About the book: year / The book talks about the appearance in the historical arena, the use and neutralization of the most famous groups of mineral and organic poisons The narrative is based on evidence from distant centuries, the heyday of Babylon and Ancient Egypt. A fascinating picture is drawn of the search for antidotes and the development of immunity against poisons known since ancient times (here the authors talk about the legendary king Mithridates, who succeeded in this matter, and other historical figures). The most interesting chapter is devoted to the most famous poisons, which we often do not name - Everyone is so used to them. These are alcohol, nicotine and drugs, terrible companions of modern man. The authors, to their credit, very unobtrusively, but very convincingly, introduce readers to a huge range of harmful consequences of using these “slow” poisons. Here we get acquainted with various “fantastic” poisons, which among many peoples (primarily Indians) serve as tonics and stimulants, and when abused, become a terrible scourge of the population of entire regions. The chapter on combat poisons stands out. We are talking about poisons that ancient warriors lubricated the tips of their hunting and combat bows, and about toxic substances that were first used during the First World War. The authors remind us that the huge reserves of these terrible weapons in the modern world pose a danger to all living things. The book concludes with a story about the poisons that the environment contains, for which, first of all, man himself is to blame. These are heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, oil, petroleum products and pesticides, which have polluted vast areas of land and sea and put the environmental problem on a par with the problem of maintaining peace on Earth. “Nature” No. 8, 1988, p.. 130.