Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) - , reviewed on 12/13/2015 + 569 more book reviews

The Niagara Falls area where I grew up was a hotbed for chemical plants. Part of that was due to its location near a natural feature that permitted the generation of large quantities of electricity. Another large component was the willingness of local government to be cooperative with the companies to keep their tax-generating, job-creating presence around and happy. Eventually, it came out that this had unforeseen consequences, as demonstrated by the health issues and lawsuits centered around the Love Canal area of the city.

Niagara Falls wasn't the only area of the country or the world that dealt with this kind of conflict. Dan Fagin zooms in on another part of the US that discovered an unforeseen down side of the business of chemical manufacturing Toms River, New Jersey.

"Toms River" is an in-depth examination of a community rocked by health issues; cancers that circumstances point to the local dye manufacturing plant and its waste by-products as the cause. Pediatric oncologists in New York City automatically suspect that new patients come from or near Toms River. Local residents wrestle with their economic reality of needing to work, needing a tax base and needing their children to live into their 20s.

Author Dan Fagin provides an incredibly well-researched narrative, with little side-trips interspersed throughout to review corporate history of chemical dumping, mathematical research into the probability of cause/effect, and even a look at the aforementioned Love Canal. This book does not flow like a textbook, but rather like a novel ... a horror novel, more horrible because it is factual.

Highly recommended.

DISCLOSURE: This book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher in a random draw. A review request was implied, but not explicitly required.

RATING: 5 stars

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