Woodard on Smith, 'Toxic Exposures: Mustard Gas and the Health Consequences of World War II in the United States' (original) (raw)

2024, H-War, H-Net Book Review

United States gathers a rich and thoroughly documented collection of mustard gas experiments, discoveries, and the poisonous legacy of this chemical weapon. In the introduction, the author's scope, purpose, and content are presented: human experimentation on military servicemembers with mustard gas by "scientists, physician-researchers, and military officials"; effects on the research subjects; and outcomes and legacy of the research. Before describing each logically presented chapter, Smith succinctly explains what "mustard gas was, and still is, a defining feature of the war's legacy for soldiers' health, racialized science, ocean environments, and cancer treatment in the United States" (p. 3). The chapters are organized logically and are well presented in two sections. Part 1, "Preparation for Chemical Warfare," includes two chapters: "Wounding Men to Learn: Soldiers as Human Subjects" and "Race Studies and the Science of War." Part 2, "Toxic Legacies of War," contains "Mustard Gas in the Sea around Us" and "A Wartime Story: Mustard Agents and Cancer Chemotherapy.