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(More customer reviews)"The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the experiment" - from the dust jacket.
Author Josef Wilson takes two major risks with his new novel, *Degree of Risk.* First of all, the suspense thriller is based upon *very* contemporary events. Set in that relatively short period of time between the September 11th terrorist attacks and the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, its timeline has already been overtaken by events. Secondly, the basic premise of the novel is that the Pentagon deliberately poisoned veterans of the first Gulf War in 1990-91, not a topic likely to win the author any dinner invitations from Secretary Rumsfeld and company. The premise is lent credence by a brief forward written by the daughter of a deceased weapons scientist at the U.S. military's Aberdeen Proving Grounds who claims that her father's death was directly attributable to his work.
As for the novel itself, *Degree of Risk* contains a plot worthy of the television show *The X-Files.* Hot shot young attorney Leesa Lambert, daughter of a United States Senator, and her best friend, former Special Forces operative Garth Porter, battle an evil Pentagon conspiracy to cover up the real cause of Gulf War syndrome. According to the story, injections given to most of the veterans who fought in Iraq the first time were a failed attempt by the military brass to inoculate the troops from the radioactive effects of new and deadly American weapons made with depleted uranium. The conspiracy is headed by the Secretary of Defense himself, who hires another former Special Forces operative to assassinate all potential witnesses.
As America prepares to invade Iraq again, Lambert files a multi-billion lawsuit against the Pentagon, creating a media frenzy and alienating her from both her father and her politically minded fiancé. The story then splits time between the courtroom battles and the assassin's attempts to keep the cover up intact. Author Wilson is a very good writer who knows how to effectively build suspense. Whether or not you buy into the basis for his story, you'll find yourself inevitably pulled along by it. Befitting any good suspense novel, the climax is explosive and very satisfying.
Overall, an exciting and politically charged thriller that is certain to raise a few eyebrows.
A Futures Magazine book review.
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As Operation Desert Storm was being planned, a deeply concerned Defense Department pressured the FDA to issue a waiver for experimental drugs to be given to soldiers who fought in the war. They claimed such action was necessary to protect the troops from Sadaam Hussein's use of biological and chemical weapons.In a memo from The Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army pronouncing guidelines for the "Use of Volunteers in Research", he states, "The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the experiment." In Josef Wilson's novel Degree of Risk, Attorney Lisa Lambert must attempt to uncover the truth about Gulf War Syndrome, and obtain justice for its victims.By taking the job has she exceeded her own degree of risk?
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