In "American War", Omar El Akkad describes a future in which the use of fossil fuels has created dramatic effects of global warming and environmental flooding. This has prompted the prohibition of fossil fuels. In response to this law, the southern U.S. has withdrawn from the United States and declared war on the North. As a byproduct of this war, Sarat, a large and tomboyish girl, has been groomed to operate as a spy for the South. The book explores Sarat's decision to infect the north with a disease that results in the death of most people in both the North and South after the South's loss in the war.
Like "Station Eleven" by Emily Mandel, the world after the apocalypse is left with a significant number of survivors to carry on the story of the Reunification disease. Sarat’s story is told by her nephew who was strategically saved by Sarat. The story is told through Sarat's diaries read by Benjamin. Unlike "Year of The Flood" by Margret Atwood, or "Future home of the Living God" by Louise Erdrich, the story's focus was primarily on the pre-apocalypse. In most apocalyptic novels, the post-apocalypse is what the book explores. This novel did not focus as much on what the apocalypse looks like, more so on the events that lead to an apocalypse. Additionally, mention of global destruction was not discussed, and it is presumed that this disease was only considered an "apocalypse" by people of the U.S. In this book, the disease was a military tactic employed by an outside nation meddling in the U.S. affairs. Because the United States influences the world, other countries may try to attack our nation to consolidate power for themselves. The feasibility of a biological disease as a weapon is highlighted in Quammen's "Spillover" as he described the variety of potentially apocalyptic viruses and bacteria which pose a threat to mankind. Visible by the Coronavirus of today, response to disease is slow and humans are generally unable to protect themselves from the effects of an intricate virus. The vaccine was released long after the peak of the virus's effects was realized. This means the secret knowledge of a vaccine may enable a country to use disease as a weapon while remaining protected against its effects. The book faces the harsh reality that despite the motivating causes or the desire for peace from both sides, war is bloody, nasty, and cruel. War provides an opportunity for evil acts to be perceived as heroism. After such an atrocity is felt by the rivaling party, responses escalate until one side has fallen; or the decision to continue waring is removed from the hands of the militaries. In this book, the final attempt at peace was overridden by an outside nation that had selfish motivations. The final act of war was fueled by Sarat's need for revenge. The book quietly emphasizes the need for humane war which is seen in the torture of Sarat and the use of bioterrorism as the final means to destroy the nation. Although world peace has always been a worldly objective, it has yet to be achieved. Mankind's ability to restrict war from meaning entire world destruction is by setting agreed-upon universal rules which govern war. Perhaps the use of torture is something that should be phased out of military intelligence practice and deemed inhumane.
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