Review by Choice Review
This is not science fiction; rather, it is a report on many frightening health problems that might result from multiple chemical exposures in the environment. Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), a highly debated issue in the medical and environmental health fields, is scrutinized under Radetsky's microscope. Radetsky detailed more than a dozen MCS cases that have arisen from various situations across the US. Approximately 30 experts were interviewed on different issues regarding MCS. Many theories on MCS, including parasites and allergies, autointoxication, mental disorder, "substance P," "limbic kindling," and so forth, which may or may not contradict one another, are compared and explained in an easy-to-understand manner. Radetsky also sheds light on the possible connections between MCS and the Gulf War syndrome. In spite of his viewpoint, which leans toward the validity of MCS and the work of environmental physicians, he provides arguments from the opposing side. To the professional environmental scientist, this book may seem simple and incomplete. Yet, this is not a research-level work, nor is it meant to be. Its strength is the clear, nonintimidating, and fascinating presentation of medical and environmental evidence. All levels. L.-J. Liu; University of South Carolina
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Of these two books on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), Kroll-Smith and Floyd's concentrates on the sociology of its subject and Radetsky's mostly on individual cases and the problems of living with MCS. Kroll-Smith and Floyd examine the struggle between, on the one hand, clinicians and researchers using scientific and medical languages, and on the other, MCS sufferers and their supporters, who have taken over those languages to make their cause socially acceptable. Some of this argument gets a little abstruse and repetitious, but the persistence and cleverness of MCS sufferers, who endure a condition that is more a mystery than a puzzle, is well illustrated. Radetsky presents the adjustments made by MCS sufferers, such as Helen Keplinger, an Environmental Protection Agency lawyer who worked in a "sick" building that she finally had to leave for a home office; Rick Kiessig, a computer software consultant who ran afoul of a pesticide and has had to chemical-proof his office; and others, including some who have tried living in "Ecology Houses" with porcelain interiors and high-tech filters in search of relief. Radetsky also discusses physicians Theron Randolph (the pioneer in the field), Bill Rea and John Selner and their Environmental Control Centers, and Doris Rapp and Claudia Miller; all of them work outside the boundaries of organized medicine, which doesn't accept MCS as either a disease or a syndrome. A study that Michel Joffres in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has started may, Radetsky hopes, eventually offer solid answers to the many questions about MCS. --William Beatty
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Cases of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), the terribly odd and tragically debilitating syndrome in which sufferers react as if they are allergic to virtually every aspect of modern life, from fresh paint to gasoline, are indisputably on the rise. Whether the illness is "real" or psychosomatic, however, remains a mystery. Radetsky (The Invisible Invaders) comes down solidly in favor of declaring MCS an organic disease. His argument is less than fully convincing, however, and he presents with little criticism the assertions of those who lucratively treat the afflicted alongside the claims of the sufferers themselves. Although the stories of the latter are often poignant, such anecdotes provide very little scientific insight into the nature of the problem itself. Radetsky's apparent lack of skepticism is a major flaw, and little is gained when advocates revel in the fact that virtually all their explanations of how the syndrome works fly in the face of orthodox understandings of human immunology and physiology. Although more research is called for by those who believe in the organic nature of MCS, few are actually undertaking any, while traditional studies calling MCS into question are here generally dismissed as flawed. Although credibility is further strained with lines such as "We know now that this problem is a big one, a bigger problem than AIDS, certainly," information useful to undiagnosed sufferers, including a list of treatment centers, is covered in the book. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), or EI (environmental illness), is a poorly understood phenomenon that has no scientifically accepted definition or treatment. However, one commonality among MCS sufferers is development of physical symptoms after exposure to chemical substances. As symptoms appear, sufferers can become hypersensitive to many everyday chemicals, such as perfume, household cleansers, and exhausts. Many self-help books address this medical mystery, including classics like Bonnye Matthews's Chemical Sensitivity (McFarland, 1992), Janice Stubbe Wittenberg's The Rebellious Body (LJ 11/1/96), and Sherry Rogers's Tired or Toxic? Of the two new additions to the field, Radetsky's book is the more comprehensive in terms of MCS case histories, the relationship of MCS to Gulf War syndrome, medicolegal difficulties in establishing MCS as a "real" disease entity, and the possible cause(s) of MCS. By contrast, Breaking Out of Environmental Illness is an account by two MCS sufferers who on their journey to find a cure find solace from a "great spiritual teacher and healer who has a deep connection to Earth and humanity." This book is interesting if not essential reading for people with MCS/EI, but Radetsky's book belongs on the shelf with established MCS works.Susan Maret, Auraria Lib., Univ. of Colorado, Denver (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An investigation into the phenomenon of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), a condition that, like chronic fatigue syndrome, is regarded with considerable skepticism by much of the mainstream medical community. Science writer Radetsky, a regular contributor to Discover magazine, interviewed sufferers, activists, so-called environmental physicians, and a variety of traditional medical specialists to probe the nature of this controversial new illness and how it's being treated. His depiction of the extreme steps taken by some to create safe, toxin-free environments for themselves--porcelain sleeping cubicles, aluminum-foil-lined rooms, water-filled moats--makes it easy to see why they have often been dismissed as obsessive, if not paranoid, hypochondriacs. While environmental physicians are convinced that MCS is a valid disease caused by exposure to chemicals in the environment, most conventional allergists see it as a psychological problem. Radetsky talks to a psychologist who treats it with traditional psychotherapy in combination with relaxation, feedback, and other approaches; an immunologist who sees it as the first symptom of serious autoimmune disorders, such as lupus; a pulmonary specialist who views it as a respiratory disorder; and a psychiatrist who hypothesizes that it is a physiological illness involving the brain's limbic system. While most MCS sufferers are white, middle-class, middle-aged women, Radetsky notes that Gulf War syndrome, whch has virtually identical symptoms, is overwhelmingly an affliction of young, active men, a fact that he feels may give MCS some credibility as a genuine disease. Needed now, he says, are controlled clinical studies to determine the cause of chemical sensitivity, plus some serious measures to clean up the environment. An appendix lists support groups, environmental consultants, and sources of safe products. MCS sufferers may see this as another Silent Spring, but the AMA will take more persuading. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
