Biological War by Annie Jacobsen

Biological War

A Scenario

Annie Jacobsen

Diversified Publishing · Print & ebook · July 28, 2026

From Annie Jacobsen, the author of the bestselling Nuclear War: A Scenario, a book on a subject that has long orbited her reporting: biological warfare.

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Who it’s for
Readers interested in biological warfare scenarios and pandemic risks
Themes
Biological warfare, Global pandemic, Societal collapse
Pacing
Fast

About this book

From Annie Jacobsen, the author of the bestselling Nuclear War: A Scenario, a book on a subject that has long orbited her reporting: biological warfare. A lab accident, a bio-attack, a global pandemic, and the collapse of human society. In this essential new book, based on dozens of new interviews with experts with high-level political, governmental, medical, and military responsibility, Annie Jacobsen examines this very scenario.

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It would only be a matter of days from such a global infection before the infrastructure built to handle this gravest of situations would be in a battle for human existence. The fallout: mass death, total societal breakdown, widespread insurrection, anarchy, and a plague-ravaged wasteland that no longer resembles modern civilization. In other words, dystopia. Following the gripping narrative style that launched Nuclear War to the New York Times bestseller list, Jacobsen looks deeply at a situation that is in some ways the opposite of a nuclear bomb: there is no mushroom cloud, no shock wave or blast. Instead, the scenario that could end the world as we know it begins with something so small, and something so malicious, that when used for evil, only evil can result. This is what could happen; a ticking-clock roadmap to the hours, days, and weeks following the release of a biological agent, that serves as the most essential, forward-looking journalism in preparation for urgent societal upheaval.

Who it’s for

  • Readers interested in biological warfare scenarios and pandemic risks
  • Readers exploring how societal infrastructure could respond to global infection

Where it sits

Chemical & Biological Warfare92%
Contagious Diseases24%
Security Studies24%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Security Studies
  • Biology
  • Technology
Authors
Annie Jacobsen
Publisher
Diversified Publishing
Published
July 28, 2026
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Biological warfare · Global pandemic · Societal collapse
Reading lane
Security Studies