How to sell a poison The rise, fall, and toxic return of DDT

Review by Booklist Review

A historian of medicine who teaches at the UC Berkeley graduate school of journalism, Conis delivers a compelling, copiously researched account of DDT in America that is both uplifting and utterly bleak. Beginning with DDT's use by American forces to eradicate mosquito populations on South Pacific islands during WWII, Conis follows the indiscriminate spray of the chemical over this country's orchards, vineyards, and croplands, and on the streets and in the homes (wallpaper, mattresses, paneling, even pets) of its postwar suburbs. She profiles a number of scientists whose hard-earned findings--from DDT's catastrophically long life to the "hormone havoc" it can produce in the human reproductive system--led to the successful banning of DDT in the U.S. in 1972. At the same time, she details the massive corporate pushback that impugned the reputations of researchers, funded opposition groups and spokespeople, and sowed doubts about the scientific method that find purchase even today. A vitally important contribution to the ongoing discussion over the use of pesticides.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Historian Conis (Vaccine Nation) offers a thorough history of the U.S. government's use of the chemical insecticide DDT. Swiss chemist Victor Froelicher is credited as breaking it into the U.S. market, having brought his research on a new pest-killing compound called dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane to the USDA in 1941. The U.S. military was quick to implement its use in the Pacific, where dengue fever, malaria, and typhus were running rampant among U.S. troops. After the war, DDT was floated as a potential solution to polio stateside, resulting in the use of planes to dust entire cities with the chemical. Though DDT proved to be ineffective at curtailing polio, dusting continued as a means of eliminating crop pests. Though many credit environmentalist Rachel Carson as having spearheaded anti-DDT efforts, Conis goes beyond that narrative to highlight the roles some less celebrated figures played: in 1957, for example, a lawsuit was filed by the Committee Against Mass Poisoning, a group of concerned citizens on Long Island. This lawsuit, led by organic farmer Marjorie Spock, was crucial in Carson's writing of the 1962 bestseller Silent Spring, and the EPA's ban of DDT followed in 1972. Conis's account is impressively researched, and her narrative carefully constructed. This is a worthy contribution to environmental history. (Apr.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

An exploration of the complex history of DDT and how this banned pesticide is still relevant today. Through a collection of shocking narratives, historian Conis, author of Vaccine Nation (2014), tracks the history of DDT from its origins as a "miracle bug killer" for soldiers fighting in the South Pacific during World War II to its ban in 1972 as well as on-going cleanup efforts. The author captivatingly examines decades of conflicting reports from scientists and government agencies regarding the pesticide's toxicity, lawsuits and governmental hearings related to DDT, the related formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and recent efforts by private interests to revive production. Conis also shares stories of individuals affected by the application of DDT, including residents of Triana, Alabama, a small town that "became a battleground for a scientific dispute over just how toxic the banned chemical actually was"; and Mexican farm workers in California's Central Valley, who were "covered…from head to toe in a white powder to kill lice: DDT." The author highlights the efforts of activists in the fight against synthetic pesticides and their calls for responsible management--among them, Mexican American labor leader Cesar Chavez and author Rachel Carson, whose publication of Silent Spring faced attack from "the pesticide interests and their hangers-on." Finally, Conis walks readers through the growing body of research that has linked DDT exposure to various cancers and points out recently discovered DDT dump sites off the shore of California (one oceanographic expedition discovered more than 27,000 barrels). "Decades of intentionally sowed doubt, along with other corporate and free-market practices, are certainly responsible for contemporary skepticism toward science in some circles," writes the author in this convincing, deeply researched, and disturbing survey. Sadly, we see many of the same dynamics at play in "public doubts about climate change, vaccines, and the very nature of COVID." An insightful, timely work about "the endless game of catch-up we play when we pollute first, regulate later." Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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