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Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation Audiobook
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WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • Winner of The New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award • “A new classic of science reporting.”—The New York Times The riveting true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, Toms River melds hard-hitting investigative reporting, a fascinating scientific detective story, and an unforgettable cast of characters into a sweeping narrative in the tradition of A Civil Action, The Emperor of All Maladies, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. One of New Jersey’s seemingly innumerable quiet seaside towns, Toms River became the unlikely setting for a decades-long drama that culminated in 2001 with one of the largest legal settlements in the annals of toxic dumping. A town that would rather have been known for its Little League World Series champions ended up making history for an entirely different reason: a notorious cluster of childhood cancers scientifically linked to local air and water pollution. For years, large chemical companies had been using Toms River as their private dumping ground, burying tens of thousands of leaky drums in open pits and discharging billions of gallons of acid-laced wastewater into the town’s namesake river. In an astonishing feat of investigative reporting, prize-winning journalist Dan Fagin recounts the sixty-year saga of rampant pollution and inadequate oversight that made Toms River a cautionary example for fast-growing industrial towns from South Jersey to South China. He tells the stories of the pioneering scientists and physicians who first identified pollutants as a cause of cancer, and brings to life the everyday heroes in Toms River who struggled for justice: a young boy whose cherubic smile belied the fast-growing tumors that had decimated his body from birth; a nurse who fought to bring the alarming incidence of childhood cancers to the attention of authorities who didn’t want to listen; and a mother whose love for her stricken child transformed her into a tenacious advocate for change. A gripping human drama rooted in a centuries-old scientific quest, Toms River is a tale of dumpers at midnight and deceptions in broad daylight, of corporate avarice and government neglect, and of a few brave individuals who refused to keep silent until the truth was exposed. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND KIRKUS REVIEWS “A thrilling journey full of twists and turns, Toms River is essential reading for our times. Dan Fagin handles topics of great complexity with the dexterity of a scholar, the honesty of a journalist, and the dramatic skill of a novelist.”—Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D., author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Emperor of All Maladies “A complex tale of powerful industry, local politics, water rights, epidemiology, public health and cancer in a gripping, page-turning environmental thriller.”—NPR “Unstoppable reading.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “Meticulously researched and compellingly recounted . . . It’s every bit as important—and as well-written—as A Civil Action and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”—The Star-Ledger “Fascinating . . . a gripping environmental thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “An honest, thoroughly researched, intelligently written book.”—Slate “[A] hard-hitting account . . . a triumph.”—Nature “Absorbing and thoughtful.”—USA Today
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“Toms River unravels the carelessenvironmental practices that damaged a community. The book goes beyond the TomsRiver phenomenon itself to examine the many factors that came together in thatone spot, from the birth of the synthetic chemical industry to the evolution ofepidemiology to the physicians who invented occupational medicine. Former Newsday environmental journalist Fagin’swork…features jaw-dropping accounts of senseless waste-disposal practices setagainst the inspiring saga of the families who stood up to the enormous TomsRiver chemical plant. The fate of the town, we learn, revolves around thescience that cost its residents so much.”
— Booklist
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“A thrilling journey through the twists and turns of cancer epidemiology, Toms River is essential reading for our times. Dan Fagin handles topics of great complexity with the dexterity of a scholar, the honesty of a journalist, and the dramatic skill of a novelist.”
— Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, Pulitzer Prize–winning author -
“It’s high time a book did for epidemiology what Jon Krakauer’s bestselling Into Thin Air did for mountain climbing: transform a long sequence of painfully plodding steps and missteps into a narrative of such irresistible momentum that the reader not only understands what propels enthusiasts forward but begins to strain forward as well, racing through the pages to get to the heady views at the end. And such is the power of Dan Fagin’s Toms River, surely a new classic of science reporting…a sober story of probability and compromise, laid out with the care and precision that characterizes both good science and great journalism.”
— New York Times -
“This hard-hitting account of cancer epidemiology in the New Jersey town of Toms River is a triumph.”
— Nature -
“A complex tale of powerful industry, local politics, water rights, epidemiology, public health, and cancer in a gripping, page-turning environmental thriller.”
— NPR -
“Immaculate research…unstoppable reading…Fagin’s book may not endear him to Toms River’s real estate agents, but its exhaustive reporting and honest look at the cause, obstacles, and unraveling of a cancerous trail should be required environmental reading.”
— Philadelphia Inquirer -
“Fagin’s meticulously researched and compellingly recounted story of Toms River families struggling to find out what was causing the cancers that claimed their children belongs on the shelf with other environmental/medical mysteries. It’s every bit as important—and as well-written—as A Civil Action and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”
— Star-Ledger (Newark) -
“In an account equal parts sociology, epidemiology, and detective novel, veteran environmental journalist Dan Fagin chronicles the ordeal of this quiet coastal town, which for decades was a dumping ground for chemical manufacturers. Fagin’s compelling book raises broader questions about what communities are willing to sacrifice in the name of economic development.”
— Mother Jones -
“Fagin weaves fascinating background material on epidemiology, statistical analysis, and more into this hard-hitting chronicle. A gripping environmental thriller.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review -
“Fagin focuses his research on cancer hot spots…but he also delves deeper into the region’s tragic history by tracing the arrival of chemical plants in the early 1950s and chronicling the massive contamination of waterways, soil, and air that followed shortly thereafter…A crisp, hard-nosed probe into corporate arrogance and the power of public resistance makes this environmental caper essential reading.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Fagin is an excellent writer, and the broad sweep of his narrative offers listeners better opportunities for understanding than most accounts of environmental calamities. He is scrupulously evenhanded in his treatment of both activists and industry executives. Dan Woren’s narration is flawless as his clear, well-paced baritone helps bring Fagin’s many characters to life. Woren presents Greenpeace demonstrations, complicated health-study methodologies, and everything in between with interest and energy.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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Winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
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A 2013 NPR Best Book
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Named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books for Nonfiction in 2013
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A 2014 Helen Bernstein Book Award Finalist for Excellence in Journalism
Toms River Listener Reviews
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Joe LaBianca, 2/25/2014
About Dan Fagin
Dan Fagin is an associate professor of journalism and the director of the Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. For fifteen years, he was the environmental writer at Newsday, where he was twice a principal member of reporting teams that were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. His articles on cancer epidemiology were recognized with the Science Journalism Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Science in Society Award of the National Association of Science Writers.
About Dan Woren
Dan Woren is an American voice actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator. He has worked extensively in animation, video games, and feature films. He is best known for his many roles in anime productions such as Bleach and as the voice of Sub-Zero in the video game Mortal Kombat.