Brush With Death: A Social History of Lead Poisoning

Rating:
Summary: Christian Warren's book, Brush with Death--fine book
Review: I found this a very good book, and I highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in the topic of lead pollution and poisoning.

This is a scholarly book, and Mr. Warren's scholarship is thorough and rigorous. He covers in detail the rise and fall of the leaded paint and leaded gasoline additive industries. However, because these industries and the problems they caused spun out in many different directions, Warren offers interesting and significant insight into many other areas of twentieth century American history: women's history, history of children and pediatric medicine, labor history, public health and medical history, urban history, business and industrial history, the history of science, the history of Progressivism and regulatory reform, among others. I found the accounts of childhood lead poisoning, women with afflicted children mobilizing to fight against lead paint, inner-city communities confronting the problem as an example of environmental racism, and the final battle to remove tetraethyl lead from gasoline particularly compelling. However, Warren's accounts of the work processes and business organization within the lead industry are also fascinating. Warren also handles some potentially very emotional issues with commendable balance.

Saying a book is a "scholarly book" might tend to frighten some people away. Don't let it. While this is a very solid work of scholarship, with lots of meticulous, detailed footnotes and such, it is also a very readable, interesting book accessible to any reader who wants to learn about the serious public health crisis it describes. This is a big story that deserves more attention. This is a good place to learn about it.