Editorial Review:
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
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Sacred Science 2006-11-08
There's an image that stands out from this book, that encapsulates its heart and soul... the image of a petri dish with a deceased nun's "immortal" breast cells. These cells live on in cancer research, continuing to divide and offer themselves up, though the nun has since passed on. Regarding these cells, Steingraber makes the comment, "This is my body broken for you."
A body broken for us. That is Steingraber herself, who was diagnosed with cancer, as a young woman still in college. A heart broken for us. Again, it is Steingraber, as she loses her best friend to cancer and reveals some of her most intimate thoughts about the experience. And it is all the bodies that still pile up in brokenness... one in three Americans now get cancer, she reminds us.
It is also the brokenness of animals, soil, earth, water, and air--each of which she examines with a keen scientific eye, loads of research, and surprising poignancy.
Reading this book, one questions not so much why we, or our fathers, or our sisters get cancer, but why we as a society let this brokenness go on and think we can be immune from its effects. I wish that we'd all read this book and begin to put the pieces together again.
A Must Read 2005-09-03
Anyone who has ever wondered about the environmental causes of cancer will be fascinated by this book. Steingraber is a gifted writer and a solid scientist (a rare but good combination) and she weaves scientific research and personal story together in a skillful way. The gist is that damning results from initial studies on the environmental causes of cancer need further study, but when all these initial studies are brought together like this it surely seems we are our own worst enemy when it comes to these terrible illnesses.
Scary.  2005-06-02
This is a powerful and moving account that dissects, piece by piece, the system which allows cancer-causing chemical agents to be released within the United States, primarily by corporations.
Cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber is a poet at heart, and a scientist by trade. For me, the weakest parts of the book were the ones in which the poet takes over, speaking in deeply personal dramatic tones that, quite frankly, made me a little uncomfortable.
Much more interesting is the scathing indictment of the processes by which chemicals are regulated in the United States. With impeccable logic, Steingraber frightens the bejeezus out of us by demonstrating that, when it comes to protecting the environment and public health, no one is driving the bus.
The vast majority of chemicals released into the environment have not been held up to proper scrutiny. For chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or other problems, there is an almost impossibly high burden of proof put on those who seek to have the chemicals banned.
Steingraber builds the case, simultaneously removing all doubt that certain chemicals are responsible for cancer outbreaks in certain areas while showing us that the case cannot be proved to the satisfaction of the regulatory agencies (who are themselves heavily influenced by the offending companies).
A detective story, an expose, and a lyrical narrative all in one, Steingraber has given concrete form to the sometimes-vague notion that Corporate America is behind many of our country's biggest threats.
The Important Legacy of "Silent Spring" Continues 2005-05-07
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 flows with easy to understand, but alarming expose' of the hazards of chemicals in our environment.
It is a beautiful continuation of Rachel Carson's work of environmental responsibility and the examination of the dangers of chemical contamination of our shared world.
Ms Carson's famous book, "Silent Spring", published in 1962, opened up to the public the hideous side-effects of chemicals, i.e., cancer causing, biome pollution and disruption, and killing of non-targeted species. Remember the Brown Pelican and Bald Eagle almost being killed-off from DDT poisoning? Carson's work eventually led to the banning of that harmful chemical, but as Ms Steingraber so expertly points out, there is a plethora of other dangerous chemicals on the market that tests have shown should not be.
Sandra Steingraber wrote her book over 35 years after "Silent Spring" and having the benefit of a huge amount of accumulated evidence of chemical side-effects and personal experience with the serious health problems caused by chemical contamination of our environment, she has put together a powerful indictment of the irresponsibility of industry and government alike in their continuing agenda of down-playing the dangers of chemicals and this constitutes one of the most irresponsible and insidious snake-oil scams ever perpetrated against life.
Huge corporate profits from the sale of deadly, often-time untested or inadequately tested chemicals purchase lackadaisical government over-sight and slick advertising on the "benefits" of chemicals.
This book is well researched and concise, yet will give simple explanations of such topics as "biomagnification"- the accumulation of chemicals the higher up the food chain we go. Most importantly, is the topic of "risk as recklessness" in taking dangerous chemicals to market without proper safety testing, but especially allowing known carcinogens to remain on the market long after they have proven to be harmful, hence, government complicity.
And the governments stand on this? They publish guidelines for changing one's "lifestyle" to help reduce chemical exposure! In other words, they attempt to shift responsibility for health on to the public who has no control over or proper warnings of where these chemicals are and most ludicrous of this is the fact that the spread of chemicals cannot be controlled once released into the environment, so they're everywhere and unavoidable. A good summation of this irresponsible nonsense is quoted from the anthropologist, Martha Balshem: [In the end, Balshem came to believe the lesson she was transmitting-"accept authority and accept blame"-was the wrong one]. (p 262) Indeed!
The Epilog starting on page 285 is a good resource guide for finding out more about chemicals, government agencies "responsible" for monitoring their use, where chemicals are concentrated, educational materials, etc.
Sandra Steingraber has put together a beautiful, important and educational statement in this book and it is one of the most profound publications of it's type since "Silent Spring". I found it to be a great honor to Rachel Carson's legacy- thank you Ms Steingraber!
excellent and important--though a bit too long 2004-04-20
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 assumed by individuals, public health officials, and regulators, and we should act accordingly. Her argument is well-researched and takes into account many of the pollutants we find in our air, water, earth, and bodies, and is presented intermittently as narrative and analysis.I like the structure of the book, the organization into chapters titled "time," "space," "war," and the like. I also like her alternating personal narrative (she is a bladder-cancer survivor, a native of Illinois, a graduate student, a researcher--we find out lots of things) with the cold hard facts and sometimes the fuzzy facts of cancer research and regulation of chemicals. The only thing that holds me back, which is why I gave it four stars, is that the book is a bit too long for my taste at almost 400 pages--I, a layperson, could have done with a bit less detail (though I understand she's covering her bases) and a bit more politics (though I understand she's being careful, not naming too many names). The best chapter is the final one: if you come across this book and have other things to do, at least read the last chapter--most convincing is her deconstruction of the public policy of 'personal responsibility': sure, some cancers may be associated with personal lifestyle, but more important are the things we have little individual control over, such as the air we breathe, the land our kids play on, the streams we swim in. Blame, Steingraber implies/states (she's not always so outspoken), lies less with us citizens, taxpayers, cancer patients, than with the companies that manufacture products and byproducts that may be carcinegous and are simply allowed to do so until proven otherwise, and the regulators (our government, at all levels) who let them do so. Bravo--it needed to be said, and I'm glad Steingraber did it.
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