Play Audiobook Sample
The Fourth Horseman: The Tragedy of Anton Dilger and the Birth of Biological Terrorism Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.10) - 21 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
The story of Anton Dilger brings to life a missing chapter in U.S. history and shows, dramatically, that the Great European War was in fact being fought on the home front years before we formally joined it. The doctor who grew anthrax and other bacteria in that rented house was an American-the son of a Medal of Honor winner who fought at Gettysburg-on a secret mission, for the German Army in 1915. The Fourth Horseman tells the startling story of that mission led by a brilliant but conflicted surgeon who became one of Germany's most daring spies and saboteurs during World War I and who not only pioneered bio-warfare in his native land but also lead a last-ditch German effort to goad Mexico into invading the United States. It is a story of mysterious missions, divided loyalties, and a new and terrible kind of warfare that emerged as America-in spite of fierce dissention at home-was making the decision to send its Doughboys to the Great War in Europe.
This story has never been told before in full. And Dilger is a fascinating analog for our own troubled times. Having thrown off the tethers of obligation to family and country, he became a very dangerous man indeed: A spy, a saboteur, and a zealot to a degree that may have so embarrassed the German High Command that, after the war, they ordered his death rather than admit that he worked for them.
Download and start listening now!
"It was an interesting look into the conflict of being German/American during the first world war "
— Ali (4 out of 5 stars)
The Fourth Horseman Listener Reviews
-
" Interesting historical read. A little on the dry side compared to others I've enjoyed "
— Kim, 11/15/2012 -
" It was an interesting look into the conflict of being German/American during the first world war "
— Ali, 4/7/2011
About Robert Koenig
Robert L. Koenig, a contributing correspondent for Science magazine, has written about German topics for more than two decades, covering stories ranging from the fall of the Berlin Wall to revelations of atrocities in Nazi-era scientific research. He also conducted archival research into the history of germ warfare during his three years as publications director of a leading microbiology research laboratory near Washington, DC.
About Norman Dietz
Norman Dietz is a writer, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and was named one of the fifty “Best Voices of the Century” by AudioFile magazine. He and his late wife, Sandra, transformed an abandoned ice-cream parlor into a playhouse, which served “the world’s best hot fudge sundaes” before and after performances. The founder of Theatre in the Works, he lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.