"First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. 'Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . [It is] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had not inspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail...

As World War I raged across the globe, hundreds of young women toiled away at the radium-dial factories, where they painted clock faces with a mysterious new substance called radium. Assured by their bosses that the luminous material was safe, the women themselves shone brightly in the dark, covered from head to toe with the glowing dust. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" were considered the luckiest alive--until they began to fall mysteriously...

Almost everything we encounter--from soap to soup cans and computers to clothing--contributes to a chemical load unique to each of us. Scientists studying the phenomenon refer to it as "chemical body burden," and in The Body Toxic, the investigative journalist Nena Baker explores the many factors that have given rise to this condition--from manufacturing breakthroughs to policy decisions to political pressure to the demands of popular culture. While...

Examines the history, effects, and medical and legal aspects of amphetamine use and abuse.

Nothing could be more important than the health of our children, and no one is better suited to examine the threats against it than Sandra Steingraber. Once called "a poet with a knife," she blends precise science with lyrical memoir. InLiving Downstreamshe spoke as a biologist and cancer survivor; inHaving Faithshe spoke as an ecologist and expectant mother, viewing her own body as a habitat. Now she speaks as the scientist mother of two young children,...

"The gripping story of a chemical weapons catastrophe, its cover-up, and how one army doctor's discovery led to the development of chemotherapy. On the night of December 2, 1943, the Luftwaffe bombed a critical Allied port in Bari, Italy, sinking seventeen ships and killing over a thousand servicemen and hundreds of civilians. Caught in the surprise air raid was the John Harvey, an American Liberty ship carrying a top-secret cargo of 2,000 mustard...

"This is the most comprehensive book on the market about indoor allergens. The authors discuss the potential dangers to health caused by all matter of indoor allergens. This book is informed by the first author's education in chemistry and his thirty-plus years of running a business that identifies and fixes indoor air pollution. This second edition is greatly expanded, with eight new chapters and updated content in the other chapters. New chapters...

Examines the history, characteristics, dangers, and rehabilitation treatment associated with heroin.

Toxic Water: Minamata, Japan traces the tragic story of toxic wastewater from a factory that poisoned an entire Japanese town.