Review by Booklist Review
Beneath a skull-and-crossed-utensils cover, Jarrow (Spooked!, 2018) unleashes the Poison Squad as part of her fascinating, stomach-churning account of Harvey Washington Wiley's crusade for food safety standards and regulation in the U.S. She opens with a fictional dinner scene in 1890, where she unmasks the true ingredients of a meal that realistically could have been served at the time. Sausage, canned peas, and cake sound wholesome enough, but that sausage was actually made from a pulverized mass of meat scraps swept off the floor along with the rat feces and mixed with borax to keep it from rotting. It's enough to make you reach for a soothing elixir, but Wiley also debunked patent medicines. Trained in medicine and chemistry, Wiley was passionate about understanding the effects of altered or enhanced food products and medicines on human consumers. As the chief chemist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Chemistry Division, he spearheaded the pure-food movement, which fought for a law to keep food and medicine safe and to require ingredient labels. Vintage ads, product labels, newspaper headlines, cartoons, and photographs offer a visual feast for readers, who will be so engrossed in the stories of unconscionable products and unwitting victims that they won't realize they're imbibing a powerful lesson in food safety and the evolution of today's FDA. Extensive source notes and resources are icing on the cake.--Julia Smith Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A provocative chapter title "Embalmed Bees and Other Delicacies" opens this riveting chronicle from Jarrow (Spooked!) of the life of Harvey Wiley, the "Father of the Pure Food Law," and the often gruesome events leading to the creation of America's Food and Drug Administration. In gripping, relatable language, Jarrow follows Wiley's rise from Indiana farm boy to head of the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Chemistry and, finally, director of Good Housekeeping magazine's Bureau of Food, Sanitation, and Health. Sample advertisements, archival photographs, and political cartoons enhance the text, and a timeline, glossary, and sidebars--such as "How a Bill Becomes Law: The Basics"--further equip readers to navigate the science and politics involved in Wiley's lifelong fight to protect the public from adulterated food, quack medicines, and fraudulent claims. Historical headlines, such as "Human Test-Tubes. Wiley, Government Chemist, Continues His Work," bring to life the enormity of Wiley's controversial methods in the eyes of the public. The "More to Explore" section makes this easy-to-read work a fine classroom resource and an excellent addition to any collection. Ages 10--17. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up--Candy made with arsenic, babies soothed by morphine, and milk preserved with formaldehyde. After hooking readers with these gut-wrenching accounts, Jarrow focuses on Harvey Wiley, whose tireless efforts during the early 20th century heavily contributed to the first food and drug regulations in the United States. His food additive experiments on 12 men nicknamed the Poison Squad rose to national attention. While people were learning of the dangers they were ingesting, the government resisted regulations that would hurt its relationship with big business. But after Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle was published, the government was swayed and the Food and Drugs Act of 1906 was born. The book recounts Wiley's attempts to effect change through his government work and as a writer for Good Housekeeping, up until the end of his life. Jarrow then briefly discusses current food regulation. Examples of contaminated foods and toxic medications will awe readers, and photos and graphics depict the horrors. VERDICT With detailed descriptions of revolting food-production standards and dangerously uncontrolled medications, Jarrow captivates readers with a history of food and drug regulation. Recommended for nonfiction readers and anyone interested in what they are eating.--Katherine Rao, Palos Verdes Library District, CA
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Review by Horn Book Review
Formaldehyde in milk, cocaine in toothache drops, sausage made from pulverized meat scraps swept off factory floors along with rat feces. At the dawn of the twentieth century, few people had a clue that they were regularly being ripped off, drugged, and poisoned. More and more Americans were living in towns and cities, and, instead of producing their own fruits, vegetables, and meats, they bought food from stores. They didnt know who made the food they were consuming, and there was little regulation of the food industry. Jarrow (Bubonic Panic, rev. 3/16; Spooked!, rev. 9/18) traces the story of Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, now known as the Father of the FDA, who devoted his life to getting the federal government to take responsibility for protecting consumers from poisonous products. No longer would radium be used to paint watch faces, or deadly nightshade in baby teething tablets. Its a fascinating horror story and an important study of real-life heroes who stood up and fought for government intervention on behalf of the American people. The books open layout and plentiful archival photographs, advertisements, and other visuals enhance accessibility and interest. Thorough back matter includes a (necessary) glossary, meticulous source notes, a lengthy bibliography, an index, and a More to Explore guide. Dean Schneider January/February 2020 p.105(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
If every dish on your table was poisoned, would you be so quick to jump at the call to dinner?In posing this question via an extended opening scene, Jarrow vivaciously draws readers into a world of horrors hiding in plain taste. The first half of the book plunges into the story of U.S. Department of Agriculture chemist Harvey Wiley, who devoted the majority of his working life to combating food adulteration. After he conducted a series of studies designed to illustrate the "highly poisonous and injurious" nature of preservatives, his subjects, dubbed the "Poison Squad," gained national fame. A nearly Dickensian display of Congressional stalling was subverted when renowned magazines corroborated Wiley's findings, and the publication of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle finally pushed into effect the ineffectual but seminal Food and Drugs Act of 1906, which marked the first tangible progress toward improved food safety. The book's second half traces a thorny path to the workings of the modern FDA, and Jarrow doesn't hesitate to point out ongoing limitations alongside advances. Maintaining a matter-of-fact, conversational tone throughout, she presents a tantalizing flood of anecdotes and facts, text peppered with old magazine adverts, photographs, and gory details aplenty; extensive backmatter encourages further research into a subject more than fascinating enough to warrant it. Revolting and riveting in turns, Jarrow's masterfully crafted narrative will fundamentally alter how readers view their food.Though laced with toxins, this is anything but toxic. (Chemical descriptions, glossary, timeline, info links, author's note, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-17) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
