August 2026 Book Club Pick: Biological War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen.
Elliot Ackerman selected Annie Jacobsen’s examination of biological warfare after interviewing her at 92NY for the book’s release. He recommends it as a chilling, informative, and unexpectedly hopeful exploration of one of humanity’s most dangerous potential threats.
Elliot’s Recommendation
"At the end of the July, I had the privilege of interviewing Annie for a book event at the 92St Y for the release of Biological War, the follow up to her acclaimed Nuclear War. There’s no one writing today who thinks as much about the unthinkable as Annie. Just like in Nuclear War, Annie takes the reader through a tick-tock scenario of what would happen in that advent of a Biological War. This book is all things you’d expect it to be—page-turning, chilling, informative—but when I finished reading, I didn’t feel despair after three hundred pages of learning about dual-chambered virus and other terrors. It actually made me feel grateful that, as humans, we haven’t visited these terrors on our species. Who know, we still might. But it hasn’t happened yet and that’s because thus far our better angels have prevailed. I’ve got a lot of respect for Annie and think she’s providing an enormous service to the world by writing these books."
About the Book
Biological War: A Scenario presents a detailed, real-time account of how a biological attack could unfold, examining scientific, military, intelligence, governmental, and public-health responses to a global crisis.