Review by Choice Review
The objective of this well-researched and well-documented book is to alarm readers and to move citizens and decision-makers to action. "Green" and "organic" advocates will love it. Levine (emer., Univ. of Maryland) describes practically everything negative that pesticides are capable of doing, whether on farms, at home, or in schools. With just eight pages, the final chapter on remedies and reflections is far too lean. After all, the book's thrust is on seeding fears and concerns. A critical reader will soon notice the many hypothetical "may" statements, and recognize the emphasis on conjectured potential damage, along with unreasonable toxicological extrapolations (from mice to men). What the book lacks is a display of pesticides' benefits and scenarios of life without them. To balance this book's point of view, any reading list that includes it should offer counterparts that discuss the considerable evidence concerning pesticides' benefits worldwide in public health and food and fiber production. This book will have served its purpose if it prompts readers to further examine pesticides closely, and to use them judiciously. Humankind has invented and embraced this type of technology and must use it wisely, in the same way it makes use of household tools, vehicles, and medications. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels. M. Kroger emeritus, Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
