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Agent Orange: History, Science, and the Politics of Uncertainty
Contributor(s): Martini, Edwin A. (Author)
ISBN: 155849975X     ISBN-13: 9781558499751
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
OUR PRICE:   $26.55  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: September 2012
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Asia - Southeast Asia
- Science | Environmental Science (see Also Chemistry - Environmental)
- History | United States - General
Dewey: 959.704
LCCN: 2012028716
Series: Culture, Politics, and the Cold War (Paperback)
Physical Information: 0.71" H x 5.83" W x 8.42" (0.99 lbs) 320 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Taking on what one former U.S. ambassador called the last ghost of the Vietnam War, this book examines the far-reaching impact of Agent Orange, the most infamous of the dioxin-contaminated herbicides used by American forces in Southeast Asia. Edwin A. Martini's aim is not simply to reconstruct the history of the chemical war but to investigate the ongoing controversy over the short- and long-term effects of weaponized defoliants on the environment of Vietnam, on the civilian population, and on the troops who fought on both sides.

Beginning in the early 1960s, when Agent Orange was first deployed in Vietnam, Martini follows the story across geographical and disciplinary boundaries, looking for answers to a host of still unresolved questions. What did chemical manufacturers and American policymakers know about the effects of dioxin on human beings, and when did they know it? How much do scientists and doctors know even today? Should the use of Agent Orange be considered a form of chemical warfare? What can, and should, be done for U.S. veterans, Vietnamese victims, and others around the world who believe they have medical problems caused by Agent Orange?

Martini draws on military records, government reports, scientific research, visits to contaminated sites, and interviews to disentangle conflicting claims and evaluate often ambiguous evidence. He shows that the impact of Agent Orange has been global in its reach affecting individuals and communities in New Zealand, Australia, Korea, and Canada as well as Vietnam and the United States. Yet for all the answers it provides, this book also reveals how much uncertainty--scientific, medical, legal, and political--continues to surround the legacy of Agent Orange.