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Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment (Paperback)

~ (Author) "On a clear night after the harvest, central Illinois becomes a vast and splendid planetarium..." (more)
Key Phrases: incinerator opponents, ecological roots, cancer registry data, United States, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson (more...)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In her early twenties, Steingraber was afflicted with cancer, a disease that has afflicted other members of her adoptive family. Writing from the twin perspectives of a survivor and a concerned scientist, she traces the high incidence of cancer and the terrifying concentrations of environmental toxins in her native rural Illinois. She goes on to show similar correlation in other communities, such as Boston and Long Island, and throughout the United States, where cancer rates have risen alarmingly since mid-century. At once a deeply moving personal document and a groundbreaking work of scientific detection, Living Downstream will be a touchstone for generations, reminding us of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the integrity of our air, land, and water.

"By skillfully weaving a strong personal drama with thorough scientific research, Steingraber tells a compelling story....Well worth reading."--Washington Post

From the Inside Flap

With this eloquent and impassioned book, biologist and poet Sandra Steingraber shoulders the legacy of Rachel Carson, producing a work about people and land, cancer and the environment, that is as accessible and invaluable as Silent Spring--and potentially as historic.

In her early twenties, Steingraber was afflicted with cancer, a disease that has afflicted other members of her adoptive family. Writing from the twin perspectives of a survivor and a concerned scientist, she traces the high incidence of cancer and the terrifying concentrations of environmental toxins in her native rural Illinois. She goes on to show similar correlation in other communities, such as Boston and Long Island, and throughout the United States, where cancer rates have risen alarmingly since mid-century. At once a deeply moving personal document and a groundbreaking work of scientific detection, Living Downstream will be a touchstone for generations, reminding us of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the integrity of our air, land, and water.

"By skillfully weaving a strong personal drama with thorough scientific research, Steingraber tells a compelling story....Well worth reading."--Washington Post

Product Details

Paperback: 374 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (July 28, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375700994
ISBN-13: 978-0375700996
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #147,098 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
On a clear night after the harvest, central Illinois becomes a vast and splendid planetarium. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
incinerator opponents, ecological roots, cancer registry data, airborne carcinogens, animal assays, phenoxy herbicides, water chlorination, cancer activists, cancer cluster, high cancer rates, triazine herbicides, bladder carcinogens, secondary pests, probable human carcinogen, organochlorine residues, cancer trends, breast cancer incidence

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, World War, Illinois River, Long Island, Tazewell County, Cape Cod, Upper Cape, Great Lakes, National Research Council, National Cancer Institute, New Jersey, Deer Island, Mason County, North America, Toxics Release Inventory, Environmental Protection Agency, New York City, Sankoty Aquifer, John Kirby, Mississippi River, New England, Illinois State Cancer Registry, National Toxicology Program

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 86 books:

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson on 34 pages
Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention by David Schottenfeld on 6 pages
Chemical Exposure and Disease by Janette D. Sherman on 5 pages
Dioxins and Health by Arnold Schecter on 4 pages
Living Downstream: Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment by Sandra Steingraber on 4 pages

See all 86 books this book cites

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	86% buy the item featured on this page: Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment 4.8 out of 5 stars (18)
	4% buy Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?--A Scientific Detective Story 4.5 out of 5 stars (36) $10.88
	4% buy Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks At Cancer And The Environment 5.0 out of 5 stars (5)
	3% buy Having Faith 4.9 out of 5 stars (23) $10.20

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Customer Reviews

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4.8 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Living Downstream" is the "Silent Spring" of the 1990's.., September 14, 1998

By	S. haggard (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book will be remembered not only for its eloquence and poetry, for its accuracy and precision, but also for the silence with which it was received in 1997. Along with Joni Seager's "Earth Follies" and Terry Tempest Williams' "Refuge", "Living Downstream" paints a picture of our behavior toward our planet as nothing less than genocidal. For those who believe Rachel Carson was right, this book is a must-read update and a reminder that faith is not enough. We must live as if we believe the consequences of toxic pollution to be predictable and avoidable.

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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry and Scientific Precision, January 28, 2000

By	Mark Wylie (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is rare to find a book on a scientific subject that is both accurate and precise in its science and beautifully written. It is no surprise to find that Sandra Steingraber, author of such a book, is both a Ph.D. biologist and a published poet.

"Living Downstream" is a superb blend of rigorous analysis and poignant memoir. Steingraber documents the increasing evidence of a strong link between rising cancer rates and environmental contamination. At the same time she tells her own story--that of a woman who suffered and survived cancer while only in her 20's. This book has justly been compared to Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and may, if read widely enough, have the same worldwide impact that Carson's book had forty years ago.

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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone concerned about our environment!, March 30, 1999

By A Customer

This book is chock-full of important scientific information about the connections between cancer and the environment, yet it is very easy to read. I couldn't put it down. You will be shocked by the evidence she puts forth. All her information is well-documented.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that everyone should read
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5.0 out of 5 stars The Important Legacy of "Silent Spring" Continues
Because of the immense importance of the subject matter- chemical contamination of our environment, this book was written for a general audience and Ms Steingraber's writing style... Read more

Published on May 7, 2005 by Bugs

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent and important--though a bit too long
Here is a great book I think we all should read. Steingraber's thesis is relatively simple: environmental factors play a much larger role in the increase of cancer than hitherto... Read more

Published on April 20, 2004 by Michel Aaij

5.0 out of 5 stars A Necessary Read
My wife bought me this book and I'm glad she did. Definitely written by a scientist. It's not a quick read. But it is very readable. And worthwhile reading. Read more

Published on January 8, 2003 by Tony

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you eat? Breathe? Have kids?
Then you need this book.

For me the most shocking thing about Living Downstream is how little known it is, given the life or death issues it addresses. Read more

Published on December 8, 2002 by lisebouvier

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and engrossing
The author is an articulate ecological biologist who is herself a cancer survivor. My eyes were tempted to gloss over the pages and pages of statistics (they were hard to face up... Read more

Published on February 26, 2002 by Lisa

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXCELLENT BOOK
The cancer business is booming. All types of cancers rose 49.3% between 1950 and 1991. In 1950 an American woman faced a 1 in 20 lifetime risk of breast cancer; today that risk... Read more

Published on February 23, 2002 by Niki Collins Queen

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