Susan L. Smith, Toxic Exposures: Mustard Gas and the Health Consequences of World War II in the United States

Abstract

The Second World War was, in lives taken, the bloodiest war in history. The belligerents showed little restraint as they bombed cities, attacked food supplies, and raced to develop ever-more devastating weapons. Yet surprisingly, there was one weapon that they largely refused to bring to the battlefield: poison gas. The world had already seen a horrifying gas war—the First World War—and a logic of mutually assured gassing mostly succeeded in preventing a sequel. Japan used some gas in China (scholars debate how much) and Germany infamously gassed its internal enemies. But, by and large, when it came to combat, the poison stayed in the cannisters. Yet even if gas did not engulf the battlefields, it mattered in other ways. Susan Smith’s thorough and illuminating book digs deep into the archives to tell the story of the predominant gas in the U.S. arsenal, mustard gas. As she shows, even an unused weapon can have a fascinating history.