Toms river investigates the subtle science of linking cancer to pollution. 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. At once intimate and objective, toms river is the heartbreaking account of one towns struggle with a legacy of toxic pollution. The new york times the riveting true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, toms river. The story of a small town engulfed by industrial pollution, toms river melds hard hitting investigative reporting, a fascinating scientific detective story, deep. Toms river, winner of the 2014 pulitzer prize and the academies communication award for best book, tells the story of a small town ravaged. The river ran low during the parched summer of 1965, the driest in ocean county in a century. In an astonishing feat of investigative reporting, prizewinning journalist dan fagin recounts the. The 2012 agreement known as minute 319, signed in 2012, included important water sharing provisions and for the first time allowed water to be returned to the. Despite this books emotionally neutral title, toms river is at bottom a horror story of unregulated capitalism. Chemical troubles in toms river may 6, 20 issue vol. Devito film on toms river cancer cluster to pay homage to environmental activism. Toms river, once a quintessential jersey shore town, is the focus of dan fagins pulitzer prizewinning book toms rivers.
New jersey town plagued by two generations of toxic waste dumping. Waterborne destruction has visited toms river before, albeit via less conspicuous channels, which dan fagin traces with marvelous precision in his new book, toms river. Toms river by dan fagin overdrive rakuten overdrive. Mar 12, 2020 the true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, toms river won the 2014 pulitzer prize and has been hailed by the new york times as andquot. In an astonishing feat of investigative reporting, prizewinning journalist dan fagin recounts the sixtyyear saga of rampant pollution and inadequate oversight that. Danny devitos film on the toms river cancer cluster, based on book by dan fagin, will homage to environmental. And such is the power of dan fagin s toms river, surely a new classic of science reporting. Dan fagin is an associate professor of journalism and the director of the science, health, and environmental reporting program at new york universitys arthur l. Dan fagin science and environmental journalist science and. It was so low that about onesixth of the flow under the route 37 bridge originated not as rain or groundwater but as wastewater discharged by the toms river chemical corporation two miles upstream.
Dan fagins new book, toms river, is an edgeofyourseat account of industry and illness in a new jersey town, with plenty of side trips. Jun 18, 2019 devito film on toms river cancer cluster to pay homage to environmental activism. Toms river ebook by dan fagin 9780345538611 rakuten kobo. New yorker masterful portrayal of the scientific process at work in a town facing environmental crisis. The new york times the true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, toms river won the 2014 pulitzer prize and has been hailed by the new york times as a new classic of science reporting. A story of science and salvation traces the story of a new jersey town plagued by two generations of toxic waste dumping. Dan fagin won the general nonfiction award, issued a by 19member pulitzer board administered by. A thrilling journey full of twists and turns, toms river is essential reading for our times. Start a free 30day trial today and get your first audiobook free. It is ironic that within a week after reading dan fagins book, toms river. Danny devitos jersey films 2nd avenue has optioned the screen rights to toms river. Dan fagin won the general nonfiction award, issued a by 19member pulitzer board administered by columbia university.
It won the 2014 pulitzer prize and was a winner of the new york public librarys helen bernstein book award. Now available in paperback with a new afterword by acclaimed author dan fagin, the book masterfully. In an astonishing feat of investigative reporting, prizewinning journalist dan fagin recounts the sixtyyear saga of rampant pollution and inadequate oversight that made toms river a cautionary example for fastgrowing industrial towns from south jersey to south china. In toms river, dan fagin weaves together the intricate threads of economics, science, politics and personal tragedy in this examination of how both a chemical giant cibageigy and entrepreneurs in industrial waste. A story of science and salvation 20 by dan fagin is the true story of a small new jersey town decimated by industrial pollution. Toms river winner of the pulitzer prize winner of the new york public librarys helen bernstein book award a new classic of science reporting.
By the spring of 1995, when steve jones called to ask him to look into a possible. Winner of the pulitzer prize winner of the new york public librarys helen bernstein book award a new classic of science reporting. Dan fagin has combined deep reporting with masterful storytelling to recount an extraordinary battle over cancer and pollution in a new jersey town. Its author, dan fagin, talks about the origins of dumping in toms river. It all begins in the town of toms river, new jersey, when the swissowned corporation cibageigy begins polluting the local water supply in the 1950s and 1960s with. Twitter facebook email a book that deftly combines investigative reporting and historical research to probe a new jersey seashore towns cluster of childhood cancers linked to water and air pollution. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read toms river. His new book project is about monarch butterflies and the future of biodiversity in the anthropocene. Fagin was interested in the dumping of industrial pollution that led to increased. Mar 19, 20 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 acidlaced wastewater into the towns namesake river. When toms river welcomed the swiss chemical company cibageigy now known as novartis in 1952, they did not know that the company had left towns in both switzerland and ohio due to complaints about air and water pollution. A story of science and salvation is a 20 nonfiction book by the american author dan fagin. Dan fagin has written a powerful and important book.
A cibaowned chemical plant came to the coastal town of toms river, new jersey, in 1952 to make dyes through processes that used and discharged enormous quantities of water. In 2005, dan fagin, an environmental journalism professor at new york university, began researching toms river. Jun 06, 2019 pulitzer prize awarded to author of book about chemical dumping in toms river. A science journalism professor at new york university, dan fagin is a nationally prominent journalist on environmental health topics. Danny devitos film on the toms river cancer cluster, based on book by. Elizabeth kolbert, author of field notes from a catastrophe.
The new york timesthe riveting true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, toms river melds hardhitting investigative reporting, a fascinating scientific detective story, and an unforgettable cast of characters into a sweeping. Environmental journalist dan fagins book on toms river. Winner of the pulitzer prize winner of the new york public librarys helen bernstein book award a new class. In toms river, investigative journalist dan fagin tells a story that is at once a detailed, focused case study and also a sweeping history of epidemiology and environmental health. Aug 19, 20 it is ironic that within a week after reading dan fagins book, toms river.
It is about the dumping of industrial pollution by. Mar 19, 20 dan fagins new book, toms river, is an edgeofyourseat account of industry and illness in a new jersey town, with plenty of side trips. This study guide is based on the following version of this book. For fifteen years, he was the environmental writer at newsday, where he was twice a principal member of reporting teams that were finalists for the pulitzer prize. A book that deftly combines investigative reporting and historical research to probe a new jersey seashore towns cluster of childhood cancers linked to water and air pollution. Dan fagin science and environmental journalist science. Maintaining and extending the collaborative relationship with the republic of mexico over the shared waters of the colorado river should be a sustained priority. How a revolutionary textile coloring compound tainted a waterway excerpt when aniline dye was synthesized from coal tar. He won the 2014 pulitzer prize for general nonfiction for his bestselling book toms river.
Danny devito options dan fagins pulitzerwinning book toms. Mar 30, 20 toms river investigates the subtle science of linking cancer to pollution. A story of science and salvation, the pulitzer prize. Dans recent publications include the new york times, scientific american, nature and slate. How a revolutionary textile coloring compound tainted a waterway excerpt when aniline dye was synthesized from coal tar, few studied what the manufacturing process left behind. This is a work of nonfiction that chronicles the historical aspects of environmental science, and how pollution leads to illness. A story of science and salvation, i saw a tv replay of the movie, a civil action, starring jon travolta. Elizabeth kolbert, author of field notes from a catastrophe toms river is an epic tale for our chemical age. It is about the dumping of industrial pollution by chemical companies including cibageigy, in toms river, new jersey, beginning in 1952 through the 1980s, and the epidemiological investigations of a cancer cluster that subsequently emerged there. A story of science and salvation, the pulitzer prizewinning book by dan fagin. A story of science and salvation, was awarded the 2014 pulitzer prize for general nonfiction. It was so low that about onesixth of the flow under the route 37 bridge originated not as rain or groundwater but as wastewater discharged by the toms river chemical corporation two. The true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, toms river won the 2014 pulitzer prize and has been hailed by the new york times as a new classic of science reporting. Dan fagin born february 1, 1963 is an american journalist who specializes in environmental science.
The true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, toms river won the 2014 pulitzer prize and has been hailed by the new york times as andquot. Toms river audiobook by dan fagin 9780385360319 rakuten kobo. And such is the power of dan fagins toms river, surely a new classic of science reporting. Listen to toms river a story of science and salvation by dan fagin available from rakuten kobo. Now available in paperback with a new afterword by acclaimed author dan fagin, the book masterfully blends hardhitting investigative journalism, scientific discovery, and unforgettable characters.
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