A pithy call to action replete with frightening stories about what’s hidden in the water we drink, the food we eat, the...
The Toxic Substances and Control Act of 1976 is “notoriously weak and ineffectual,” charges investigative journalist Baker, and the EPA, the FDA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission lack the manpower and resources to do their jobs.
As a consequence, she asserts, the public is continually exposed to dangerous levels of harmful chemicals in a host of everyday products; each one of us is “a test animal in a vast uncontrolled experiment.” Baker quotes researchers and activists who support her charges, provides the responses of chemical-industry representatives who reject them and cites companies that have taken action to reduce toxic substances in their products. Separate chapters explore what is known about the harmful effects and what has been done to restrict the use of five individual chemicals: atrazine, an agricultural weed killer; phthalates, found in cosmetics; polybrominated diphenyl ethers, widely used in fire retardants; Bisphenol A, an element in reusable plastic food containers and the lining of metal food cans; and perfluorinated chemicals, used in nonstick cookware, firefighting foams and floor cleaners. Baker finds good news in the sweeping reforms enacted by the European Union, which in 2006 passed legislation requiring companies to prove their substances are harmless, in Canada’s new chemicals-management plan and in the efforts in California, Michigan, Massachusetts and other states to institute chemical-policy reforms. While waiting for Congress to act, consumers can take steps to lighten the chemical load they are exposed to, she states, and offers her own guidelines for doing just that. An appendix sums up the essential facts about each of the five chemicals discussed and offers advice on avoiding them.
A pithy call to action replete with frightening stories about what’s hidden in the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the beds we sleep in.Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-86547-707-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: North Point/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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