$8.27 with 70 percent savings
List Price: $28.00
The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
$9.99 delivery Tomorrow, October 17. Order within 5 hrs 6 mins
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Monday, October 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35.
In Stock
$$8.27 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$8.27
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Kristina Marusic
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention Hardcover – May 11, 2023

by Kristina Marusic (Author), Philip J. Landrigan (Foreword)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$8.27","priceAmount":8.27,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"27","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"el53CoLPlK4UE5Y6dB45nczNy6VdHUtOmfKgYApHNjerBns%2BfhxxG9Z1E%2B7M8Jw7vxZ3F66p2L95Gc1dD3hS319vyStfiwM6F8LDN2TEvbYtFYGkV843xJvJVQdZz4KWsrOFfdDjwAH1zFzDf%2Fl0tw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

For more than fifty years, we have been waging, but not winning, the war on cancer. We’re better than ever at treating the disease, yet cancer still claims the lives of one in five men and one in six women in the US. The astonishing news is that up to two-thirds of all cancer cases are linked to preventable environmental causes. If we can stop cancer before it begins, why don’t we?

That was the question that motivated Kristina Marusic’s revelatory inquiry into cancer prevention. In searching for answers, she met remarkable doctors, scientists, and advocates who are upending our understanding of cancer and how to fight it. They recognize that we will never reduce cancer rates without ridding our lives of the chemicals that increasingly trigger this deadly disease.

Most never imagined this role for themselves. One scientist grew up without seeing examples of Indian-American women in the field, yet went on to make shocking discoveries about racial disparities in cancer risk. Another leader knew her calling was children’s health, but realized only later in her career that kids can be harmed by invisible pollutants at their daycares. Others uncovered surprising links between cancer and the everyday items that fill our homes and offices.

For these individuals, the fight has become personal. And it certainly is personal for Berry, a young woman whose battle with breast cancer is woven throughout these pages. Might Berry have dodged cancer had she not grown up in Oil City, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of refineries? There is no way to know for sure. But she is certain that, even with the best treatment available, her life was changed irrevocably by her diagnosis. Marusic shows that, collectively, we have the power to prevent many cases like Berry’s. The war on cancer is winnable—if we revolutionize the way we fight.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Island Press
  4. Publication date
    May 11, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1642832197
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1642832198
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In this series of engaging profiles linked by an overarching investigation into the negative impacts of chemical pollution, readers will find themselves learning from researchers, health advocates, lawyers, and community activists about the many insidious ways cancer has been invited into our daily lives….This is a surprising and significant look at cancer research, an eye-opening book readers will feel compelled to talk about with everyone they know.”
  ― Booklist, Starred

“This is a quest to find the doctors who are not just treating people with cancer but looking to identify and tackle its causes, often linked to environmental pollution and chemical exposure. If you or anyone you know has ever suffered the indignity of cancer or chemo, this book offers a healthy dose of heroism and — dare I say it — hope.” ― The Revelator

“A New War on Cancer, Pittsburgh’s Kristina Marusic’s deeply reported book about the environmental causes of cancer, is infuriating, sobering and challenging…. Her passionate, advocacy journalism interweaves the stories of people on the front lines of environmental activism with facts that make you wonder how the fossil fuel industry continues to get away with making us sick.”
  ― Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“In this big-hearted book, Kristina Marusic profiles the everyday champions of the most important battlefront in the ‘war on cancer’: the too-often overlooked movement to prevent environmental illness instead of just to survive it.”
  ― Dan Fagin, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation

“Extraordinary journalist Kristina Marusic not only makes the case for a new war on cancer, she tells deeply human stories that inspire us to think beyond the defeatist myths of consumerism and confront polluters in our own communities. Best of all, her book helps those of us already diagnosed with cancer see ourselves as determined warriors.” ― Sandra Steingraber, author, Living Downstream: A Biologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and th

“Kristina Marusic alerts us to a hidden but deadly crisis: the threat that everyday chemicals pose to our health and that of future generations. Readers can’t help but be drawn into this alarming story, vividly told through the lives of those affected.” ― Shanna Swan, author of Count Down and Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn S

“For decades, the ‘war on cancer’ has neglected environmental justice and the need to rid the nation of harmful chemicals. Marusic’s dramatic account puts a human face on the struggle to right this wrong. An excellent book!” ― Robert D. Bullard, Director, Bullard Center for Environmental & Climate Justice, Texas Southern Univ

“An urgent exposé on the need for truly comprehensive cancer prevention.” ― Doris Browne, former Program Director, National Cancer Institute and 118th President, National Medic

About the Author

Kristina Marusic is an award-winning journalist who covers environmental health and justice for Environmental Health News. She holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of San Francisco, and her personal essays and reporting on topics ranging from the environment, LGBTQ+ equality, and politics to feminism, food, and travel have been published by outlets including CNN, Slate, Vice, Women's Health, the Washington Post, MTV News, The Advocate, and Bustle, among others. She lives in Pittsburgh with her partner of ten years, Michael, and the cutest dog in the world, Mochi. You can visit her online at KristinaMarusic.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Island Press (May 11, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1642832197
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1642832198
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Kristina Marusic

Kristina Marusic

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Kristina Marusic is an award-winning journalist who covers environmental health and justice for Environmental Health News. She holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of San Francisco, and her personal essays and reporting on topics ranging from the environment, LGBTQ+ equality, and politics to feminism, food, and travel have been published by outlets including CNN, Slate, Vice, Women's Health, the Washington Post, MTV News, The Advocate, and Bustle, among others. She lives in Pittsburgh with her partner of ten years, Michael, and the cutest dog in the world, Mochi. You can visit her online at KristinaMarusic.com

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amanda Gillooly
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that will move you to act.
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2023
A book published today by Pittsburgh-based journalist Kristina Marusic, “The New War On Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention,” is one that will move you to act.

It talks about the crazy number of chemicals invented since the early 20th Century - about 300,000 - and how they’ve fed our global cancer crisis.

It talks about how rates of chemical exposure are so much higher for Black and Brown Americans, another sad example of environmental injustice.

It talks about burgeoning rates of childhood cancer and the increasing amounts of forever chemicals seeping into our everyday lives via home and personal products and packaging that might not be on folks’ health radar.

And it also talks about just how ineffective The War on Cancer has been - interspersing terrifying statistics about carcinogenic chemicals and how things got *this* bad with personal vignettes about the folks working to shift the paradigm of prevention.

As Marusic explains:

“Our choices as individual consumers do matter when it comes to our health, but we can’t solve these problems by changing those behaviors alone. We have to change our regulations to protect everyone from harmful chemicals, minimize the influence of large corporations over policymakers, and force corporations to pay for the true cost of their operations instead of continuing to externalize them at the expense of our planet and our health.”

Throughout the books, she documents the ways in which ordinary Americans are doing extraordinary cancer-prevention work through science, politics, advocacy, and more.

While (as an admitted hypochondriac) the book truly scared the hell out of me, it also opened my eyes to a whole world of chemical exposure that I had certainly heard about but hadn’t spent much time exploring. Reading that everything from the mascara I swipe on to the household cleaning products I use to banish dust could put me at greater risk for certain cancers inspired me - and I hope others - to take more seriously the question, “Now that I know better, how do I do better?”

On this point, Marusic delivers: Her powerful epilogue not only explores what she calls “the myth of personal responsibility” but also provides readers with a practical list of ways they can take action to demand change - from donating time and money to advocacy organizations to supporting campaign finance reform.

I recommend this book to those in environmental advocacy, those whose lives have been touched by a cancer diagnosis, and everyone in between. Because paradigm shifts are hard. And it’s gonna take sustained efforts from all of us to make it happen.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Dr. E
5.0 out of 5 stars A Necessary Wakeup Call to All Americans and a Tribute to Public Health Warriors all in One
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2023
This is a timely and necessary read for anyone who cares about his/her health. Most people have no idea to the amount of potentially harmful chemicals they are exposed to on a daily basis. They are unaware or perhaps don't consider the potential harms of chemical exposures because the chemicals are "everywhere so they must be safe." This book will not only make them aware, but hopefully angry too...angry to advocate for change and a healthier environment. The author also does a great job highlighting the public health warriors who are not only increasing the public's awareness to our widespread chemical problem but fighting back with scientific evidence and more and more studies that corporations will one day have a tough time ignoring. ES
Helpful
 Report
S. Inches
5.0 out of 5 stars Positive stories about ordinary people who became leaders in removing toxics from our environment
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2023
Astonishingly, two thirds of cancers can be linked to preventable causes: human produced toxics in the environment. Do you realize that baby equipment, medical equipment, food packaging and cosmetics are full of toxic chemicals? Facts about this are given throughout the text. But this book is uplifting because it tells the personal stories of six ordinary people who have dedicated their lives to exposing the truth and taking action. Change happens when people take action from the heart, and this book shows this in clear, narrative style. It's an educational and inspiring read!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Lois Bower-Bjornson
5.0 out of 5 stars The people in the stories are real the cancer is real
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2023
I am overwhelmed by the almost impossible burden that most Americans don’t even know about. The most perplexing issue that I have is ignoring the problem. I will NEVER understand this, let alone not look for solutions. Things only get worse the more lies that are told and the more inaction that is not taken. Ignorance is bliss my mother always said. There are solutions.

I was uplifted by the stories in your book. The people that are standing up to the status quo. Those that are happy for a cure however realize that there is a cause.

Kristina Marusic is an empathetic, educated, and meticulous author. Her book has rejuvenated me and the work that I do to help those that have been harmed by industry, to continue to look for a solution.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible.
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2023
Wonderful. If you are worried about how we are exposed to chemicals and what they do to our body this book is great. I loved hearing various stories from people who have lived through it.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report