A distinguished nineteenth-century pathologist once lamented that humanity's greatest curse was that "it can learn to tolerate even the most horrible situations by habituation." In Pandemonium, renowned author Andrew Nikiforuk argues that the breaking point is imminent as our health and habitat are threatened by biological invaders moving at unprecedented speed. Avian flu and its potential to cause a human pandemic is only one example of a worldwide menace unwittingly unleashed by the forces of globalization.

The combination of unfettered free trade in living organisms, increased mobility, and urban crowding has created an increasingly volatile environment for the world's 6.5 billion people. It explains how an enterprising Thai bird smuggler can pop up in Belgium and nearly ruin a continent's dinner in half a day; why cowboys in Wyoming can encounter West Nile fever; and how cholera colonized much of the world's waters in just seven pandemics. The relentless mingling of pests, weeds, and germs, abetted by worldwide trade, invites disaster. The intruder might be an economic saboteur or a global killer. It might be as ambitious as H5N1, as costly as SARS ($50 billion), or as contagious as foot-and-mouth disease. Nikiforuk argues that it shouldn't take a pandemic to make us rethink the deadly pace of globalization and biological traffic in all living things.

Authoritative and wide-ranging, Pandemonium is a clear-eyed guide to instability, unpredictability, and the hidden biological terrorists on our doorstep.

"While the powers that be worry about drug trafficking, a far more dangerous form of surreptitious international movement is taking place-the inadvertent trafficking in lethal pathogens, the result of moving humans, animals, and goods at a mad pace throughout a globalized economy … Andrew Nikiforuk's well-researched and well-written catalogue of horrors suggests that we may be fast approaching the point of no return in an impending global public-health catastrophe."
—William Leiss, O.C., Ph.D, FRSC, Professor emeritus, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, Scientist, McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, University of Ottawa

"Chilling...touches on all the hot-button diseases and even includes a few less-publicized nasties...a fascinating read."
—Edmonton Journal

"A meticulously researched litany of human idiocy"
—Globe and Mail

"Pandemonium is not a book for the faint of heart. It's not easy reading. After you finish it, you may never eat chicken again. You'll probably avoid hospitals for the rest of your life, even as a visitor. On the other hand, if you and many others read this book and take Nikiforuk's advice, it may just save your life."
—Globe and Mail

"Andrew Nikiforuk’s well-researched and well-written catalogue of horrors suggests that we may be fast approaching the point of no return in an impending global public-health catastrophe."
—The Vancouver Sun

"A fascinating, intelligent, and exhaustively researched read..."
"...impossible not to be engrossed by this clearly written investigation."
—The Vancouver Sun