Although at the start of the 21st century bioterrorism was newly feared by the public at large, it is one threat that institutions have attempted to anticipate for years. Originally published in 2003, and now with a new introduction, this unique 2-volume collection provides a multi-disciplinary resource on the challenges bioterrorism poses for American society and institutions, from both legal and political institutions, on one hand, to public health and medical institutions on the other.

Volume one documents and analyses the challenge bioterrorism poses to these political, economic and legal institutions, putting bioterrorism into its historical context as a problem discussed and anticipated by government for decades. Volume two documents the challenges bioterrorism poses to public health and public policy as a weapon of disease and fear. The materials in these volumes provide case histories and discourse by specialists relating to the ways that the bioterrorism threat has been perceived and approached by US health and law institutions.