First published 2002
Epidemiologist Devra Davis wages war against environmental pollution in this deeply personal account. Her family survived the deadly 1948 smog emergency in Donora, Pennsylvania, but many relatives died from pollution's effects while others lived with permanent health damage. Davis documents how environmental toxins kill 300,000 people annually in the U.S. and Europe, contributing to breast cancer, heart disease, asthma, and emphysema. She exposes corporate cover-ups, including oil companies and automakers who spent decades fighting to keep brain-damaging lead in gasoline despite knowing its dangers. Davis reveals how London officials falsely blamed the 1952 smog deaths on influenza and chronicles battles to recognize breast cancer as a major threat. Through scientific analysis and passionate advocacy, she demonstrates how toxins damage human hearts, lungs, and reproductive systems. This book combines rigorous epidemiological evidence with intimate family history to argue that our public health approaches must fundamentally change.
Genres: environment, non-fiction, biography-memoir, health, activism, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-history, passionate-advocacy, scientific-analysis
Setting: Donora, London, Pennsylvania, United States
Period: 1948, 1952
336 pages · Hardcover · Basic Books
Content warnings: death, medical-trauma