BOOK NOTES

Novel about biological warfare by Ukrainian American author

"The Fifth Horseman" by Richard Sherbaniuk. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2001, 351 pp., $25.95 (hardcover).

The "Fifth Horseman" by Richard Sherbaniuk is a fictional action novel about Dr. Michael Zammit, an environmental cop attempting to save the world from a dangerous biological warfare conspiracy. In the story, Dr. Zammit receives urgent news from the Middle East that thousands of people are dying after drinking poisoned water from the strategically vital Ataturk Dam in southeastern Turkey.

The dam and reservoir control the headwaters of the Euphrates, the sole water source for Turkey's neighbors - Iraq and Syria. When the Turks are forced to close the dam, there is the possibility of an all-out Mid-East war. Dr. Zammit must investigate the poisonings, which were the result of biological warfare.

As the author notes, the book's title, "The Fifth Horseman," alludes to the Bible's Book of Revelation, in which the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are death, war, famine and pestilence. The phrase "fifth horseman" is actually used by geneticists to refer to the dangers of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The author believes that biological weapons pose a greater threat to the world than do nuclear weapons, since biological weapons are easier to produce and can affect a greater area.

Although the book is fictional, the author maintains that the events could actually happen. He writes that at least 25 countries either have or are developing biological weapons at this time. Furthermore, all of the science in the book is accurate.

Mr. Sherbaniuk is an environmental consultant who advises domestic and international governments and corporations on environmental protection issues.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 21, 2002, No. 29, Vol. LXX

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