"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.

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

Sharpen your knowledge of swords with Kristen B. Neuschel as she takes you through a captivating 1,000 years of French and English history. Living by the Sword reveals that warrior culture, with the sword as its ultimate symbol, was deeply rooted in ritual long before the introduction of gunpowder weapons transformed the battlefield. Neuschel argues that objects have agency and that decoding their meaning involves seeing them in motion: bought, sold, exchanged, refurbished, written about, displayed, and used in ceremony. Drawing on evidence about swords (from wills, inventories, records of armories, and treasuries) in the possession of nobles and royalty, she explores the meanings people attached to them from the contexts in which they appeared. These environments included other prestige goods such as tapestries, jewels, and tableware—all used to construct and display status. Living by the Sword draws on an exciting diversity of sources from archaeology, military and social history, literature, and material culture studies to inspire students and educated lay readers (including collectors and reenactors) to stretch the boundaries of what they know as the "war and culture" genre.

Winner of the 2019 William E. Colby Award "The book I had been waiting for. I can't recommend it highly enough." —Bill Gates The era of autonomous weapons has arrived. Today around the globe, at least thirty nations have weapons that can search for and destroy enemy targets all on their own. Paul Scharre, a leading expert in next-generation warfare, describes these and other high tech weapons systems—from Israel’s Harpy drone to the American submarine-hunting robot ship Sea Hunter—and examines the legal and ethical issues surrounding their use. “A smart primer to what’s to come in warfare” (Bruce Schneier), Army of None engages military history, global policy, and cutting-edge science to explore the implications of giving weapons the freedom to make life and death decisions. A former soldier himself, Scharre argues that we must embrace technology where it can make war more precise and humane, but when the choice is life or death, there is no replacement for the human heart.

This examination of the implications and regulation of autonomous weapons systems combines contributions from law, robotics and philosophy.

Soma, Aina, and Lina have begun their journey in search of a way to use magic. With no leads and no other means of making money, the three decide to register as adventurers at a guild. There they meet the mysterious Sierra, who tells them of ancient ruins where a mystical power lies dormant. Soma can’t pass up the chance that whatever it is might grant him the ability to use magic, but traversing the ruins will pit them against forces they don’t understand.

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).

Describes in text and pictures weapons used through the ages, from the stones of prehistoric man to the bombs of modern times.

Be vigil my children, for when the day comes that the gods of old arise again, and the Wanderer walks abroad, the Uncrowned King shall stand beside the Last Druin and unite the lands against the Void But do not be deceived, the Great Beast Azkalon, Lord of the Void, shall awaken from the Beyond, woe to the unwary for even the dead shall cower in his wake. ~From the Prophecy of the Uncrowned King~ War has come to us at last. We had been warned. But the hubris of men has blinded us to the past, and all the alliances of old have faded. The Druins, who had stood to oppose the gods who have ruled our people for countless generations, are no more. They had been betrayed. We allowed them to free us, and once we became strong again, we destroyed them. Where should we turn now? For five hundred years we have stood upon the might of our Imperium. Will we be able to contend against the might of gods? I fear the dark shadows that grows beneath the mountains, for our doom is fated by the deceit of our own pride. We stand alone. The old gods have returned, once again Thangar will know the might of the Dwarves who worship them. ~Spoken by the Forgotten The days of prophecy are upon us. Let the Uncrowned King ride the course of Fate.

Defining "genocide" as an international crime, this two-volume set provides a comparative study of historical cases of genocide and mass atrocity—clearly identifying the factors that produced the attitudes and behaviors that led to them—discusses the reasons for rules in war, and examines how the five principles laid out in the Geneva Conventions and other international agreements have functioned in modern warfare. Written by an expert on international politics and law, Genocide, Mass Atrocity, and War Crimes in Modern History: Blood and Conscience is an easy-to-understand resource that explains why genocides and other atrocities occur, why humanity saw the need to create rules that apply during war, and how culture, rules about war, and the nature of war intersect. The first volume addresses the history and development of the normative regime(s) that define genocide and mass atrocity. Through a comparative study of historical cases that pay particular attention to the factors involved in producing the attitudes and behaviors that led to the incidents of mass slaughter and mistreatment, the author identifies the reasons that genocides and mass atrocities in the 20th century were largely ignored until the early 1990s and why even starting then, responses were inconsistent. The second book discusses why rules in war exist, which factors may lead to the adoption of rules, what defines a war "crime," and how the five fundamental principles laid out in the Geneva Conventions and other international agreements have actually functioned in modern warfare. It also poses—and answers—the interesting question of why we should obey rules when our opponents do not. The final chapter examines what actions could serve to identify future situations in which mass atrocities may occur and identifies the problems of timely humanitarian intervention in international affairs.