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6th out of 31 books
—
20 voters
Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival? A Scientific Detective Story
"A critically important book that forces us to ask new questions about the synthetic chemicals that we have spread across this earth."—Al Gore.
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
March 1st 1997
by Plume
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My introduction to Our Stolen Future came about ten years ago at a sustainable packing conference when a young German woman sat down at our table for lunch and asked: "Did you know that male sperm counts have gone down 50 percent in the last 50 years?" I lost my appetite, but at least my interest in this topic was successfully piqued.
Our Stolen Future deals with endocrine disruptors and endocrine mimickers present in-among other things-plastic packaging that, through coming into contact with foo...more
Our Stolen Future deals with endocrine disruptors and endocrine mimickers present in-among other things-plastic packaging that, through coming into contact with foo...more
Just this year read this deeply worrisome 1995 account of the evidence that synthetic hormones are damaging the environment and hence human health. The chemicals are in some pharmaceuticals but our primary exposure to them is through chemicals added to plastic, in everything from toys and baby bottles to shower curtains, and consumer products like shampoo and detergent.
The book essentially jumpstarted concern about these synthetics, which evidence suggests can cause birth defects in wild animal...more
The book essentially jumpstarted concern about these synthetics, which evidence suggests can cause birth defects in wild animal...more
This work brings to light signs that industrial and agricultural chemicals are causing deformities and other problems by interfering with animals' endocrine systems. The authors do a good job in describing the endocrine system and explaining phenomena such as “biomagnification” (an increase in dose as a substance moves up the food chain.)
While I enjoyed the read because of the subject matter and good writing, the work is more alarmist than I prefer. Correlation alone is not causation. While not...more
While I enjoyed the read because of the subject matter and good writing, the work is more alarmist than I prefer. Correlation alone is not causation. While not...more
I enjoyed this book. I don't know if a non-science person would be able to wade through so many case studies, however. Even I felt it got a little long-winded and tedious at times. Also, I felt that they lost the initial personal story of a single scientist seeking answers (Theo Colburn)--she popped up from time to time to move the text along, but in the end we lost her and her story, which for me was also interesting. I would be very interested to read an updated version or other books written...more
This book is an interesting and frightening look at how we are slowly bringing about our own extinction and that of most living creatures, through innovation. Sad, but true....
I enjoyed this book, however I feel that it was not organized well. They made many excellent points, yet they droned on about them a bit more than necessary.
I still have to recommend this book as it is full of important information and will open one to many questions.....
I enjoyed this book, however I feel that it was not organized well. They made many excellent points, yet they droned on about them a bit more than necessary.
I still have to recommend this book as it is full of important information and will open one to many questions.....
Jul 30, 2007
Monica
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those that are concerned with the future of our species
This book tries to be like "Silent Spring" by pointing scientific fingers at the post World War II chemicals now firmly implanted into our air, water and soil.
With many case studies about how we've poisoned ourselves, I found it scary that the sited scientists found direct cause for cancer...but couldn't get their hands on the exact petro-chemical because the plastic company had a secret patent. And so, the plastic remains.
The book documents the declining rate of our fertility as well as many...more
With many case studies about how we've poisoned ourselves, I found it scary that the sited scientists found direct cause for cancer...but couldn't get their hands on the exact petro-chemical because the plastic company had a secret patent. And so, the plastic remains.
The book documents the declining rate of our fertility as well as many...more
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A must read for anyone that cares about what we put into our bodies, and our children's bodies. Did you know for the first time in history our life spans will soon be shortening? The authors explain chemistry and biology in easy-to-read, easy-to-understand terms. Incredibly enlightening.
touted as a rival to silent spring, this book is a powerful collection of scientific studies examining the effect chemicals in our environment are having on wildlife and the humans that eat them. This is the book that convinced me to be vegetarian for good.
Shortly after having read this book, I had an opportunity to hear Dr. Colburn speak in Indianapolis, IN. As citizens of this earth, we need to heed more attention to the damage we are doing to our habitat.
This book is scary! Science explains where cancer, autoimmune disease, allergies, Autism come from and why they are a relatively "new" problem. Certainly makes sense to me. They have a good website too!
A must read for anyone interested in the issue of pervasive environmental toxins. I first read this book in college (late 1990s) and introduced the issue of BPA as an endocrine disruptor long before it was on the greater public radar.
if you care about our collective health as humans, this will upset you terribly...
if you are concerned about our future environment, this will frighten you immensely..
i loved it.
if you are concerned about our future environment, this will frighten you immensely..
i loved it.
Not that well written, but a pivotal introduction to formerly neglected issues. Reconsider the "dose determines the poison" and "solution to pollution is dilution" rules.
An frightening expose by environmental journalists that connects man-made industrial pollutants to birth defects and other abnormalities in both wildlife and humans.
Very informative and alarming. I would love an updated version to catch us up on the latest research findings.
Good book and well researched on how the environment and toxic chemicals have impacted our health.
A chilling look at endocrine disruptors and the effects that they may have on ecosystems and even human behavior. Estrogen mimics such as DDT and androgen blockers like its breakdown product DDE have had serious impacts on a variety of species, and some cities have shown drops in sperm count among humans. Critics contend that plant estrogens are much more plentiful in the human body than these synthetics, but we have evolved to handle these, whereas we may not be able to handle the buildup of th...more
Mar 23, 2009
Barb
added it
Tough going and scientific research doesn't seem completely reliable, but a frightening look at chemicals in our bodies and what effects they might be having on fertility, neurological development, and health of humans and our planet.
Scary stuff. Book is about 15 years old, so I'm going to hunt for some updates. It had an early warning about bisphenyl-A, the ingredient in plastics that is JUST being taken out of many products, including baby bottles.
Scary stuff. Book is about 15 years old, so I'm going to hunt for some updates. It had an early warning about bisphenyl-A, the ingredient in plastics that is JUST being taken out of many products, including baby bottles.
I absolutely love this book!
Be prepared to think twice!
This book is terrifying.
This book was really interesting, but it scared me. A lot. The "unconventional storytelling methods" it utilizes to explain the problem were very effective. If you are interested in learning about how man-made plastics and other chemicals are effecting animal's and human's ability to reproduce by mimicking estrogen and other hormones, this book is for you. It's kind of fascinating. I especially liked the chapter on naturally occurring estrogen and estrogen mimics in plants that we eat. You'd be...more
As a former molecular biologist, I learned about hormone disruptors in school in the early nineties. This book does a good job of describing the problem to the average person. I learned about some cases that I had not heard about when I was learning about it. The book could, however, be much more effective with more diagrams and actual pictures of the developmental problems that result from hormone disruption. Maybe this could be added if there ever is an updated version of the book.
this is an interesting look at synthetic
chemicals in the environment and how they
can disrupt hormones. This leading to
infertility issues animal and human populations.
Basically we are all screwed and cutting out
plastics will not help the fact that our bodies
are storing so much PCBs which we all pass off
to our children. Made me not wanna have kids.
Might adopt a kid that is already on this fucked
up planet, though.
chemicals in the environment and how they
can disrupt hormones. This leading to
infertility issues animal and human populations.
Basically we are all screwed and cutting out
plastics will not help the fact that our bodies
are storing so much PCBs which we all pass off
to our children. Made me not wanna have kids.
Might adopt a kid that is already on this fucked
up planet, though.
This book was published in 1997, I believe, and it's sad to note that what the authors detailed here is still so little a part of the public consciousness now. I recommend this only for the strong of heart who are also tough enough to wade through scientific jargon. We're all screwed, so don't read this unless you want to know the specifics as to why.
An important book for understanding a tremendous threat which is still unreported in the news.
Theo Coburn was a high school librarian who retired from library and went to get her Ph.D. in zoology, and then became the country's foremost expert on endocrine disruption in animals. Not to scare you or anything, but it's messed up. And it involves mutant babies of all species.
Nov 15, 2010
Shelby
added it
Interesting at first, but it gets pretty scientific - the same point is made the entire time, just in different ways. It can open your mind and scare you, but it's not a must-read.
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Feb 18, 2011 11:19pm