Hellfire Boys: The Birth of the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service and the Race for the World¿s Deadliest Weapons

by Theo Emery Narrated by Allan Robertson

Overview

This explosive look into the dawn of chemical warfare during World War I is "a terrifying piece of history that almost no one knows" (Hampton Sides).

In 1915, when German forces executed the first successful gas attack of World War I, the world watched in horror as the boundaries of warfare were forever changed. Cries of barbarianism rang throughout Europe, yet Allied nations immediately jumped into the fray, kickstarting an arms race that would redefine a war already steeped in unimaginable horror.

Largely forgotten in the confines of history, the development of the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service in 1917 left an indelible imprint on World War I. This small yet powerful division, along with the burgeoning Bureau of Mines, assembled research and military unites devoted solely to chemical weaponry, outfitting regiments with hastily made gas-resistant uniforms and recruiting scientists and engineers from around the world into the fight.

As the threat of new gases and more destructive chemicals grew stronger, the chemists' secret work in the laboratories transformed into an explosive fusion of steel, science, and gas on the battlefield. Drawing from years of research, Theo Emery brilliantly shows how World War I quickly spiraled into a chemists' war, one led by the companies of young American engineers-turned-soldiers who would soon become known as the "Hellfire Boys." As gas attacks began to mark the heaviest and most devastating battles, these brave and brilliant men were on the front lines, racing against the clock -- and the Germans -- to protect, develop, and unleash the latest weapons of mass destruction.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2018 - AudioFile

Allan Robertson ably narrates this detailed account of how the U.S. Army quickly advanced from having no gas warfare capability to having lethal capability during WWI. Emery’s history of the birth of what is now the Army’s Chemical Corps describes combat action in France, espionage, research, production of lethal gas throughout the United States, and political games played within the War Department and other federal agencies. The author sees in all of this the birth of industrial chemistry as well as the modern military-industrial complex, which is propped up by academia. Robertson has a suitably expressive, resonant baritone that is pleasing to the ear and a soft delivery that does not affect a different voice or accent for quotes or dialogue. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

Praise for Hellfire Boys

"Here is a terrifying story that almost no one knows. Through dogged reporting and a clear-eyed journey back through a world of secrets that are literally toxic, Theo Emery has dispassionately constructed an astonishing narrative of the scientists and soldiers who were tasked with winning a horrible war a century ago. What is perhaps most remarkable about Hellfire Boys is how successfully Emery avoids the pitfall of "presentism": He refuses to allow our modern revulsion of chemical weapons (however well-founded) to shape his extraordinary narrative. Like all good historians, Emery is determined to let the era of his subject-its people, its attitudes, its ethics and its ethos-speak for itself."—Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of In the Kingdom of Ice, Ghost Soldiers, Hellhound on His Trail, and Blood and Thunder

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170062461
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	11/14/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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