Living Downstream: An Ecologist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment [Paperback]

Sandra Steingraber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2010

The first edition of Living Downstream—an exquisite blend of precise science and engaging narrative—set a new standard for scientific writing. Poet, biologist, and cancer survivor, Steingraber uses all three kinds of experience to investigate the links between cancer and environmental toxins.

The updated science in this exciting new edition strengthens the case for banning poisons now pervasive in our air, our food, and our bodies. Because synthetic chemicals linked to cancer come mostly from petroleum and coal, Steingraber shows that investing in green energy also helps prevent cancer. Saving the planet becomes a matter of saving ourselves and an issue of human rights. A documentary film based on the book will coincide with publication.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Sun, January 2009
“Steingraber’s ability to meld literary prose with complex scientific information has made her a best-selling author. Like her hero Rachel Carson, whose 1962 book Silent Spring led to the ban on the pesticide DDT and kick-started the grass-roots environmental movement, Steingraber somehow finds language beautiful and compelling enough to seduce readers to sit through a science lesson.”

The Ithacan, 2/12/10
“Jeff Cohen, director of the Park Center for Independent Media, said that Steingraber’s expertise in writing and biology as well as her personal experience created an unbelievable combination. ‘What she’s brilliant at—almost in a league of her own—is mixing personal passionate stories with totally comprehensive and accurate science,’ he said. ‘It’s not easy to do, it’s not easy to make complex scientific issues interesting, but no one does it better than Sandra Steingraber.’”

TheSmartMama.com, 3/6/10
“I thought I would talk about two of the books that most moved me to do more, to do better, to live a less toxic life. The first is Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the second is Sandra Steingraber’s incredibly powerful Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment …Why these two books? Because they point out something very, very telling about the link between the lives we live and the cancers we get.”

The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, Spring 2010
“Steingraber presents a clear, cogent and convincing case for the environmental roots of cancer.”

Gaia Fitness blog, 3/11/10
“Living Downstream is a very well-written book by Sandra Steingraber about the status of the world in which we live and it’s affects on our lives. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend picking it up. It will likely give you a whole new perspective on the health of our world and us.”

Ithaca Journal, 4/2/10
“A part-memoir/part-scientific treatise about her battles with cancer, and the environmental roots of many cancers.”

Ithaca Times, 3/31/10
“Part analysis and presentation of available scientific information on the links between cancer and the environment and part memoir.”

Tuscon Citizen, 4/20/10
“In this second edition of a contemporary classic, Steingraber, a cancer survivor, biologist, and mother, builds a convincing case that many cancers can be prevented through environmental change…This spare, beautifully written book, originally published in 1997, presents a passionate, hopeful view, asserting that it’s a good thing that the environment has such influence over cancer because, she insists, we can do something about it.”

InfoDad.com, 4/29/10
“A book with a strong personal as well as societal orientation…The book’s language is more plainspoken and thus more accessible than that of many other books warning of environmental hazards.”

Energy Times, May 2010
“Beautifully written, Living Downstream blends [Steingraber’s] own tale—a cancer diagnosis at age 20—with an environmental detective story…If you’ve ever wondered about the link between pollution and cancer, read Living Downstream.”

Ms., Spring 2010
“In the film, as well as in her memoir of the same title, Steingraber moves to break the silence about chemical carcinogens by doing what Rachel Carson couldn’t: use her own diagnosis to prove a scientific point.”

Toronto Star, 5/19/10
“Ecologist Sandra Steingraber is the Rachel Carson of the new millennium”: “A personal and scientific inquiry… They call her the poet laureate of the environmental health movement.”

Utne Reader, 5/26/10
“One of the things I like most about ecologist Sandra Steingraber’s writing is her ability to express big, substantive ideas with clarity, simplicity, and resolve.”

Lab Matters, Spring 2010
“This book explores the issue objectively, with a unique perspective and honest voice.”

Feminist Review, 6/9/10
“Steingraber makes some compelling arguments in favor of the precautionary principle, or the better-safe-than-sorry approach to chemicals…[She] has the expertise in science to give her the necessary authority to present an investigation of this scope and the impeccable writing to make it accessible to a wide audience. Although some environmental texts can be dry, Steingraber's writing and personal story make for a compelling read. Her drive and commitment to finding the missing pieces of the cancer jigsaw puzzle are humbling…In short, if you have ever thought that the environment may have played a role in the death of a loved one and would like to know more, this is the book for you.”

SciTech Book News, June 2010
“In this compelling book, Steingraber uses her experience as a poet, a biologist, and a cancer survivor to lay out a persuasive case for the linkage between cancer and environmental toxins. Weaving scientific investigation with her own family's history, she shows how the increased incidence of cancer in the rural areas of her native Illinois (and in similar communities nationwide) has gone hand-in-hand with increased levels of human-caused poisons in the environment.”

 

Taste For Life, July 2010

“This beautifully written, updated edition of a contemporary classic is even more compelling than the original.”

 

Bitch, October 2010

“Steingraber has a style that combines lyrical anecdotes with statistics and research.”

 

Pacific Sun, 10/15/10
“Sandra Steingraber is our modern-day Rachel Carson.”

 

Chicago’s WGN TV website, 10/19/10

“The first edition of Living Downstream—an exquisite blend of precise science and engaging narrative—set a new standard for scientific writing…The updated science in this exciting new edition strengthens the case for banning poisons now pervasive in our air, our food, and our bodies. Because synthetic chemicals linked to cancer come mostly from petroleum and coal, Steingraber shows that investing in green energy also helps prevent cancer. Saving the planet becomes a matter of saving ourselves and an issue of human rights.”

 

Curve, December 2010

“[A] gorgeous blend of science and personal narrative…[Steingraber’s] new edition strengthens the case for banning poisons now pervasive in our air, our food and our bodies.”

 

Herizons, Fall 2010

“A contemporary classic…Steingraber invites readers into the world of science, data and analysis with language and imagery that is not only accessible to the non-scientist but engaging, even inspiring in its lyricism.”

 

Utne Reader’s, November/December 2010

“Steingraber makes a passionate and lyrical case for eliminating carcinogens, which are ubiquitous in our environment.”

 

Thry’vors News, Winter 2010
“A wonder to read…As an American scientist and cancer survivor, Steingraber’s courage and empathy shine through the deeply personal portions of her book…Tremendously moving…The poet in her makes the reading of her scientific documentation easier to grasp and a pleasure to read. Her ability to personalize and humanize the disease, whilst discussing epidemiological research, is humbling…Her ability to explain cancer and how it wreaks havoc in cells and bodies in clear and gentle language is awesome.”

 

Ms., Spring 2011
“Not since 1962, when [Rachel] Carson courageously challenged the chemical industry in Silent Spring, has a scientist woven so much revelation and research together with such gorgeous and persuasive prose.”

Alternatives Journal (Canada)

“A deep and wide-ranging examination…Steingraber’s greatest gift is her ability to weave together personal narrative and scientific information…Elegantly written and well-researched.”

InfoDad.com, 4/29/10
“A book with a strong personal as well as societal orientation…The book’s language is more plainspoken and thus more accessible than that of many other books warning of environmental hazards.”

About the Author

Sandra Steingraber, PhD, is the author of Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood. An internationally recognized authority on environmental links to cancer and reproductive health, she is a visiting scholar at Ithaca College, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306818698
• ISBN-13: 978-0306818691
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Medical Books > Pharmacology > Toxicology
  • #86 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > Cancer
  • #88 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Environmental Science

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Readable, engaging, and important book July 6, 2010

By EnviroLawyer

Format:Paperback

I've worked for a number of years as an environmental lawyer and had often heard of this book from colleagues. I finally decided to read it recently and was glad I did. The author conveys an incredible amount of information about environmental connections to cancer -- some of it quite shocking -- while at the same time telling her own story dealing with cancer and tracing and understanding its potential origins. The book is always readable in spite of the great amounts of data and analysis presented. In fact, Steingraber's writing is excellent, at times even poetic, never dry, boring or overly technical. While this is a personal narrative it is also much more. She presents a whole new vision for the way we -- as a society -- should approach manufacturing, one in which we simply deem putting carcinogens into the environment and the stream of commerce "too expensive". I found her arguments and her logic not only compelling but inspiring. I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone who is him or herself dealing with cancer.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Why so many people have cancer March 22, 2011

By Christina Ritter

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A great book that helps us understand the ties between cancer and factors such as exposures to harmful synthetic and hazordous chemicals in our environment. Living Downstream helps us understand the difficulty in "proving" scientifically which chemicals are causing cancer due to our exposures to so many chemicals and other factors (age, where we live etc.)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and amazingly informative July 27, 2011

By A.nonymous

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a fascinating blend of a personal story (nonfiction) tied in with scientific data on cancer and the environment-told in a way that makes it hard to put down. The organization of the book is spectacular, it is simply amazing how well she winds her tale to be ever interesting, ever informative, and the revelations inside are simply mind-boggling. A must read (as is HAVING FAITH, her second book, which is just as fabulous). I just finished this last week, passed it on to a close friend, and am ordering a second copy because I don't want to be without one. This is something everyone should have at their fingertips-knowledge is power, and I have never experienced this much wisdom and factual evidence neatly wrapped and presented in such a way that it is hard to put down, and reads more like fiction than non. I wish it was, due to the grim nature of many of the truths it presents, but the author manages to write it without a depressing tone, but rather one of determination to look toward a better future. 5 Stars, I wish I could give it more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Second Rachael Carson December 3, 2012

By Sarah A Litch

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

It is hard to say you love a books like this since the content is so devastating. Steingrabers conclusions about how to prevent cancer instead of working on cures is profound.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read September 17, 2012

By Scott D. Barton

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is superb. Eloquent, warm, and informative, it is a worthy successor to Silent Spring. In just a few short pages, she summarizes what we know about the complex way that environmental pollutants can lead to cancer. It is both a heart tugging human story and a dazzling scientific adventure. My only gripe is the relatively brief foray into the politics of how pollution can and has been controlled. Most of what she reports, politically speaking, leaves one with a sense of despair. But perhaps, engendering hope in political change is the topic of another book...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars a great sleep aid June 25, 2012

By Travel Queen

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I feel the author missed out on reaching a wider audience as she wrote in a very monotonous and overly technical way. My book group was very interested in the topic, but none of us could make it through the book. We would have liked to hear more of the author's story and have her be more emotionally involved. It was like reading a textbook at university.

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring June 16, 2013

By Fresh Start

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Her writing is so very powerful; part poetry, part prose.

This feature requires 10 more words. I'd rather not add them, read the book, you'll have ten more words to add to this review...

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Research !!!!! An Amazing Look Into Our Environment June 6, 2013

By Dawn

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is an eye opener!!! I bought this along with Sandra's other two books and could not put them down. Packed with research, they've helped me navigate the complex subject of chemicals in our everyday environments. The effects are poorly understood but Sandra took on the task of wading through the research that has been done to discuss what is known about some, what isn't known about many and what to watch out for. Her books have helped me see things in a new way and confirmed a few of my suspicions about some consumer products that I will now stay away from. I highly recommend this book!!!!! 5 stars !!!!! Thank you Sandra for all of your hard work !

PS This is a must read for those planning on having a baby in a couple years, are pregnant or have children.