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The Blue Death: The Intriguing Past and Present Danger of the Water You Drink | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert D. Morris
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.80
You Save: $6.15 (41%)
New (36) Used (8) from $8.36
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 1204563
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.7
ISBN: 0060730900
Dewey Decimal Number: 500
EAN: 9780060730901
ASIN: 0060730900
Publication Date: August 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
p During a devastating nineteenth-century cholera outbreak, English physician John Snow proved that the deadly disease could hide in a drop of water. In the twentieth century, burgeoning cities would subdue cholera and typhoid by building massive filtration plants and bubbling poisonous gas through their drinking water. But in the new millennium, the demon of waterborne disease is threatening to reemerge, and the results could be catastrophic. /p p In this fascinating, sobering account, Dr. Robert Morris depicts the epidemics that have shaken nations, celebrates the scientists who reached into the invisible and ultimately saved millions of lives, and sounds a timely warning we dare not ignore about the natural and man-made hazards present in the water we drink. /p
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
An EXCELLENT Must Read For Anyone Who Drinks Water August 6, 2008
Joy Archer (Oro Valley, AZ)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The first section of this book reads like a mystery thriller only it was true of the situation in London just 100 years before most of us were born. The rampant use of denial, obfuscation, and just plain lies by the medical and political power base is amazing. That is "big egos running wild"! They expressed themselves or failed to express like the EPA at the expense of the health and lives of many people. The book "Reclaiming Our Health" by John Robbins, 1996, shows it is still going on today. Just take note of all the repeated ads for pharmaceuticals you don't need on the network news broadcasts each evening. Critical thinking is necessary to protect yourself and your loved ones. Dr. John Snow was a Master of critical thinking, a gift to the human race! I have read approximately 2 to 3 books a week all my adult life and seldom read fiction. The best books are often first mentioned in a book I read. Elizabeth Royte's excellent book "Bottlemania" tipped me off to this book. Both are must reads. As stated in Royte's book, "We can live without oil, but not clean water". br /Blessings on both authors and all their loved ones! They have served their fellow humans very well!
Engaging -- could not put the book down March 17, 2008
Youngcentralstation (Washington DC)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Engaging, enlightening -- could not put the book down. If you drink water you must educate yourself and read this book. Dr Morris weaves his points with medical research history and brings you to the present conclusion, our water is still not safe, millions still die each year from drinking it. His conclusions inspire you to do something about it locally and globally. Thank you for the references, too. I am inspired to read more about these topics and subtopics.
Needs more on the role of population in water problems January 7, 2008
Paula L. Craig (Falls Church, VA United States)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Robert Morris' book is great for anyone who is interested in issues of drinking water supply and safety. For that reason I give it five stars. br / br /I was puzzled by a major omission. Morris mentions repeatedly that population growth is straining the water supply. Why is there no follow-up on this? In the book's conclusion, Morris makes seven proposals to guard against present and future threats to safe drinking water. Population control does not even appear on the list. It should have been #1. Without population control, most of Morris' proposals either won't be possible or won't work to reduce the problem. If we don't take steps soon to stabilize world population, waterborne disease may well become one of the major Grim Reapers doing it for us. br / br /Morris also discusses how strained municipal and other local government resources are in the U.S., making it difficult to invest in necessary water infrastructure. I would like to point out that a major reason governments are so strained is that in the last few decades a huge percentage of local revenues has gone to automobile infrastructure--roads, highways, parking lots, and the like. America sooner or later needs to rethink its love affair with the automobile. For more on this, see Kunstler's book Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape and Shoup's book The High Cost of Free Parking.
Old microbe memories December 28, 2007
Eugene H. Primoff (Greensboro, MD USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've recently finished reading "The Blue Death" which highlights early stuggles against cholera. Throughout this gripping book, I felt a resonance with a book I read as a child in the early 1940's titled "Microbe Hunters" by Paul de Kruif. De Kruif's description of Pasteur's struggles with rabies was also compelling...and scary! His book sparked my early interest in science. Perhaps, Dr. Morris' book will do the same for today's young people.Gene Primoff
Book Review December 11, 2007
J. Ecklund (Olympia, Washington)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is a great read. It provides an interesting and exciting history of the search to find the cause of cholera. It then goes on to discuss the status of drinking water in the US up to the present. Dr. Morris provides science to the reader in the form of a fast moving novel. I would reccomend it to anyone. br / br /
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