{"product_id":"book-aw18","title":"Toms River","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • \u003cb\u003eWinner of The New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award • “A new classic of science reporting.”—\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe riveting true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, \u003ci\u003eToms River\u003c\/i\u003e melds hard-hitting investigative reporting, a fascinating scientific detective story, and an unforgettable cast of characters into a sweeping narrative in the tradition of \u003ci\u003eA Civil Action, The Emperor of All Maladies, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA gripping human drama rooted in a centuries-old scientific quest, \u003ci\u003eToms River\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND \u003ci\u003eKIRKUS REVIEWS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“A thrilling journey full of twists and turns, \u003ci\u003eToms River\u003c\/i\u003e 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.”\u003cb\u003e—Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D., author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning \u003ci\u003eThe Emperor of All Maladies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A complex tale of powerful industry, local politics, water rights, epidemiology, public health and cancer in a gripping, page-turning environmental thriller.”\u003cb\u003e—NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Unstoppable reading.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Philadelphia Inquirer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Meticulously researched and compellingly recounted . . . It’s every bit as important—and as well-written—as \u003ci\u003eA Civil Action\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Star-Ledger\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Fascinating . . . a gripping environmental thriller.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “An honest, thoroughly researched, intelligently written book.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eSlate\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “[A] hard-hitting account . . . a triumph.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Absorbing and thoughtful.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49335654023472,"sku":"BDaw18","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/256489-aw18-Square.jpg?v=1733934851","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-aw18","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}