| View Larger Image | The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster, and the Water We Drink | Hardcoverby Robert D. Morris (Author)
| List Price: | $24.95 | | Price: | $16.47 | | You Save: | $8.48 (34%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | HarperCollins | | Page Count: | 320 Pages | | Publication Date: | August 01, 2007 | | Sales Rank: | 397,779th |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780060730895
- Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
With the keen eyes of a scientist and the sensibilities of a seasoned writer, Dr. Robert Morris chronicles the fascinating and at times frightening story of our drinking water. His gripping narrative vividly recounts the epidemics that have shaken cities and nations, the scientists who reached into the invisible and emerged with controversial truths that would save millions of lives, and the economic and political forces that opposed these researchers in a ferocious war of ideas. In the gritty world of nineteenth-century England, amid the ravages of cholera, Morris introduces John Snow, the physician who proved that the deadly disease could be hidden in a drop of water. Decades later in the deserts of Africa, the story follows Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch as they raced to find the cause of cholera and a means to prevent its spread. In the twentieth century, burgeoning cities would subdue cholera and typhoid by bending rivers to their will, building massive filtration plants, and bubbling poisonous gas through their drinking water. However, with the arrival of the new millennium, the demon of waterborne disease is threatening to reemerge, and a growing body of research has linked the chlorine relied on for water treatment with cancer and stillbirths. In The Blue Death, Morris dispels notions of fail-safe water systems. Along the way he reveals some shocking truths: the millions of miles of leaking water mains, constantly evolving microorganisms, and the looming threat of bioterrorism, which may lead to catastrophe. Across time and around the world, this riveting account offers alarming information about the natural and man-made hazards present in the very water we drink. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 14 reviews)
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An EXCELLENT Must Read For Anyone Who Drinks Water by Joy Archer (Oro Valley, AZ)  5 Stars
August 06, 2008
The first section of this book reads like a mystery thriller only it was true of the situation in London just 100 years before most of us were born. The rampant use of denial, obfuscation, and just plain lies by the medical and political power base is amazing. That is "big egos running wild"! They expressed themselves or failed to express like the EPA at the expense of the health and lives of many people. The book "Reclaiming Our Health" by John Robbins, 1996, shows it is still going on today. Just take note of all the repeated ads for pharmaceuticals you don't need on the network news broadcasts each evening. Critical thinking is necessary to protect yourself and your loved ones. Dr. John Snow was a Master of critical thinking, a gift to the human race! I have read approximately 2 to 3 books a week all my adult life and seldom read fiction. The best books are often first mentioned in a book I read. Elizabeth Royte's excellent book "Bottlemania" tipped me off to this book. Both are must reads. As stated in Royte's book, "We can live without oil, but not clean water".
Blessings on both authors and all their loved ones! They have served their fellow humans very well!
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Engaging -- could not put the book down by Youngcentralstation (Washington DC) 5 Stars
March 17, 2008
Engaging, enlightening -- could not put the book down. If you drink water you must educate yourself and read this book. Dr Morris weaves his points with medical research history and brings you to the present conclusion, our water is still not safe, millions still die each year from drinking it. His conclusions inspire you to do something about it locally and globally. Thank you for the references, too. I am inspired to read more about these topics and subtopics.
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Needs more on the role of population in water problems by Paula L. Craig (Falls Church, VA United States) 5 Stars
January 07, 2008
Robert Morris' book is great for anyone who is interested in issues of drinking water supply and safety. For that reason I give it five stars.
I was puzzled by a major omission. Morris mentions repeatedly that population growth is straining the water supply. Why is there no follow-up on this? In the book's conclusion, Morris makes seven proposals to guard against present and future threats to safe drinking water. Population control does not even appear on the list. It should have been #1. Without population control, most of Morris' proposals either won't be possible or won't work to reduce the problem. If we don't take steps soon to stabilize world population, waterborne disease may well become one of the major Grim Reapers doing it for us.
Morris also discusses how strained municipal and other local government resources are in the U.S., making it difficult to invest in necessary water infrastructure. I would like to point out that a major reason governments are so strained is that in the last few decades a huge percentage of local revenues has gone to automobile infrastructure--roads, highways, parking lots, and the like. America sooner or later needs to rethink its love affair with the automobile. For more on this, see Kunstler's book Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape and Shoup's book The High Cost of Free Parking.
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Old microbe memories by Eugene H. Primoff (Greensboro, MD USA) 5 Stars
December 28, 2007
I've recently finished reading "The Blue Death" which highlights early stuggles against cholera. Throughout this gripping book, I felt a resonance with a book I read as a child in the early 1940's titled "Microbe Hunters" by Paul de Kruif. De Kruif's description of Pasteur's struggles with rabies was also compelling...and scary! His book sparked my early interest in science. Perhaps, Dr. Morris' book will do the same for today's young people.Gene Primoff
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Book Review by J. Ecklund (Olympia, Washington) 5 Stars
December 11, 2007
This book is a great read. It provides an interesting and exciting history of the search to find the cause of cholera. It then goes on to discuss the status of drinking water in the US up to the present. Dr. Morris provides science to the reader in the form of a fast moving novel. I would reccomend it to anyone.
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