Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation

Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE â€¢Â Winner of The New York Public Libraryâ€™s Helen Bernstein Book Award â€¢Â â€œA new classic of science reporting.â€â€”The New York Times

The riveting true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, Toms River melds hard-hitting investigative reporting, a fascinating scientific detective story, and an unforgettable cast of characters into a sweeping narrative in the tradition of A Civil Action, The Emperor of All Maladies, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

One of New Jerseyâ€™s seemingly innumerable quiet seaside towns, Toms River became the unlikely setting for a decades-long drama that culminated in 2001 with one of the largest legal settlements in the annals of toxic dumping. A town that would rather have been known for its Little League World Series champions ended up making history for an entirely different reason: a notorious cluster of childhood cancers scientifically linked to local air and water pollution. For years, large chemical companies had been using Toms River as their private dumping ground, burying tens of thousands of leaky drums in open pits and discharging billions of gallons of acid-laced wastewater into the townâ€™s namesake river.

In an astonishing feat of investigative reporting, prize-winning journalist Dan Fagin recounts the sixty-year saga of rampant pollution and inadequate oversight that made Toms River a cautionary example for fast-growing industrial towns from South Jersey to South China. He tells the stories of the pioneering scientists and physicians who first identified pollutants as a cause of cancer, and brings to life the everyday heroes in Toms River who struggled for justice: a young boy whose cherubic smile belied the fast-growing tumors that had decimated his body from birth; a nurse who fought to bring the alarming incidence of childhood cancers to the attention of authorities who didnâ€™t want to listen; and a mother whose love for her stricken child transformed her into a tenacious advocate for change.

A gripping human drama rooted in a centuries-old scientific quest, Toms River is a tale of dumpers at midnight and deceptions in broad daylight, of corporate avarice and government neglect, and of a few brave individuals who refused to keep silent until the truth was exposed.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR ANDÂ KIRKUS REVIEWS

â€œA thrilling journey full of twists and turns, Toms River is essential reading for our times. Dan Fagin handles topics of great complexity with the dexterity of a scholar, the honesty of a journalist, and the dramatic skill of a novelist.â€â€”Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D., author of the Pulitzer Prizeâ€“winning The Emperor of All Maladies
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â€œA complex tale of powerful industry, local politics, water rights, epidemiology, public health and cancer in a gripping, page-turning environmental thriller.â€â€”NPR

â€œUnstoppable reading.â€â€”The Philadelphia Inquirer
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â€œMeticulously researched and compellingly recounted . . . Itâ€™s every bit as importantâ€”and as well-writtenâ€”as A Civil Action and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.â€â€”The Star-Ledger
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â€œFascinating . . . a gripping environmental thriller.â€â€”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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â€œAn honest, thoroughly researched, intelligently written book.â€â€”Slate
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â€œ[A] hard-hitting account . . . a triumph.â€â€”Nature
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â€œAbsorbing and thoughtful.â€â€”USA Today

From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Manufacturer Bantam
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2013-03-19
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Bantam
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2013-03-19
Format	Kindle eBook

Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation

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