First published 2007
Devra Lee Davis exposes how America's War on Cancer deliberately ignored known carcinogens while focusing on treatment over prevention. Her investigation reveals that industry leaders who manufactured cancer-causing products simultaneously ran the very campaign meant to eliminate the disease. Davis documents how evidence linking tobacco, workplace hazards, radiation, and environmental toxins to cancer was systematically overlooked or buried. The book traces how pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers profited from both causing and treating cancer, creating a system that prioritized private gain over public health. Through previously unreported information and portraits of key figures, Davis demonstrates that America fought the wrong battle with misguided strategies against false enemies. This pattern of misdirection continues today, she argues, leaving preventable cancers unchecked while resources flow toward expensive treatments rather than eliminating root causes.
Genres: business, non-fiction, history-of-medicine, activism, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: corporate-corruption, investigative-journalism
Period: 20th-Century, 21st-Century
528 pages · Hardcover · Basic Books