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Chemical Warfare Secrets Almost Forgotten

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Documenting a Lost Decade of Clinical Research

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Dr. Enoch Callaway, Professor of Psychiatry (emeritus) at University of California San Francisco
This is a fascinating book, perhaps best reviewed as a combination of books: (1) an autobiography of a scientist-physician studying chemical warfare agents from 1961 to 1971, (2) a collection of vignettes of fellow scientists he encountered, (3) a polemic against the aversion of politicians and the public to all chemical weapons, and, (4) a reference book on more than a dozen low lethality belladonnoids (atropine-like drugs such as BZ) and their antidotes (such as physostigmine), as well as valuable data on other mind-altering substances such as LSD-25, cannabinoids (marijuana-like drugs), butyrophenones (antipsychotic drugs) and even the most common disabling agent: alcohol. >more

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Enoch Callaway, MD

I've finished reading your book, having enjoyed it very much. I found your discussion on BZ very insightful, shedding light on a topic that was previously obscure. The transcripts of the experiments, the quotes from the subjects and descriptions of their bizarre activities, paint a real picture of a very unusual set of circumstances that will probably never be repeated. I took some notes as I was going through it, with additional questions and points of clarification I'd be interested in seeing.
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I have received my copy of your book. Thank you for the personal inscription. I read the book over the weekend. It is very informative and also entertaining. I could not put it down. It brought back many pleasant (and no unpleasant) memories. Much of the content was new to me. You describe people and discuss events of which I had no knowledge. I was at Edgewood from October 1964 until early August 1966. Most of the contents cover events outside that time period.
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I finished reading your book recently. I have recommended it highly to friends, including several who worked at Edgewood in the 1970-1990 periods. All these Edgewood folks would have begun work after you departed for San Antonio but worked with or otherwise knew major characters from your superbly told story: Van Sim and Fred Sidell, in particular. I suspect they will enjoy the book as much as I did. I recommend it without reservation to anyone who wants to gain a feel for the work done by dedicated scientists and support personnel engaged in the then-novel field of incapacitating agent research.
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Sharon Weinberger is a well-known book critic, who writes for several publications, including the Wall Street Journal and Wired Magazine."
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James Ketchum’s Chemical Warfare is an autobiography of a lead researcher at Edgewood Arsenal during the 1960s, a presentation of some of his key findings, and an apologetic for testing incapacitating agents on military and prisoner volunteers.
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I saw this unique volume as a completely credible revelation of the intriguing interface between university interest in the chemical causes of the major psychiatric disorders and the “look and see” school of military psychochemical warfare research. Fearing a perceived threat of hidden Russian experiments, America’s defense planners first funded research into such “far out” areas as remote viewing, telekinesis, paranormal phenomena and only later initiated the more systematic study of the potential psychochemical incapacitants described in the book.
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First person narritives are usually not worthwhile reading. But, this book is an exception! This self published book has the aesthetics of a high school yearbook, with numerous illustrations and photographs in the layout. It is a detailed account of the career of Colonel James Ketchum, (U.S. Army Retired) a military surgeon in the Chemical Corps psychochemical program.
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