Product Description

This book was written to increase your awareness about the potentially tragic, harmful effects of the numerous chemicals to which we are all exposed on a daily basis.

This book will help you figure out when and where you were exposed and discuss the many different ways chemicals can affect you and your loved ones.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43121 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 511 pages

About the Author
Dr. Doris Rapp is a New York Times Best-selling author of Is This Your Child. She is Board certified in Environmental Medicine, Pediatrics and Allergies.

Customer Reviews

Laudable goal. Poor editing, poor references, possible bias.
The topic is important and Dr. Rapp's goal is ambitious, but several things get in the way:

1) Page 3: "It typically occurs shortly after exposures to either an extremely minute or a large amount of one or more unrelated chemicals for either very brief or prolonged periods of time." Huh??? This sentence is trying answer the question "What Exactly is Chemical Sensitivity?" but it is anything but "exact" because it covers everything from a little to a lot from one or some or many for brief or long exposures. A sentence that includes everything says nothing.

2) Page 14: "2,4-D and 2,4,5-T are two herbicide chemicals that continue to be used on lawns...These specific chemicals are similar to the toxic ingredients such as dioxin in the infamous Agent Orange used to defoliate Vietnam." Not quite: Agent Orange is a 1:1 ratio of these two chemicals (2,4-D & 2,4,5-T), and dioxin is in Agent Orange because dioxin is a byproduct of manufacturing 2,4,5-T. So, what's with the roundabout language of "similar to"? Looks like a harmless, but distracting mistake. Well, there is harm to the credibility of the author.

3) Page 17: "It has been reported that mothers who use an organophosphate flea shampoo (dichlorvos) on their pet during their pregnancy double the chance of a brain tumor developing in their unborn baby by the age of five years." This is suspiciously vague. The footnote identifies not a scientific study but a book from 1995, "Living Healthy in a Toxic World." So this is just hearsay? Is the phrase "it has been reported" a tricky way to make the reader think there is proof for mere speculation? Actually, I found NIH (National Institutes of Health) documents on studies that found linkage between flea collars and tumors (Google "Household pesticides and risk of pediatric brain tumors"). Better writing would identify peer-reviewed studies, not another general audience book. Please make it easy for us to verify claims that sound exaggerated. Burying the source weakens the case.

4) Page 25 gives phone numbers in parenthesis for practitioners of "newer chiropractic" techniques. These are listed as part of a case study, making it easy for the reader to get the same products or services if suffering from the same symptoms. When someone both analyzes a problem and pitches specific products or services, I'm suspicious. How objective is the analysis if the author appears to be selling something? Dr. Rapp may not benefit from these referrals--they may be earnest and innocent efforts to help the reader to better health--but I prefer an arms-length separation between diagnosis and sales. Please prescribe generic treatments and, at most, provide an appendix listing multiple sources for each.

These problems derailed my reading. While I appreciate the topic and the intent of the author, I don't have time to read a book that confuses me and makes me suspicious that the analysis is biased. I would welcome a new edition of "Our Toxic World" with better editing, footnotes to peer-reviewed studies, and no pitches for specific products or services. I will read that book.

I am the Director of Education for the Foresight Nanotech Institute and the author of Technology Challenged: Understanding Our Creations & Choosing Our Future.

An Excellent Start
An excellent start to exploring the toxic facets of the world in which we live. Falls short in the resources column as it fails to mention the Feingold Allergy Program ([...]). Feingold has a fantastic program for helping people avoid the artificial preservatives, chemicals, fragrances and other such toxins that Dr. Rapp warns us about. Read the book, visit the Feingold website, and begin the journey to a healthier and more peaceful life.

Our Toxic World
Everyone should read this book. It will change your life and how you live, even where you live. Every product in this world will have an effect on one's health.