Product Description
Here is a gripping narrative of scientific detection that chronicles an unprecedented journey of discovery by Dr. George Carlo into the impact of cell phones on human health. This book is a clarion call sounding the message that consumers need not allow themselves to become guinea pigs for new technologies whose long-term health effects are unknown. It is essential reading for the 90,000,000 Americans currently using wireless phones, and the millions who may begin using them in the future. In 1993, as news reports appeared of people using cell phones who'd also developed brain tumors, Carlo was hired by the cell-phone industry to affirm the safety of its product. He soon learned there was little research into whether these phones could impair human health, and no consensus among scientists on the question. Carlo's own research intensified his concern, especially the startling discovery that human blood cells could be damaged by the radiation emitted from a cell phone. He made urgent recommendations to the industry, including a plea that cell phones not be marketed to children. Yet, phones emblazoned with cartoon characters soon hit the market. In 1999, the industry quit funding the independent research directed by Carlo, investigated his private life, and began a whispering campaign that sought to discredit him. Appalled but undeterred, he has now brought his case to the public in a powerful assessment of the dangers posed by wireless phones-with safeguards readers can use to protect themselves-that is destined to be placed alongside such classics as Silent Spring, Microbe Hunters, and The Coming Plague.

Amazon.com Review
George Carlo and Martin Schram are aiming to become information-age Ralph Naders. They ask a question that ought to concern America's 103 million mobile phone users, as well as those who merely come within earshot of these popular devices: Is the wireless future a threat to public health? "Visit any public building, college classroom, courthouse, or commuter train, and look around: You'll see people using not just wireless phones but also wireless laptop computers and miniature palm tops," write Carlo and Schram. "What you won't see are the microwaves that are criss-crossing a confined space where a number of people who are not even using these instruments are bombarded by these waves." It sounds creepy. And Carlo, an epidemiologist who once oversaw a multimillion-dollar research project on health for the cellular industry, believes the news is not good: there may be a link between cell phone use and brain tumors. The research is not conclusive, but Carlo and Schram think it's disturbing enough to warrant government action. Needless to say, the industry that once backed Carlo's work now considers him persona non grata.

Due largely to Carlo's coauthorship, Cell Phones is unavoidably a one-sided story. Key business figures didn't agree to interviews. In fact, this might have been a better book if it were written by Schram, with Carlo as one of several major characters rather than a collaborator. Then again, it would lack the passionate advocacy that will draw many readers to it. And even the most skeptical may want to take a few of the simple safety precautions the authors recommend in a concluding chapter, such as wearing a headset or earpiece when using a cell phone, in order to keep a distance from the radiation-emitting antennae. One look at the x-ray photos reproduced in the book, which show how radiation easily penetrates skulls, will give even the most impervious observer second thoughts. One thing is probably certain: This book is a harbinger of litigation. If Carlo and Schram are correct about their concerns, the cellular industry--as unbelievable as it sounds--may go the way of Big Tobacco. --John J. Miller

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 12 reviews)

Not the best book on the subject - disappointed.

I am an avid anti-ELFer, and I was disappointed with this book, having read "Cell Towers: Wireless Convenience? or Environmental Hazard" by B. Blake Levitt first. I'm the type of person who wants the facts, the science, the politics, and not a whole lot mixed in - and I want to believe the researcher is honest and always has been.

What Carlo gives in this book is more of a novel, and a poorly written and confusing one at that. The author italicizes entire pages for emphasis, which leaves the reader straining his/her eyes for much of the book. Perhaps if he'd have written it in first person - since it was about him - it would have been a better book, and I could have overlooked that.

Add to this numerous grammatical errors - something I think an author who was not in a rush to get a book published quickly (to save face) would have hired a competent editor for - and I lost some respect.

Google "An Interview with Louis Slesin" to learn more about why I'm disappointed in this author/researcher. I'm not saying the book lacks accuracy. What I am saying is that it appears this researcher was trying to portray himself as a martyr, when, in fact, he may not have been as honest at the get-go of his research as he implies. I'm not sure what changed that, but I truly hope this author is sorry.

And if you've googled "An Interview With Louis Slesin", he, too, is disappointed in this researcher's refusal to disclose where the $25,000,000 that once was there for this critical research was spent on. Now the money is gone, and we are no closer to an answer.

[...]

I pray this researcher is truly sorry. I really do. I wanted to give him only 3 stars, but I'll give him 4 with that in mind. Levitt's book is a better choice.
November 02, 2007

Not very scientific, but very profiteering

I can't say it better than Michael Fumento, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. who in his recent column "Is the cell phone scare finally over?", dated Jan 26, 2006 said:
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Dr. George Carlo, then an epidemiologist working at the George Washington University School of Medicine, administered a $28 million research project funded from 1993 to 2001, via a blind trust established by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA).

As the project wound down, Carlo pre-empted a study that later appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He claimed it showed a tripling of the risk of a brain cancer called neurocytoma among cell-phone users.

Yet the study had no such conclusion. "Regardless of how frequently the phones were used per month or how many years that the phones were used, there wasn't any relationship with the developments of brain cancer," its chief author told PBS.

Carlo insisted he had no reason to fudge anything, since he wouldn't be "re-upping" for the project. He didn't mention his forthcoming book, Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age. Sigh.

And that's the sordid cell phone story. It's time for it to end. After all, there's so much more scary pseudoscience in need of media attention.
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In my opinion your hard earned money would be better spent elsewhere.
February 02, 2006

Well-written book if you don't agree with the subject

Because of the growing use of cell phones throughout the world, research into health hazards of mobile phones has intensified. The authors need to applauded for taking on a topic that is highly debateable, not to mention controversial. The book is well presented, but presents its case only on one aspect of the controversy.

As the author of "It's Your Call: The Complete Guide to Mobile Phones", I have a different take on the subject. There have been many studies on the effect of radio waves on mobile phone users. Not one has produced a repeatable, identifiable risk. So far the only established fact is slight heating. In fact, going for a walk will warm your head more than talking on a mobile.

Andrew Mennen
Author, It's Your Call: The Complete Guide to Mobile Phones
http://www.relianz.com.au
August 13, 2005

No References What So Ever

I was not satisfied at all with this book. As a matter of fact, I could not finish it. When dealing with areas of science, references are important. This author may have good information, yet without references it is hard to discern because there aren't any for 99.9% of the material in this book. It is hearsay or religion or more like a novel. If you are looking for information that can be researched or confirmed, this is not the book. Great artistic book cover, yet no hard evidence on the inside. It is true, 'you can't judge a book by its cover'. The title of the book gives a clue to the references in it, 'invisible'.
May 19, 2005

Can you hear me now?

Cell phones have become an integral part of American (and increasingly the world) society. They are ubiquitous in the business world and day-to-day life activities. The authors discuss in detail the risks associated with cell phones, particularly those of the digital variety. They tell the all to common tale of industry PR "spin" vs. public safety and common sense. While it may not be correct to state that cell phones cause brain cancer, the preliminary indications and not heart warming.

Thus far clinical studies have shown:

1) Cell phone radiation penetrates deep into the developing brains of children.

2) Cell phone radiation results in chromosomal damage to blood exposed to wireless phone radio waves. There is a link between chromosome damage and brain cancer.

3) Cell phone radiation breaks down the blood brain barrier. Think of the blood brain barrier as an immune system for the brain. As it breaks down, other environmental toxins more easily enter the brain and cause damage.

4) A number of studies showed a statistically significant correlation between brain cancer deaths and cell phone use.

5) Cell phone radiation can cause pacemakers to malfunction is they (pacemakers) are not properly insulated from cell phones that are within 6 inches of the pacemaker.

The above are based on elaborate human, animal, and laboratory experiments that examine the effects of cell phone radiation. The experiments in the book focus primarily on cell phone use - when the phone is near the head. If cell phone radiation is able to penetrate the human skull, the effects may be even more dramatic on soft tissue such as reproductive organs that may be continuously exposed to radiation by a phone carried in a pants pocket.

Based on the scientific evidence in the book you should avoid using a cell phone or being around one to be perfectly safe. Since that is not likely, the following precautions can be taken:

1) Despite the aggressive marketing practices of the industry towards children, keep cell phones out of the hands of your kids, they are particularly susceptible to the radiation generated by cell phones.

2) Use a hands free model and keep the phone away from your body.

3) If you put the phone up to your ear, point the antenna away from you.

4) If you have one of those cool little phones with a built in antenna, the whole phone is an antenna and you are getting a heavier dose of radiation. GET A HEADSET OR A DIFFERENT PHONE.

5) A cell phone has to pump out more radiation when the signal strength is low, try not to use the phone unless the signal strength is near 100%.

Initial studies show a clear link between cell phone radiation (especially associated with digital phones) and adverse health effects. In the next 10 to 20 years the effects will become apparent with the general public serving as the test subjects. Tread carefully on those wireless stocks over the long term, and take precautions today so you don't become a statistic. Many thanks to Dr. Carlo and Martin Schram for timely well written book packed with critical info for all wireless customers.
April 21, 2002

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