When smoke ran like water : tales of environmental deception and the battle against pollution

In When Smoke Ran Like Water, the world-renowned epidemiologist Devra Davis confronts the public triumphs and private failures of her lifelong battle against environmental pollution. By turns impassioned and analytic, she documents the shocking toll of a public-health disaster--300,000 deaths a year in the U.S. and Europe from the effects of pollution--and asks why we remain silent. She shows how environmental toxins contribute to a broad spectrum of human diseases, including breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and emphysema--all major killers--and in addition how these toxins affect the health and development of the heart and lungs, and even alter human reproductive capacity.But the battle against pollution is not just scientific. For Davis, it's personal: pollution is what killed many in her family and forced the others, survivors of the 1948 smog emergency in Donora, Pennsylvania, to live out their lives with damaged health. She vividly describes that episode and also makes startling revelations about how the deaths from the London smog of 1952 were falsely attributed to influenza; how the oil companies and auto manufacturers fought for decades to keep lead in gasoline, while knowing it caused brain damage; behind-the-scenes accounts of the battle to recognize breast cancer as a major killer; and many other battles. When Smoke Ran Like Water makes a devastating case that our approaches to public health need to change. The National Book Award Finalist from a leading public-health expert, this is the unknown story of how environmental pollution has affected our health-past, present, and future.

In When Smoke Ran Like Water, the world-renowned epidemiologist Devra Davis confronts the public triumphs and private failures of her lifelong battle against environmental pollution. She documents the shocking toll of a public-health disaster-300,000 deaths a year in the U.S. and Europe from the effects of pollution-and asks why we remain silent. For Davis, the issue is personal: Pollution is what killed many in her family and forced some of the others, survivors of the 1948 smog emergency in Donora, Pennsylvania, to live out their lives with impaired health. She describes that episode and also makes startling revelations about how the deaths from the London smog of 1952 were falsely attributed to influenza; how the oil companies and auto manufacturers fought for decades to keep lead in gasoline, while knowing it caused brain damage; and many other battles. When Smoke Ran Like Water makes a devastating case for change.

Author Biography: Devra Davis's work as a leading epidemiologist and researcher on the environmental causes of breast cancer and chronic disease has made her a nationally known figure. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and an M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Formerly a Scholar in Residence at the National Academy of Sciences and a member of the National Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board under President Clinton, she is now a Visiting Professor of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Finalist for the 2002 National Book Award, Nonfiction.

Through the public triumphs and private failures of her lifelong battle to protect public health, Devra Davis knows firsthand the devastating effects of environmental pollution. for Davis, the issue is personal: pollution killed several members of her family and sickened half her home town of Donora, Pennsylvania. but the problem is not limited to one place or group of people. In When Smoke Ran Like Water, David makes starling revelations about how thousands of deaths from the London smog of 1952 were falsely attributed to influenza. She exposes how the oil companies and auto manufacturers bought for decades to keep lead in gasoline while know it caused brain damage. She gives inside accounts of the battle to recognize breast cancer as a major killer. And she describes how major firms have lobbied, cajoled, and manipulated scientists and the government regarding the hazards of toxic chemicals. Vital and stirring, this is the unknown story of how environmental pollution is affecting us right now - and how it might affect us for generations to come.--BOOK COVER Frontmatter Foreword by Mitchell L. Gaynor, M.D. (page ix) Preface (page xi) Part One: ANCIENT HISTORY (page 1) 1 Where I Come From (page 5) 2 The Phantom Epidemic (page 31) 3 How to Become a Statistic (page 55) 4 How the Game Is Played (page 89) Part Two: THE BEST OF INTENTIONS (page 123) 5 Zones of Incomprehension (page 125) 6 The New Sisterhood of Breast Cancer (page 159) 7 Save the Males (page 193) Part Three: THE VIEW FROM OUTSIDE (page 223) 8 Earthquakes and Spouting Bowls (page 225) 9 A Grand Experiment (page 247) 10 Defiant Figures (page 273) Acknowledgments (page 283) Notes (page 287) Index (page 305) An Epidemiologist Identifies Some 300,000 Annual Deaths In The U.s. And Europe Due To Pollution, Making Revelations About Historical And Smog-related Mass Casualties, And Calling For Major Public Changes. Where I Come From -- The Phantom Epidemic -- How To Become A Statistic -- How The Game Is Played -- Zones Of Incomprehension -- The New Sisterhood Of Breast Cancer -- Save The Males -- Earthquakes And Spouting Bowls -- A Grand Experiment -- Defiant Figures. Devra Davis. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 287-304) And Index. DONORA, PENNSYLVANIA, was the kind of place where an adventure three-year-old like my brother Marty could wander five miles away from home and never really be lost.