This is one hell of a book!

Which of these plots might make an exciting movie of the week?

1) Deep in Central Asia, in the late 1980’s, towards the end of the Cold War, sequestered in a secret Soviet compound for military scientists, a group of microbiologists invent a super bio-weapon: a genetically-modified bacteria which could inflict mass populations with a form of Multiple Sclerosis…

2) On the eve of the first Gulf War, top Pentagon officials learn that Saddam Hussein may have a deployable form of deadly anthrax. To make matters worse, they learn there is a shortage of anthrax vaccine for the troops. Amidst the scramble to avert a catastrophe, a little-known Army research facility steps forward and offers a risky solution…

3) Normally, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) holds drug testing on human subjects to highest ethical standards. In a singularly shocking instance, however, the FDA is convinced to abandon its principles. It allows an experiment to proceed on thousands of unsuspecting and unconsenting American servicemen. When a new and unexplained autoimmune disease breaks out, it seems to be related to the anthrax vaccine. Anxious troops begin refusing the vaccine, even on penalty of losing their careers and benefits. A former Army Surgeon General is called in to allay their fears. Unfortunately everything he tells them contradicts published medical facts. Who is right, the General or the scientists, and who wrote the General’s speech? Reporter Gary Matsumoto tries to uncover the story, and makes some powerful enemies in the process…

4) In the mid-90’s, thousands of Gulf War veterans are reporting a new illness: a diffuse syndrome of joint pain, visual disturbances, muscle weakness, seizures, and even paralysis. At first, it’s attributed to stress, but a lone Immunologist, Dr Pam Asa, has another theory. Working out of her laboratory at Tulane University, she documents unusual, yet irrefutable parallels between Gulf War Syndrome and Lupus. Instead of welcoming her breakthrough achievements, the medical establishment attacks her… led by a scientist at the head of the Army’s vaccine development program.

5) In the mid-1980’s, Carl Alving was a rising star in the exploding field of molecular biology. His work in the field of immunology focused on “adjuvants”- a quirky family of additives which can dramatically magnify the effectiveness of vaccines. When an Army laboratory comes out with a new adjuvant called "MF59", Alving is vociferously against it. This substance is deadly dangerous, he repeatedly states for the record… until one day, he is mysteriously awarded the patent for MF59. Suddenly Alving becomes the additive’s #1 fan…

Those are all pretty good plotlines, aren't they? Well you guessed it: they are all in this book, and they are all true! Journalist Gary Matsumoto (of Bloomberg, NBC Radio, and CNN fame) completely blew me away with Vaccine A. There is more drama and intrigue here than most James Bond films. The difference is, Matsumoto backs up everything he says with documentation. There are over fifty pages of dense notes and references to show this real-life drama actually played out the way he says.

So it’s a good story. You know what else? It’s an illuminating examination of the history of vaccines, and how new molecular technologies have completely transformed vaccine design. In the golden era of vaccines, from Jenner in 1796 to Salk in 1955, vaccines were a heterogeneous mix of antibodies, cell membranes, and signal molecules designed to stimulate the immune system. But that all changed in 1983, when UC Berkeley professor Kerry Mullis invented something called Polymerase Chain Reaction. Overnight, it became economical to make vatloads of a single molecule. Accordingly, pharmaceutical companies started developing new high-purity single-molecule vaccines, instead of the old heterogeneous cocktails. The problem is, the single-molecule preparations aren’t very effective. Traditional vaccines sensitize the immune system to a much broader range of antigens. To boost effectiveness of new vaccines (and thus preserve profits), pharmaceutical companies put money into researching “adjuvants” -substances that prime the immune system, like kicking a hornet’s nest- making it more sensitive to a vaccine.

This is the story of SQUALENE -an experimental adjuvant more powerful than any of its predecessors. The only problem with squalene is that it is an oil whose molecular structure is just a little bit too much like phospholipids which naturally occur in the body. When the immune system becomes irritated (and thus stimulated) by squalene, it mistakenly also begins to attack its own natural phospholipids. This mechanism is very similar to what occurs in the disease Lupus.

You can figure out the rest of the story from the plot points I listed above: In the first Gulf War, the Army secretly experimented on its own troops, adding different amounts of squalene to its otherwise-ineffective anthrax vaccine. The resulting “Gulf War Syndrome” affected thousands of servicemen and women with symptoms ranging from mild arthritis to blindness, paraplegia and even death. Gary Matsumoto reveals numerous instances where the government denied the existence of the squalene experiments, told servicemen their ailment was “all in their heads”, even accused them of faking symptoms just to get cash in lawsuits!

This book will inform you, and make you mad as hell. Matsumoto’s writing is masterful; he explains difficult subjects in a way any layperson can easily understand, and he develops several parallel plot lines, which come together in a very satisfying way. Get it today! ( )

This book is frightening if true. The premise, set forth in the introduction and detailed in the book, is that the US government has used experimental vaccines from the Desert Shield / Storm era through today on GI's and other individuals. Author Gary Matsumoto methodically - sometimes excruciatingly so - grinds through facts and builds a circumstantial case supported by nearly 60 pages of endnotes.

Matsumoto was the first writer to publish a connection between the anthrax vaccine and the Gulf War Syndrome, doing so in an article published in Vanity Fair in 1999. His book, Vaccine A, is the spawn of that article.

Matsumoto does not have an evident bias of distrust in the US government or even the military. He acknowledges the need to develop and use a vaccine effective against anthrax. He is even willing to understand the failure to obtain knowing consent from those injected with an unlicensed vaccine due to the exigent nature of the Gulf conflict and the fear of biological agents in the possession of Saddam Hussein - at least initially.

As his investigation progresses, Matsumoto learns that one of the ingredients of Vaccine A (anthrax vaccine) is squalene. This oily substance is an adjuvant that stimulates the immune system. Unfortunately, this oil too closely resembles oils found in the body and as a result, the body's immune system begins to attack itself. This causes a plethora of autoimmune diseases.

Disturbingly, it appears that a wealth of scientific knowledge about the dangers of squalene was available to a thorough researcher prior to the Gulf War. Even more disturbing is the unwillingness of the US military to acknowledge more than ten years later the fact that squalene in Vaccine A caused a large number of "casualties".

Matsumoto asserts that the US has stockpiled 75,000,000 doses of Vaccine A with squalene for future use by the military and civilians. He further assets that the several other vaccines have been or are in the process of being developed with the adjuvant of squalene.

At times, this book is like reading a textbook - it is grueling. However, the acquired knowledge is worth the effort. This book should be read (or at least the introduction) by anybody who has family or friends in the military or is contemplating a career in the military. Apparently, enemy fire and friendly fire are not the only risks of military service.

In the "how I would improve this book" category I suggest photographs of key individuals mentioned in the book. Also, it would be helpful include a complete copy of the insert that accompanies the current anthrax vaccine.

A tough book to read - but five stars all the same. ( )