Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things [Hardcover]

Rick Smith (Author), Bruce Lourie (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This is one scary book. Using a variety of test methods, the authors determined individual “body burdens,” or the toxic chemical load we carry. The innocuous rubber duck, for example, offers a poison soup of phthalates that “permeate the environment and humans.” From other products and food, we also have a collection of chemicals shorthanded as PFCs, PFOAs, PSOSs, and PCBs. None of them are good, and they are everywhere, thanks to Teflon (which drew the largest administrative penalty against a company ever obtained by the EPA), Stainmaster, nonflammable pajamas, tuna (hello, mercury), and, would you believe, antibacterial products. The legacy of our chemically addicted society is not just all around us but also inside us, and it is killing us, as the Teflon case proved. (Workers in West Virginia believed that “having a high-paying job often meant getting sick,” and many were reluctant to sue and possibly scare DuPont away.) Poised between chirpy green-living manuals and dense academic papers, Smith and Bruce Lourie have crafted a true guide for the thinking consumer. If readers don’t change their ways after reading this one, then they never will. --Colleen Mondor

Product Description

Pollution is no longer just about belching smokestacks and ugly sewer pipes—now, it’s personal. The most dangerous pollution, it turns out, comes from commonplace items in our homes and workplaces. To prove this point, for one week authors Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie ingested and inhaled a host of things that surround all of us. Using their own bodies as the reference point to tell the story of pollution in our modern world, they expose the miscreant corporate giants who manufacture the toxins, the weak-kneed government officials who let it happen, and the effects on people and families across the globe. This book—the testimony of their experience—exposes the extent to which we are poisoned every day of our lives, from the simple household dust that is polluting our blood to the toxins in our urine that are created by run-of-the-mill shampoos and toothpaste. Ultimately hopeful, the book empowers readers with some simple ideas for protecting themselves and their families, and changing things for the better.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint; 1 edition (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582435677
• ISBN-13: 978-1582435671
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #9,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #15 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Environment > Environmental Science
  #19 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Conservation
  #50 in	Books > Science > Earth Sciences

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A positve, empowering book about toxins, February 2, 2010

By	Peter M. Sullivan "peter_s" (Los Altos, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things (Hardcover)

Toxins are a common and widespread problem that is even more inconvenient and has even more personal impact than global warming. The topic leaves most people feeling a mix of overwhelm, anger and hopelessness. But as you may have guessed from the title, "Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things" takes a different approach.

What started out as a funny joke and dare between friends actually became an amazing project that will empower consumers. Two Canadian environmentalists exposed themselves to everyday products and watched the toxin levels in their body's skyrocket. Sadly, this experiment is something most of us do unknowingly every day. The authors show how our everyday exposures and product choices impact our toxin levels and health risks. Although I am still shocked by how common the toxins are, I was very encouraged to learn that many of them will leave the body in just a few days after reducing the exposure.

Despite the light title, this book is packed with intelligence insights, is backed by research and is fascinating to read. It will help you take actions that will measurably reduce your exposure to harmful toxins. Congratulations to the authors for turning this heavy topic around and pointing to a more positive and hopeful approach that is within our control.

61 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-Opening, January 22, 2010

By	scientific illustrator (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things (Hardcover)

I always considered myself to be rather savvy when it comes to where I come into contact with carcinogens on a daily basis. I have known about phthalates and BPA and fire-retardants now for many years, but I had no idea the extent to which the chemical companies have infused their questionable chemicals into every crevice of our daily lives. It is shocking and appalling and completely reckless. The only way we can turn this tide around is to arm ourselves with knowledge and demand change. Read this book! If you're not angry after reading it, you weren't paying attention!

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just the what and the why but also the HOW, January 27, 2010

By	DC Book Angel (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things (Hardcover)

The personal touch that Lourie and Smith employ in explaining just how prevalent chemicals are in our everyday lives, and more important, HOW to reduce our exposure to those chemicals by choosing products in an informed way make this book both readable and useful. Every parent and child care provider should read it to see how to reduce the exposure of our vulnerable young. It does leave you wondering why so many toxins are allowed to be used in our food, cleaners, clothes, and furniture.