Foreword by Richard Preston; Preface; The Disease, the Virus, & Its History; The World Decides to Eradicate Smallpox; Creating a Global Program; Where to Begin? A Tale of Two Countries -- Brazil & Indonesia; Africa - A Formidable & Complicated Challenge; India & Nepal -- A Natural Home of Endemic Smallpox; Afghanistan, Pakistan, & Bangladesh - The Last Stronghold of Variola Major; Ethiopia & Somalia - The Last Countries with Smallpox; Smallpox - Post-Eradication; Smallpox as a Biological Weapon; Lessons & Legacies of Smallpox Eradication; Index.
D. A. Henderson, MD is currently professor of medicine and public health at the University of Pittsburgh and a distinguished scholar at the Center for Biosecurity in Baltimore. He is a professor and former dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He served as Life Sciences Adviser to President G. H. W. Bush and was the first director of the newly created Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness in the Department of Health and Human Services. He is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science plus many other awards. He has received the Japan Prize and has been knighted by the King of Thailand.
'[Henderson's] tale of how smallpox was killed is a detailed object lesson in how to do the impossible on a shoestring budget, with a bureaucracy that doesn't want to know. It would be useful reading for anyone dealing with similar organisations today. As we worry about a possible flu pandemic, it is heartening to read about the one germ we did defeat. There may never be another story like it.' New Scientist, Issue 2710, May 27, 2009 "A wealth of photos, informative sidebars and charts help illustrate the people and politics involved without overwhelming readers with technical jargon. Fans of true-life forensic books and anyone interested in how this effort came to be, the challenges faced and eventually surmounted will want to give this a look." -- Monsters and Critics, July 20, 2009 "His easy narrative is convincing, in part because of his central role but especially because of his generosity towards the numerous other participants - he portrays the 'front-line troops' in the field as being even more important than those at WHO headquarters. His magnanimity makes his criticisms all the more trenchant and cogent. Like all good stories, Smallpox recounts the deeds of heroes and villains, fools and sages. Henderson ends by declaring his pride in having been at the WHO at this crucial time. A better conclusion would have been the close of the penultimate chapter, in which his delight is tempered with a dash of reality: "smallpox continues to hover as a dark and ominous cloud as it has throughout the course of mankind's history. It cannot be forgotten nor ignored."-- Nature, Vol. 460, August 20, 2009
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