Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation
by Dan Fagin
Narrated by Dan Woren
Genre: Non-Fiction, Science
Publisher: Books on Tape
Publish Date: March 19, 2013
Format: Audio, 18 hours | 31 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 4 of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
The riveting true story of sixty years in the life of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, Toms River melds hard-hitting investigative reporting, a fascinating scientific detective story, deep historical research, and an unforgettable cast of characters into a sweeping narrative that leaves us asking: Could it happen in my town, too?
My Thoughts:
I was both fascinated and horrified by this well-researched account of big business putting profit before the health of humans, all living creatures and the environment.
This is a story of corporate greed and government indifference. Government on all levels — state, local and federal — were complicit. It was all business as usual with no thought about the consequences of dumping toxic chemical waste into the water or burying it in ground. Even more disturbing, the local water company knew about the chemicals polluting the drinking water and didn’t do anything about it. They hid the information from the residents so they wouldn’t have to close any of the wells and cause a water shortage.
When an unusually high number of cancer cases began to show up in Toms River, people began to ask questions but found that getting answers was not going to be easy. A few courageous individuals persevered working tirelessly to overcome government and corporate secrecy and uncover the truth.
The author has done extensive research in compiling this story of the people of Toms River and their decades long struggle to end the pollution and bring justice to the many families whose lives were impacted. Merged into their story is also the history of Toms River, a look back at the origin of the chemical dye industry, and the science behind it.
At times I wished I had paid more attention in chemistry class because there is a lot of compelling scientific information in this book; however, not having a complete understanding the chemical reactions will not take away from the story. The science emphasizes the seriousness and the gravity of the situation the people of Toms River were facing and there is a fascinating human interest story in between the big words.
Expertly narrated by Dan Woren, the audio production was a pleasure to listen to. Good pacing and clear pronunciations, even all those scientific terms, made the 18+ hours pass by quickly. Even though this is a detailed and at times complex story, I highly recommend the audio version.
In the end, the families did get some compensation, but not without reservations. Ultimately the corporations moved their factories to China, and the pollution and environmental harm continues. Again, don’t be scared off by the science, this is also a human interest story and one that affects all of us and the planet we live on.
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Source: From Kathy at bermudaonion.net
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost wordless: The apple tree in my backyard.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Thank you to everyone that stopped by to read my review and enter the Giveaway for a chance to win a copy of:
Late Lights
Winner: Anita Yancey
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The scheduled host for this month appears to MIA so today’s Linky will be hosted by Kathy @ Bermudaonion’s Weblog.
Another busy week for me. When the weather is nice the time just flies by and it’s Monday already.
Here’s what arrived last week, a mix of print and audio:
Print Books
Accused (Rosato & Associates #14) by Lisa Scottoline from St. Martin’s Press.
Mary Dinuzio has just been promoted to partner and is about to take on her most unusual case yet, brought to the firm by a thirteen-year-old genius with a penchant for beekeeping.
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield from Atria/Emily Bestler Books.
Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, William enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business.
Nubs: A Little Bird with a Big Story by Kristin Ludwig. Purchased by me.
The true story of Nubs, the handicapped parakeet who was part of a massive rescue effort. Follow Nubs’ journey from his rescue to his fresh chance at life! 100% of the author’s excess revenue will support the ongoing care of Nubs’ flock, who now lives at the Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City, Indiana.
Audiobooks
Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier from Simon and Schuster Audio.
Lanier asserts that the rise of digital networks led our economy into recession and decimated the middle class.
The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman, a download from Simon and Schuster Audio.
Sisters Natalie and Alice Kessler were close, until adolescence wrenched them apart.
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Now that it’s August, nesting season is coming to an end. The tired parents have pushed the babies out of the nest, hopefully taught them to fly and find food for themselves.
I leave my feeders up throughout the summer to provide a quick meal for parent birds who have been working hard all day collecting bugs for their nestlings. I’ve noticed many of them bringing their youngsters to the feeders and showing them the food. Some parents disappear and I have the baby birds all day. The past few weeks my yard has been like a day care center.
Here are a few of the young birds that were in the yard during the past week or two.
Red-winged Blackbird
I watched this little guy’s father show him my peanut feeder and then leave. The juveniles resemble the female and won’t get their adult plumage until next year.
Mourning Dove
A young dove is the same size as the adults but there is a slight difference in their plumage. If you look closely you can see the feathers on this young bird have a white edging giving them a scaly pattern. The adult’s feathers have a smooth appearance.
Grackle
Physically the young grackles resemble their parents but instead of iridescent black feathers they are a soft brown. There are three youngsters that stop by and they can eat a lot of sunflower seeds.
Cardinal
The young cardinal is extremely shy and stays at the back fence. He hides in the apple tree only occasionally venturing by the feeders nearest the house. (I had to zoom in from quite a distance to get this giving him a grainy appearance.)
Brown-headed Cowbird
Young cowbirds look different from their parents. They are often mistaken for a large sparrow.
American Robin
This robin looks like he is only a few days out of the nest. Robins don’t visit feeders but they are always in my yard digging for bugs, eating berries and playing in the water. This guy was sitting on the fence waiting for a nearby parent to deliver a worm.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. For the summer it will be hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
The Humans: A Novel
by Matt Haig
Narrated by Mark Meadows
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publish Date: July 2, 2013
Format: Audio, 8 hours | 11 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 4½ of 5
Quote from the Publisher:
When an extraterrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his first impressions of the human species are less than positive. Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a leading mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor wants to complete his task and go back home, to the planet he comes from, and a utopian society of immortality and infinite knowledge.
He is disgusted by the way humans look, what they eat, the wars they witness on the news, and totally baffled by such concepts of love and family. But as time goes on, he starts to realize there may be more to this weird species than he has been led to believe.
My Thoughts:
Professor Andrew Martin has solved the Riemann Hypothesis, a complex mathematical problem that will allow humans to make rapid technological advances. A member of a highly evolved alien species is dispatched to earth to take over the professor’s body and destroy his work and anyone who knows of its existence. At first the alien is disgusted by humans and everything about them. But as he gets to know them better, a transformation begins to take place.
The human body he has taken over has a wife, a son and a dog. The alien understands the dog but the son and the wife are a different story. They immediately notice a personality shift and think he has had a mental breakdown. The professor was a snob with a strained relationship with his family, but the alien begins to enjoy having a wife and son, ultimately putting his mission in jeopardy.
The story is told in the first person from the point of view of the alien. His witty, dry and humorous observations are what makes it all work. The writing is clever and funny and the story prompts the reader to think: Why do humans act the way they do? When viewed through the prism of an out-of-this-galaxy observer’s eye, I began to wonder about that myself.
I listened to the audiobook which was superbly narrated by Mark Meadows. His voice, tone and inflections were perfect for the perplexed alien pretending to be a human. It was an easy and fun listening experience.
If you like the wittiness of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy or the comedy of Third Rock From the Sun, then you will love this book. This is science fiction, but only in the sense that the protagonist is from another planet. The real story is about people, and what it is to be human. Highly recommended even for those who don’t read SciFi.
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Source: Review copy
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost wordless: Early in the spring this perennial emerges as foliage only and is easy to overlook among the showy Daffodils and Tulips. By the end of spring the foliage dies off and disappears, but as summer begins to wane, the plant emerges from the soil once again. This time it rises up as a tall, one to two foot stalk, and blooms within days earning the name Resurrection Lily. [Click the thumbnail to the right to see the entire plant.]
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 