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.
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Engaging -- could not put the book down
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.
[Monday, March 17, 2008]
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Needs more on the role of population in water problems
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.
[Monday, January 07, 2008]
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Old microbe memories
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 infant 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
[Friday, December 28, 2007]
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