Rating: 
Summary: And the Waters Turned to Blood
Review: In general, this book was an eye opening view into the events that happened on various NC rivers. For the first few chapters the scientific inquiry was interesting, and made the book more enjoyable to read. However, there was abundance of political materials, and decreased the overall feel of the novel. Even though it was based on actual events, it seemed disconnected and apart for the real world. To the contrary, the use of first hand accounts and historical events placed the whole book into perspective. Overall, it was a good novel, and would be recommended to anyone who enjoys "Outbreak" like novels, and don't mind politics.
Rating: 
Summary: And the waters turned to blood
Review: Overall we found the book intersting. The real life experiences people had with pfiesteria were fascinating, but scary. The fpiesteria problem is around where we live so we found the book telling us the truth about places we have visited before. The last couple of chapters focused a lot on the politics of the North Carolina government and we found that as the least interesting part of the book. We were shocked by the attempt of NC to cover up the obvious problems being caused by pfiesteria. The incident after hurricane Fran was also amusing and added humor to this serious themed novel.
Rating:
Summary: And the waters turned to blood
Review: Overall we found the book intersting. The real life experiences people had with pfiesteria were fascinating, but scary. The fpiesteria problem is around where we live so we found the book telling us the truth about places we have visited before. The last couple of chapters focused a lot on the politics of the North Carolina government and we found that as the least interesting part of the book. We were shocked by the attempt of NC to cover up the obvious problems being caused by pfiesteria. The incident after hurricane Fran was also amusing and added humor to this serious themed novel.
Rating:
Summary: And the waters turned to blood
Review: Rather than focusing on statistical data, And The Waters Turned To Blood combines scientific information with an interesting plot line. The sequence of events flows well, and the novel remains full of suspence and twists and turns all the way to the end. The main character, JoAnn Burkholder, is somonene the reader can connect with and sympathoize with, as she stands up for protecting the help of the public. The details of pfiesteria, like the description of the different stages of the life cycle, is explained in an interesting and somewhat frightening way. The personal accounts describing the encounters with pfiesteria, make the novel intriguing, especially for the readers in the North Carolina Area
Rating:
Summary: And the Waters Turned to Blood
Review: Rodney Barker did an excellent job at enlightening his readers of the dangers of pollution, the devastating effects of Pfiesteria, and the power of a political machine. The tale developes the story of one dedicated scientists fighting to make the world aware of the rise of a toxic dinoflagellate. A professor at North Carolina State University, Dr. JoAnn Burkholder never imagined being presented with such a massive problem on her hands. After identifying the morphing dinoflagellate as Pfiesteria piscicida, Burkholder realized that her troubles would not stop at trying to identify characteristics of the organism; Burkkholder's biggest obstacle was trying to gain support for research from her peers, concerned citizens, and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Management. Eventually, fellow colleagues would believe her claim but the government only saw Burkholder as an annoyance needed to be silenced. At the same time, Pfiesteria was reeking havoc with numerous fish kills and reports of human symptoms including short-term memory loss and severe mood swings.
Rating:
Summary: And the Waters Turned to Blood
Review: Rodney Barker did an excellent job at enlightening his readers of the dangers of pollution, the devastating effects of Pfiesteria, and the power of a political machine. The tale developes the story of one dedicated scientists fighting to make the world aware of the rise of a toxic dinoflagellate. A professor at North Carolina State University, Dr. JoAnn Burkholder never imagined being presented with such a massive problem on her hands. After identifying the morphing dinoflagellate as Pfiesteria piscicida, Burkholder realized that her troubles would not stop at trying to identify characteristics of the organism; Burkkholder's biggest obstacle was trying to gain support for research from her peers, concerned citizens, and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Management. Eventually, fellow colleagues would believe her claim but the government only saw Burkholder as an annoyance needed to be silenced. At the same time, Pfiesteria was reeking havoc with numerous fish kills and reports of human symptoms including short-term memory loss and severe mood swings.
Rating:
Summary: great job
Review: Rodney Barker writes a stunning, spectactular, and mysterious novel about the dangers of a microscopic killer. He writes with amazing detail on actual accounts. The suspense keeps the reader glued to every page. However, the book is designed only for people with advanced interest in science. The book can get technical, but always returns the reader to a suspenseful plot. This book isn't for everyone but if you're intrigued by science, it's the book for you!
Rating:
Summary: A scientific mystery and political thriller
Review: Rodney Barker's And the Waters Turned to Blood is a scientific mystery and political thriller. It is a non-fiction account of the events surrounding the discovery of Pfiesteria piscicida, "the cell from hell", in the estuaries (inlets of sea reaching into rivers) of North Carolina. The first two-thirds of the book constitutes the scientific mystery. It begins with unexplained fish kills in the tanks of North Carolina State veterinary school. Unable to solve the mystery themselves, the fish biologist called on a young North Carolina State aquatic botany professor, Dr. JoAnn Burkholder. Eventually she and her assistants make an amazing discovery of a new and extremely dangerous organism. I found this portion of the book to be very engaging and exciting. I had a hard time putting it down until the mystery was solved. In addition to the mystery, the reader receives a crash course in the world of college politics. Approximately the final third of And the Waters Turned to Blood examines the political controversy surrounding the environmental protection of North Carolina's waterways. Because of her fame after the discovery of "the cell from hell", Dr. Burkholder joined several of the state's water committees. This portion of the book details her fight for recognition of environmental problems and her fight for funding to study Pfiesteria piscicida. I found this section less interesting than the first, simply because I am not as interested in politics as I am in scientific research. Still overall, I found the book to be very interesting and educational. It will definitely make anyone think about what we are doing to our environment and what our environment might be doing to fight back. I recommend this book to anyone interested in biological research or the environment.
Rating:
Summary: A scientific mystery and political thriller
Review: Rodney Barker's And the Waters Turned to Blood is a scientific mystery and political thriller. It is a non-fiction account of the events surrounding the discovery of Pfiesteria piscicida, "the cell from hell", in the estuaries (inlets of sea reaching into rivers) of North Carolina. The first two-thirds of the book constitutes the scientific mystery. It begins with unexplained fish kills in the tanks of North Carolina State veterinary school. Unable to solve the mystery themselves, the fish biologist called on a young North Carolina State aquatic botany professor, Dr. JoAnn Burkholder. Eventually she and her assistants make an amazing discovery of a new and extremely dangerous organism. I found this portion of the book to be very engaging and exciting. I had a hard time putting it down until the mystery was solved. In addition to the mystery, the reader receives a crash course in the world of college politics.
Approximately the final third of And the Waters Turned to Blood examines the political controversy surrounding the environmental protection of North Carolina's waterways. Because of her fame after the discovery of "the cell from hell", Dr. Burkholder joined several of the state's water committees. This portion of the book details her fight for recognition of environmental problems and her fight for funding to study Pfiesteria piscicida. I found this section less interesting than the first, simply because I am not as interested in politics as I am in scientific research.
Still overall, I found the book to be very interesting and educational. It will definitely make anyone think about what we are doing to our environment and what our environment might be doing to fight back. I recommend this book to anyone interested in biological research or the environment.
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Rush's APES period 6
Review: The book "And the Waters Turned to Blood" provided personal insight of scientists and victims towards the harmful dinaflagellate Pfiesteria. The book also provides an upsetting portrayal of politicians by exposing their attempts to cover up the truth about the harmful toxin. The book is also able to explain complicated scientific research in a way that high school students can understand. Even though there are times of randomness, the book provides a descriptive account of the terrors that have plagued the North Carolina waters for years.
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