Rating: 
Summary: Caution: this book will change your life
Review: As a scientist, I must say that this book is extraordinary. You'll realize from this well researched and analyzed text that given the trends in environmental contamination, we are all highly vulnerable to toxicity related cancer. What is more terrifying is that there is not a responsible/objective/non-political entity that has enough power to change this trend near-term (10-15 yrs). After having read the book, I feel obligated to do something (its my nature). In hindsight, I wish that I had never read the book - ignorance may be bliss.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent and important--though a bit too long
Review: Here is a great book I think we all should read. Steingraber's thesis is relatively simple: environmental factors play a much larger role in the increase of cancer than hitherto assumed by individuals, public health officials, and regulators, and we should act accordingly. Her argument is well-researched and takes into account many of the pollutants we find in our air, water, earth, and bodies, and is presented intermittently as narrative and analysis.I like the structure of the book, the organization into chapters titled "time," "space," "war," and the like. I also like her alternating personal narrative (she is a bladder-cancer survivor, a native of Illinois, a graduate student, a researcher--we find out lots of things) with the cold hard facts and sometimes the fuzzy facts of cancer research and regulation of chemicals. The only thing that holds me back, which is why I gave it four stars, is that the book is a bit too long for my taste at almost 400 pages--I, a layperson, could have done with a bit less detail (though I understand she's covering her bases) and a bit more politics (though I understand she's being careful, not naming too many names). The best chapter is the final one: if you come across this book and have other things to do, at least read the last chapter--most convincing is her deconstruction of the public policy of 'personal responsibility': sure, some cancers may be associated with personal lifestyle, but more important are the things we have little individual control over, such as the air we breathe, the land our kids play on, the streams we swim in. Blame, Steingraber implies/states (she's not always so outspoken), lies less with us citizens, taxpayers, cancer patients, than with the companies that manufacture products and byproducts that may be carcinegous and are simply allowed to do so until proven otherwise, and the regulators (our government, at all levels) who let them do so. Bravo--it needed to be said, and I'm glad Steingraber did it.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone concerned about "why so much cancer?"
Review: I am not a scientist, nor a rocket scientist for that matter, yet I found Ms. Steingraber's book fascinating. It has given me the realization of the relationship between chemicals in our environment and cancer. I had tears, anger and frustration upon learning this information. However, I now have the knowledge, determination and ammunition to do something thanks to Ms. Steingraber. This is a must read!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I am not a scientist, nor a rocket scientist for that matter, yet I found Ms. Steingraber's book fascinating. It has given me the realization of the relationship between chemicals in our environment and cancer. I had tears, anger and frustration upon learning this information. However, I now have the knowledge, determination and ammunition to do something thanks to Ms. Steingraber. This is a must read!!
Rating: 
Summary: A small textbook
Review: I had to read this book over the summer for Human Biology. It was interesting, but I felt like I was reading a textbook or strictly a book full of cancer statistics. Steingraber obviously knows what she is talking about, but this book really didn't interest me--
Rating:
Summary: A small textbook
Review: I had to read this book over the summer for Human Biology. It was interesting, but I felt like I was reading a textbook or strictly a book full of cancer statistics. Steingraber obviously knows what she is talking about, but this book really didn't interest me--
Rating:
Summary: not enough drama
Review: I think the book was good and thorough, but I wish the author had put in more drama. Will her friend live? What about a court battle? What can be done, seriously, about the problem of living in a toxic environment? Addressing these concerns in dramatic fashion would have made the book better. Still, it was a good book. I wonder why the traditional medical community refuses to go after the chemical industry the way they've gone after the tobacco industry?
Rating:
Summary: Poetry and Scientific Precision
Review: It is rare to find a book on a scientific subject that is both accurate and precise in its science and beautifully written. It is no surprise to find that Sandra Steingraber, author of such a book, is both a Ph.D. biologist and a published poet. "Living Downstream" is a superb blend of rigorous analysis and poignant memoir. Steingraber documents the increasing evidence of a strong link between rising cancer rates and environmental contamination. At the same time she tells her own story--that of a woman who suffered and survived cancer while only in her 20's. This book has justly been compared to Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and may, if read widely enough, have the same worldwide impact that Carson's book had forty years ago.
Rating:
Summary: A Modern Rachel Carson
Review: Living Downstream is the modern version of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. I cannot even begin to emphasize the importance of this book. With the accuracy of a scientist and the pen of a poet, Steingraber speaks truth to power like no other book available on this subject. Indeed, most scientists have been hired to protect polluters. The book will grab you, frighten you and at times make you want to cry -- which is good. This book must not be ignored. Read it, get mad, and get involved. Other related readings that blew me away: "From Naked Ape to Superspecies" by David Suzuki and "Canaries on the Rim" by Chip Ward.
Rating:
Summary: A Necessary Read
Review: My wife bought me this book and I'm glad she did. Definitely written by a scientist. It's not a quick read. But it is very readable. And worthwhile reading. I say it is necessary read because it has important information all in one place. It goes through the science, and also offers rebutals against arguments that are made by industry and business. It goes through a number of studies that provide a high level understanding of the issues. It is these sections of the book that had me reading over a sentence twice and sometimes three time. Buy the book. Read it. Read it slowly, but read it. And then talk about it with friends, family, your government representatives, industry leaders, decision makers.
|
