Toms River: A Story Of Science And Salvation (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Wow, who would have thought that a book about drawn-out legal proceedings could be so compelling? Growing up an hour south of Toms River with a father who worked for the NJ DEP, I can understand something of the complicated relationship New Jerseyans feel between our natural environment and the pull of industry from surrounding cities. I previously had very little interest in biostatistics or environmentalism, let alone the history of state policy on the matter, but Dan Fagin does a masterful job compiling the history of a town as it evolved from sleepy backwater to booming industrial town and as its citizens' lives became entangled with the Ciba-Geigy plant and its toxic byproducts. What began as a collection of frustrating news clippings coalesced into a gripping scientific detective story in the tradition of John Snow and the Broad Street pump.It's stunning to see the effects of unethical business policies and lax environmental regulations have had in Toms River and, one imagines, in so many other manufacturing towns across the country and world. Speaking from the present, it's comforting to see know far we have come in our awareness of the issues at stake, but as Fagin alluded to, history is destined to repeat itself in industrialized nations if aggressive action isn't taken. It is important to disclose by bias: I am a former student of Fagin's from NYU.I don't read nearly as much nonfiction as I should, but this book encouraged me to do just that. It's a compelling narrative that Fagin uses as a way to teach the evolution of epidemiology in an accurate but very digestible manner. The interviews he conducted were exhaustive and even-handed, and even though the frustration that you will feel over what happened in Toms River and why answers were so hard to find, Fagin never makes a point without backing it up appropriately. The topic was researched meticulously, yet he didn't get bogged down into any unnecessary details just because he could. Every sentence has purpose.This is a great achievement in environmental journalism and really should be standard reading material for both aspiring and veteran environmental journalists alike.
What do You think about Toms River: A Story Of Science And Salvation (2013)?
Toms River is a little slow-moving, but overall, it's a powerful story.
—karmat91
One of the best books I've read this year.
—masonly
