.

He was a living weapon of destruction--immeasurably powerful, utterly invulnerable. There was only one question: Was he human?

The incredible grand finale to Kaare Andrews’ Kung Fu epic! All of Danny Rand’s past and present have led to this: the world-shattering battle for the future! Danny Rand vs. The One with two worlds hanging in the balance! No redemption comes without sacrifice. What will become of the Iron Fist?