Bookshelf

'Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is a collection of books, recommended by the community, that may be useful in numerous instructional activities. These texts are from the popular press, and represent a range of interests related to geology and human health; some are written from a singular "point of view" and may represent disparate or controversial agendas, philosophies, or values. All provide the opportunity for student learners to apply critical thinking skills, to evaluate the evidence presented, and to identify fundamental scientific principles (or perhaps flaws in the evidence and interpretations). Read well!

A Civil Action: In Woburn, Massachusetts, several young children have been stricken with leukemia and one of the mothers, suspecting that their drinking water was polluted with industrial waste, initiates a lawsuit against two of the nation's largest corporations. It was an unequal contest: two mighty corporations, commanding the finest legal representation money can buy, leveled against a few working-class families. Author Jonathan Harr has given the reader a riveting insider's look at not only the legal issues and maneuvers involved in this important lawsuit, but at the human drama and tragedy that can get lost all too easily among the legal details.
Harr, J., 1995, A Civil Action: New York, Vintage Books, 521pp
Living Downstream: Sandra Steingraber, biologist, poet, and survivor of cancer in her twenties, brings all three perspectives to bear on one of the most important health and human rights issue of our time: the growing body of evidence linking cancer to environmental contamination. Her scrupulously researched scientific analysis ranges from the alarming worldwide patterns of cancer incidence to the sabotage wrought by cancer-promoting substances on the intricate workings of human cells.
Steingraber, S., 1997, Living Downstream: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 357pp
An Air That Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana Uncovered a National Scandal: The true story of the decades-long poisoning of a small town and the definitive exposé of asbestos in America as told by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists who broke it. An Air That Kills is told through the eyes of the men and women who fought back; a woman who watched more than forty members of her family succumb to asbestos; a miner who carried the poison home; and an EPA investigator who battled not only one of the world's most powerful corporations but also his superiors in Washington. It is the first book to reveal how deeply asbestos has embedded itself into the texture of America, how many people have died or are dying, how the industry and government repeatedly ignored the danger, and how, for many Americans, the dying is not over.
McCumber, D., Schneider, A., 2004, An Air That Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana Uncovered a National Scandal: Penguin, USA, 440pp
Deadly Dust: Silicosis and the Politics of Occupational Disease in the Twentieth Century: During the Depression, silicosis, an industrial lung disease, emerged as a national social crisis. Experts estimated that hundreds of thousands of workers were at risk of disease, disability, and death by inhaling silica in mines, foundries, and quarries. By the 1950s, however, silicosis was nearly forgotten by the media and health professionals. Asking what makes a health threat a public issue, David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz examine how a culture defines disease and how disease itself is understood at different moments in history. They also consider who should assume responsibility for occupational disease.
Markowitz, G., Rosner, D., 1994, Deadly Dust: Princeton University Press, 248pp
Deceit and Denial : The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution: This book reveals the public relations campaign that the lead industry undertook to convince Americans to use its deadly product to paint walls, toys, furniture, and other objects in America's homes, despite a wealth of information that children were at risk for serious brain damage and death from ingesting this poison. It offers a historical analysis of how corporate control over scientific research has undermined the process of proving the links between toxic chemicals and disease. The authors also describe the wisdom, courage, and determination of workers and community members who continue to voice their concerns in spite of vicious opposition.
Markowitz, G., Rosner, D., 2003, Deceit and Denial : The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution: University of California Press, 428pp
Fatal Deception: How Big Business is Still Killing Us with Asbestos: This book details the gritty struggle for justice in Libby, Montana site of the most lethal environmental disaster in U.S. history. Bowker also tracks the cover-up that has led to the exposure of more than 100 million Americans to the potentially lethal fibers that still exist in countless homes and in more than a million public buildings and offices including the World Trade Center. Bowker makes the case that the owners of the vermiculite mine in Libby, and the asbestos industry in general, took terrible advantage of employees, who rarely were told of their peril.
Bowker, M., 2003, Fatal Deception: How Big Business is Still Killing Us with Asbestos: Rodale Press, 320pp
Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation: For decades, W.R. Grace, the same corporation featured in "A Civil Action," supplied the world with toxic asbestos-laden materials from its mine in remote northwest Montana. For 30 years, the company ignored signs that the dust from its operations was killing miners and their kin; now the record has come back to haunt Grace. Peacock overcomes the challenges inherent in exposing environmental crime, putting a human face on both sides of this fascinating story, making her case with rare humanity.
Peacock, A., 2003, Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation: Johnson Books, 256pp
When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution: This book documents the shocking toll of a public-health disaster-300,000 deaths a year in the U.S. and Europe from the effects of pollution-and asks why we remain silent. Renowned epidemiologist Devra Davis shows how environmental toxins contribute to a broad spectrum of human diseases, including breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and emphysema. Davis vividly describes the 1948 smog emergency in Donora, Pennsylvania that killed many members of her family and also makes other startling revelations; how the deaths from the London smog of 1952 were falsely attributed to influenza; how the oil companies and auto manufacturers fought for decades to keep lead in gasoline while knowing it caused brain damage; behind-the-scenes accounts of the battle to recognize breast cancer as a major killer; and many other battles.
Davis, D., 2002, When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution: Basic Books, 256pp
Magic Mineral to Killer Dust: Turner & Newall and the Asbestos Hazard: This is an account of the UK asbestos health problem, which provides an in-depth look at the occupational health experience of one of the world's leading asbestos companies - British asbestos giant, Turner and Newall. Based on a vast company archive recently released in American litigation, this study offers an insight into all aspects of the asbestos hazard - dust control, workmen's compensation, government regulation, and the development of medical knowledge. In particular, it looks at the role of industrialists, doctors, factory inspectors, and trades unionists, highlighting the failures in regulation that allowed the commercial development of a material that was known to have been lethal since at least 1900.
Tweedale, G., 2001, Magic Mineral to Killer Dust: Turner & Newall and the Asbestos Hazard: Oxford University Press, 344pp
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Time and Place: In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer. That same season, The Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights, threatening the herons, owls, and snowy egrets that Williams, a poet and naturalist, had come to gauge her life by. One event was nature at its most random, the other a by-product of rogue technology: Terry's mother, and Terry herself, had been exposed to the fallout of atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. As it interweaves these narratives of dying and accommodation, this book transforms tragedy into a document of renewal and spiritual grace. Particularly compelling is the final essay in the Epilogue: The Clan of One-Breasted Women.
Williams, T.T., 1992, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Time and Place: Vintage Books, 336pp
Filters Against Folly, How to Survive Despite Economists, Ecologists, and the Merely Eloquent: The ecological problems facing our world present a forum for experts who offer slogans and solutions on all sides or the issue, but leave most of us confused and unsure of the future. Garrett Hardin shows how the filters of literacy, understanding what words really mean; numeracy, being able to quantify and interpret information; and ecolacy, assessment of complex interactions over time, can allow anyone to make sensible judgments about ecological issues--even in the face of a barrage of confusing expertise.
Hardin, G., 1985, Filters Against Folly, How to Survive Despite Economists, Ecologists, and the Merely Eloquent: New York, Penguin Books, 240 pp.
Medical Geology: Effects of Geological Environments on Human Health: The main objective of this book is to show how the geological environment affects human health and to explore preventative methods for improvement. This monograph discusses the subject and tasks of the geomedical disciplines in defining the quality of the environment and methods of medical geology. The rich and diverse literature on geology, medical science, biology, medical geography, chemistry, physics and other sciences offers possibilities for determining various research methods and procedures which could be applied in medico-geological exploration. The topics covered in this book will be of interest to a wide circle of readers, including geologists, doctors, biologists, ecologists, planners and many others who are dedicated to the quality and protection of human health.
Komatina, M.M., 2004, Medical Geology: Effects of Geological Environments on Human Health: Elsevier, 500pp
Naturally Dangerous: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the Environment: Full of surprising anecdotes, curious facts and historical oddities, this remarkable little book connects observations from our everyday lives to the scientific principles that explain them. You will find information on organic produce, irradiated foods, trans fat and fat substitutes, natural herbs, designer drugs, smallpox, Mad Cow Disease, Prions, Anthrax, cancer, DNA testing, global warming, acid rain, aphrodisiacs, pheromones, and much more. Chances are if there is something you were wondering about, you will find it covered here. The author has avoided scientific jargon and mathematics to make this book of interest to nonscientists and scientists alike.
Collman, J.P., 2001, Naturally Dangerous: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the Environment: Sausalito, University Science Books, 194pp
The Global Casino: An Introduction to Environmental Issues: This comprehensive and stimulating introduction to environmental issues outlines both the workings of the physical environment and the political, economic and social frameworks in which the issues occur. Using examples from all over the world, Middleton highlights the underlying causes behind environmental problems, the human actions that have made them issues, and our hopes for the possible solutions. Completely revised and updated to include the latest research findings and a range of case studies, this new edition shifts its focus from issues linked to specific environments to more generic issues. In addition to a glossary of key terms, exercises, and essay questions, the text now also includes a critical guide to key web sites and topics for discussion.
Middleton, N., 2003 (3rd Ed.) The Global Casino: An Introduction to Environmental Issues: Edward Arnold, 200pp
Life Support: The Environment and Human Health: This book presents medical information on the implications for human health of the global environmental crisis. Underlying the book are three major themes: that habitat is an important determinant of human health, that prevention of human illness must involve protection of the environment, and that well-informed physicians can and should communicate with the public and policymakers about environmental hazards. The book, which is a sequel to the 1993 Critical Condition, covers a broad range of topics, including air and water pollution, population and consumption, climate change, ozone depletion, ultraviolet radiation, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, war, and vulnerable populations. It also discusses such controversial topics as environmental endocrine disruption and risk assessment. The focus is on solutions and each chapter ends with specific recommendations for actions to solve particular environmental health problems.
McCally, M., ed., 2002, Life Support: The Environment and Human Health: MIT Press, 326pp
Coal: A Human History: This book takes readers on a rich historical journey that begins hundreds of millions of years ago and spans the globe. Coal has transformed societies, expanded frontiers, sparked social movements, and still powers our electric grid. Yet coal's world-changing power has come at a tremendous price, including centuries of blackening our skies and lungs-and now the dangerous warming of our global climate. Ranging from the "great stinking fogs" of London to the rat-infested coal mines of Pennsylvania, from the impoverished slums of Manchester to the toxic streets of Beijing, this book presents a captivating narrative about an ordinary substance with an extraordinary impact on human civilization.
Freese, B., 2003, Coal: A Human History: Perseus Publishing, 320pp
1001 Chemicals in Everyday Products: There is a virtual laboratory of chemicals in the food we eat and the products we encounter every day at home, at school, and at work. What are these substances and how are they used? How are they helpful? Can they be harmful? Here are fast, hands-on answers to these and other crucial questions about hundreds of chemical substances we come into contact with on a regular basis. From MSG in food to perchloroethylene in dry cleaning, this A-to-Z guide provides clear, no-nonsense information on the use and health effects of hundreds of chemicals found in food, medicines, cosmetics, cleaning solutions, lawn and garden products, and more.
Lewis, G.R., 1998 (2nd Ed.), 1001 Chemicals in Everyday Products: John Wiley & Sons, 400pp
Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy: Everywhere on the planet, hundreds of industrial chemicals called organochlorines are accumulating in the environment, the food supply, and in our bodies. These substances – such infamous pollutants as dioxins, PCBs, and DDT, along with thousands of lesser-known hazards – are produced when chlorine gas is used to make plastics, paper, pesticides, and many industrial chemicals. In a thorough and accessible analysis, biologist Joe Thornton shows how global organochlorine pollution is already contributing to infertility, immune suppression, cancer, and developmental disorders in humans and wildlife. He lays out a democratically controlled program to replace the production and use of chlorine gas and its derivatives with safer, effective, and economically feasible alternatives.
Thornton, J., 2001, Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy: MIT Press, 611pp
Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative to Risk Assessment: For the past quarter-century, government and the private sector have relied heavily on risk assessment for making decisions, allowing widespread environmental deterioration. In this book, Mary O'Brien recommends a simple yet profound shift to another decision-making technique: "alternatives assessment." Instead of asking how much of a hazardous activity is safe (which translates into how much damage the environment can tolerate), alternatives assessment asks how we can avoid or minimize damage while achieving society's goals. O'Brien not only makes a persuasive case for alternative assessment; she tells how to implement it. She also shows how this technique has profound implications for public health, for our stewardship of the environment, and for a truly democratic government.
O'Brien, M., 2000, Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative to Risk Assessment: MIT Press, 352pp
Ecological Medicine: Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves: Drawn largely from presentations given at the annual Bioneers Conference, this pathfinding book focuses on pragmatic solutions emerging at the fertile edges between the overlapping worlds of environmental restoration and holistic healing. In this collection, many of the world's leading health visionaries show us how human health is inescapably dependent on the health of our environment.
Ausubel, K., ed., 2004, Ecological Medicine: Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves: San Francisco, Sierra Club Books, 248pp
Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing the Precautionary Principle: The precautionary principle challenges governments, industries, scientists, and citizens to act wisely and well. Fundamentally, as this important book demonstrates, this newly rediscovered old rule shifts the burden of proof to those who have long benefited from and exploited ignorance. Raffensperger and Tickner, who exemplify the tradition of engaged science, have assembled an impressive group of writers to produce a book that should influence the next stage of public health and environmental protection.
Raffensberger, C., Tickner, J., eds. 1999, Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Washington, Island Press, 385pp
Nursing, Health, and the Environment: Strengthening the Relationship to Improve the Public's Health: America's nurses, an estimated 2 million strong, have little formal preparation for the field of environmental health, though they're often the first health-care providers people look to for information on environmental exposure to potential hazards, including in the workplace. This report from an Institute of Medicine committee explores the impact that environmental hazards have on the health of individuals and communities and proposes specific strategies for preparing nurses to address them.
Pope, A., Snyder, M. and Mood, L., eds., 1995, Nursing, Health and the Environment: Strengthening the Relationship to Improve the Public's Health: Washington, National Academy Press, 288pp
Naturally Dangerous: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the Environment: Full of surprising anecdotes, curious facts and historical oddities, this book explores a wide range of topics concerning the health and safety of natural and artificial foods and connects observations from our everyday lives to the scientific principles that explain them. You will find information about organic produce, irradiated foods, trans fat and fat substitutes, natural herbs, designer drugs, smallpox, Mad Cow Disease, Prions, Anthrax, cancer, DNA testing, global warming, acid rain, aphrodisiacs, pheromones, and much more. The author has avoided scientific jargon and mathematics to make this book accessible and interesting to both general readers and scientists alike.
Collman, J.P., 2001, Naturally Dangerous: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the Environment: University Science Books, 194pp
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things: Waste Equals Food: Guided by this principle, McDonough and Braungart explain how products can be designed from the outset so that, after their useful lives, they will provide nourishment for something new. They can be conceived as "biological nutrients" that will easily reenter the water or soil without depositing synthetic materials and toxins. Or they can be "technical nutrients" that will continually circulate as pure and valuable materials within closed-loop industrial cycles, rather than being "recycled" – really downcycled – into low-grade materials and uses. Drawing on their experiences in (re) designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, McDonough and Braungart make an exciting and viable case for putting eco-effectiveness into practice. and show how anyone involved with making anything can begin to do so as well.
Braungart, M., McDonough, W., 2002, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things: New York, North Point Press, 193pp
Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Own Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?: Written by two leading environmental scientists and an award-winning environmental journalist, Our Stolen Future gives a gripping account that traces birth defects, sexual abnormalities, and reproductive failures in wildlife to their source – synthetic chemicals that mimic natural hormones, upsetting normal reproductive and developmental processes. By threatening the fundamental process that perpetuates survival, these chemicals may be invisibly undermining the human race.
Colborn, T., Dumanoski, D., and Myers, J.P., 1996, Our Stolen Future: New York, Penguin Books, 316 pp
Environmentalism Unbound: Exploring New Pathways for Change: This book proposes a new strategy for social and environmental change that involves reframing and linking the movements for environmental justice and pollution prevention. According to Gottlieb, the environmental movement's narrow conception of environment has isolated it from vital issues of everyday life, such as workplace safety, healthy communities, and food security, that are often viewed separately as industrial, community, or agricultural concerns. This fragmented approach prevents and awareness of how these issues are also environmental issues.
Gottlieb, R., 2001, Environmentalism Unbound: Exploring New Pathways for Change: Cambridge, MIT Press, 396pp
Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood: This month-by month story of the author's pregnancy and childbirth weaves into its telling new discoveries about genetics, the intricate unfolding of embryonic organs, the architecture of the fetal brain, and the astonishing transformation of the mother's body as it prepares to nourish and protect the new life. At the same time, Steingraber reveals the alarming extent to which environmental hazards – from the industrial poisons found in amniotic fluid to the toxic contamination of breast milk – now threaten each crucial stage of infant development. Never before have the environmental dangers to conception, pregnancy and to the continuation of healthy human generations been described with such clarity and urgency.
Steingraber, S., 2001, Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood: Cambridge, Perseus Publishing, 342 pp
Environmental Health and Nursing Practice: This is the first book for nurses on how the environment affects nursing practice. Nurses should be concerned with environmental issues for two reasons: many diseases (such as asthma and lead poisoning) are caused by exposures to toxins in the environment, and hospitals themselves are sources of pollutants through release of mercury and dioxin. This book includes information on basic environmental health principles and common environmental health hazards. It offers a patient assessment tool for exposure to these hazards and strategies for "greener" use of hospital resources.
Sattler, B. and Lipscomb, J., eds., 2003, Environmental Health and Nursing Practice: New York, Springer Publishing, 380 pp
Risk: A Practical Guide for Deciding What's Really Safe and What's Really Dangerous in the World Around You: This reference is a fascinating assessment of the level of threat posed by various illnesses, accidents, environmental pollutants and other factors. Expert authors David Ropeik and George Gray include information on top environmental hazards, likelihood of exposure, and ways to reduce your risk, as well as topics such as cancer, radiation, pesticides, and more.
Gray, G., Ropeik, D., 2002, Risk: A Practical Guide for Deciding What's Really Safe and What's Really Dangerous in the World Around You: New York, Houghton Mifflin Co., 496pp
The Perception of Risk: The concept of risk is an outgrowth of our society's great concern about coping with the dangers of modern life. In an excellent overview of the critical issues involved in risk perception, this volume examines issues such as: societal risk taking; decision making in mental health law; rating risks; facts versus fears; informing and educating the public about risk; perceived risks and the politics of nuclear waste; and perceived risk, trust and democracy.
Slovic, P., 2000, The Perception of Risk: Earthscan Publications, Ltd., 518pp
Clinical Environmental Health and Toxic Exposures: This is the revised edition of a collection of 117 contributions that discuss general principles of environmental health, including prevention and safety issues, organ systems, occupational hazards, and health hazards of specific toxic exposures. It has a chapter on each toxic element (lead, mercury, cadmium, etc.) and is an excellent source for information about the medical impacts of human exposure to trace elements in the environment.
Krieger, G.R., Sullivan, J.B., eds., 2001, Clinical Environmental Health and Toxic Exposures: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 1323pp
Geology and Health: Closing the Gap: This book is an integration of papers from geo-bio-chemical scientists on health issues of concern to humankind worldwide, demonstrating how the health and well-being of populations now and in the future can benefit through coordinated scientific efforts. International examples on dusts, coal, arsenic, fluorine, lead, mercury, and water borne chemicals that lead to health effects are documented and explored. Introductory essays by the editors highlight some of the progress toward scientific integration that could be applied to other geographic sites and research efforts.
Skinner, H.C.W. and Berger, A.R., eds., 2003, Geology and Health: Closing the Gap: Oxford University Press, 192pp
The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World: Using statistical information from internationally recognized research institutes, Lomborg systematically examines a range of major environmental issues that feature prominently in headline news around the world, including pollution, biodiversity, fear of chemicals, and the greenhouse effect, and documents that the world has actually improved. He supports his arguments with over 2500 footnotes, allowing readers to check his sources. Concluding that there are more reasons for optimism than pessimism, he stresses the need for clear-headed prioritization of resources to tackle real, not imagined, problems.
Lomborg, B., 2001, The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World: Cambridge University Press, 540pp
The Secret Life of Dust: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter, the Big Consequences of Little Things: Focusing on one of the constants of life on earth--dust, in all its myriad forms--Holmes explores biology, astronomy, climatology, pathology, and host of other fields to examine the role dust plays in planetary evolution, allergies, lung disease, dinosaurs, pollution, and more.
Holmes, H., 2001, The Secret Life of Dust: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter, the Big Consequences of Little Things: New York, John Wiley & Sons, 240pp
Essentials of Medical Geology: Impacts of the Natural Environment on Public Health: This reference volume emphasizes the interrelationships of geological processes to the health and diseases of humans and animals. It helps explain the geologic origins and flow of toxic elements in the environment that lead to human exposure via food and water. More than 80 chapters provide numerous examples of the environmental influences on human health. In particular, the book addresses speciation, bioaccessibility and bioavailability of trace elements in soils and subsurface rocks, provides overviews of numerous key concepts, and summarizes the hazardous properties of naturally occurring minerals and chemicals in the rock and soils. The appendix contains tables on natural elements in rocks and soils, international action levels, health effects of all elements, epidemiological features and more. This book may be used both as a reference and as the basis for a course on medical geology.
Selinus, O., 2005, Essentials of Medical Geology: Impacts of the Natural Enivronment on Public Health: Academic Press, 832pp
Asbestos and Other Fibrous Materials : Mineralogy, Crystal Chemistry, and Health Effects: This comprehensive sourcebook describes the chemical, physical, and mineralogical aspects of fibrous inorganic materials, both synthetic and naturally occurring. A general description of the fibrous state, the range of compounds that can adopt this form, and an overview of the characteristics unique to such materials form the backbone of the book . The authors also assess the application and use of asbestos and other fibrous materials in industry and evaluate their potential as health hazards. The information gathered here will be highly useful to medical investigators and legal professionals involved in environmental health.
Skinner, C.W., Ross, M. Frondel, C., 1988, Asbestos and Other Fibrous Materials : Mineralogy, Crystal Chemistry, and Health Effects: Oxford University Press, 222pp

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