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The breath of life
346
Book Reviews
reviews have been uniformly favorable and English reviews equally uniformly the opposite. I shall be looking forward to the day when Dr. Lawther can provide us with a scientific treatise meeting his own high standards on the subject. J.P.L. TXZERE were a number of books on air pollution and allled subjects published in the United States in 1965. Their sheer quantity must have impressed upon the general public that a serious problem existed. As scientists engaged in air pollution research, I fml that it should kr part of our function to check that such publications do in fact present to the public a balanced wount of the subject without serious errors of fact and without allowing the problem to be presented in an hysterical or biased manner. For this reason I embarked upon the somewhat herculean task of reading five of these books. Three of these: (1) Clean the Air. Ar_tmrmLswrs. McGraw-Hill, New York. 96 pp. Over 40 good illustrations. $3.50. (2) C&J&in our Cities. LawIs J~ERBER. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey. 239 pp. About 20 diagrams and plates. $5.95. (3) The Breath of Life. DONALD E. CARR.W. W. Norton, New York, 175 pp. No illustrations. $3.95. were, I think intended for general, non-specialist readers. Taking these in turn: Clean the Air-apart from one serious error, in the diagram illustrating the effect of an inversion, in which the smog stopped half-way up the “cold air” instead of at the inversion, appeared to be a reasonably accurate and readable account of the problem. It mentioned most of the “musts” in any popnlar air pollution book. The Meuse disaster Donora Los Angeles Smog Poza Rica Yokohama Asthma London, 1952. It mentioned the New York Iadies whose nylons disintegrated, the erosion of the Parthenon, emphysema, bronchitis, cancer, and eye irritation. It suggested solutions in atomic energy, batteries and fuel cells for urban traflic, quicker public transport, solar energy, tidal energy. The book is well illustrated, easy to read and suitable for anyone who has a marginal interest in the subject, and does not particularly wish to pursue it further, or be burdened with too many figures. There is no bibliography but a good index and of all the books is probably the best “child guide”. One other complaint : the author appears on the dust jacket, pipe in mouth. As a non-smoker, who has been downwind of pipe smokers, I cannot really regard any of that breed as a serious campaigner for purer air. Crlsls in our Cltlee-includes a wider range of subjects, including water pollution and the physical and emotional stresses of urban living. It provides more in the way of statistics and a bibliography. In air pollution it covers a slightly wider range of topics than (I), e.g. hepatitis, laryngitis, but omitted mention of Poza Rica. On the whole it is to be recommended rather for someone with a potential active interest in the problems of urban life. It is well i&&rated but considerably dearer than (1). The Breath of L&--ii rather more ambitious than (1) and (2) in the air pollution field, but remains low priced, due to the complete absence of illustrations. It must therefore be regarded as aimed at the more seriously interested section of the public. It has an extensive bibliography, but no index, which is rather irritating. Some of the chapter headings seem to fall into the trap that one must try to amuse, even when dealing with serious or maybe tragic subjects, The author is critical of present proposals for reducing vehicle pollution and champions electrical cars and fuel cells. The two books which aim to be more specialixed in this appeal are: (4) W&b Every Breath you Take. HowR. LEWE?.Crown, New York. 322 pp. About 30 #ustratiolls, $5.00. (5) Our Pofaanad l&rfh and Sky. J. I. RODALA?and Staff. Rodale Books, Emmaus, Pa. 735 pp. No illustrations. $7.95.
Book&views
347
W&h Em Breath yeu ‘ibke-is probably b#t meer%d as introductory E.sdiag for the serious smdent of air auction and it includesnotes on each of the chapters,a ~~~~P~ and index, There we one 0~ two odd statements,e.g. p. 12: ‘The rain evaporated even beGoreleaving the cloud”, but on the whole the book appearsmmonably sound and covers the chemical engineeringand medical asptcts of the problemin great detail.fprobably too great detail for the reader with sttpergcial interests,}7he price(for the size of book) has been kept low by a rather moderate quality of reproduction, but this is not bad enough to detract greatly from the ~dou~~ value of the book. Om P&amedEarthad Sky-cmers a wider tleld thau air pollution and points out the actual or feareddeleteriouseffectsof almost any additionto food, air or water and of any emission of radiation, gas, or particulatemate&l to the atmosphere. One feels that the authors may do the ~doubt~y just cause which they lapis so parody some harm by the very extent of their vGg%nce After all, fireengines and ambulanom kill, but one does not seriouslysuggest they be scrapped.The book is valuable in that it doespin-point potential hezerrdswherever they exist, but they should cry %mb“ occasionally.It is by no means light reading but has value as a work of referenceand is a mr& for the crusader, but will, Efear, provide valuabIe apron for the cranks. One ~~~ feature of all the books seems to be a tendency to regard total rate of emission of Mouton as being the enemy, rather than the ~~~ti~ of pollutant produced where the air is to be breathed or een have other harmful &ecus. There is a grave danger that an unM emphasis on “total emission” could in fact cause Prolongedsuiferingin many areas heavily a%cted by domestic pollution.If the fever from (say] coal-gred domestic heating to electricitywere made uneconomic bemuse of excessive attention to pollution removal equipment or excessively tall stacks, to reduce caution levels allay well below those alreadyexktingfrom domestic sources,then these higherpollution levels would continue, The crusaders would have slain the big plant dragon and left the maiden to suffocate in her own emissions. In conclusion, the order in which I have reviewed the books (1) to (4) representstheiracademic weight, ranging from early bi&h school to around graduate. All are worth reading at their own Ievel. (5) is primarily a work of reference. DJM.
Book Reviews
reviews have been uniformly favorable and English reviews equally uniformly the opposite. I shall be looking forward to the day when Dr. Lawther can provide us with a scientific treatise meeting his own high standards on the subject. J.P.L. TXZERE were a number of books on air pollution and allled subjects published in the United States in 1965. Their sheer quantity must have impressed upon the general public that a serious problem existed. As scientists engaged in air pollution research, I fml that it should kr part of our function to check that such publications do in fact present to the public a balanced wount of the subject without serious errors of fact and without allowing the problem to be presented in an hysterical or biased manner. For this reason I embarked upon the somewhat herculean task of reading five of these books. Three of these: (1) Clean the Air. Ar_tmrmLswrs. McGraw-Hill, New York. 96 pp. Over 40 good illustrations. $3.50. (2) C&J&in our Cities. LawIs J~ERBER. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey. 239 pp. About 20 diagrams and plates. $5.95. (3) The Breath of Life. DONALD E. CARR.W. W. Norton, New York, 175 pp. No illustrations. $3.95. were, I think intended for general, non-specialist readers. Taking these in turn: Clean the Air-apart from one serious error, in the diagram illustrating the effect of an inversion, in which the smog stopped half-way up the “cold air” instead of at the inversion, appeared to be a reasonably accurate and readable account of the problem. It mentioned most of the “musts” in any popnlar air pollution book. The Meuse disaster Donora Los Angeles Smog Poza Rica Yokohama Asthma London, 1952. It mentioned the New York Iadies whose nylons disintegrated, the erosion of the Parthenon, emphysema, bronchitis, cancer, and eye irritation. It suggested solutions in atomic energy, batteries and fuel cells for urban traflic, quicker public transport, solar energy, tidal energy. The book is well illustrated, easy to read and suitable for anyone who has a marginal interest in the subject, and does not particularly wish to pursue it further, or be burdened with too many figures. There is no bibliography but a good index and of all the books is probably the best “child guide”. One other complaint : the author appears on the dust jacket, pipe in mouth. As a non-smoker, who has been downwind of pipe smokers, I cannot really regard any of that breed as a serious campaigner for purer air. Crlsls in our Cltlee-includes a wider range of subjects, including water pollution and the physical and emotional stresses of urban living. It provides more in the way of statistics and a bibliography. In air pollution it covers a slightly wider range of topics than (I), e.g. hepatitis, laryngitis, but omitted mention of Poza Rica. On the whole it is to be recommended rather for someone with a potential active interest in the problems of urban life. It is well i&&rated but considerably dearer than (1). The Breath of L&--ii rather more ambitious than (1) and (2) in the air pollution field, but remains low priced, due to the complete absence of illustrations. It must therefore be regarded as aimed at the more seriously interested section of the public. It has an extensive bibliography, but no index, which is rather irritating. Some of the chapter headings seem to fall into the trap that one must try to amuse, even when dealing with serious or maybe tragic subjects, The author is critical of present proposals for reducing vehicle pollution and champions electrical cars and fuel cells. The two books which aim to be more specialixed in this appeal are: (4) W&b Every Breath you Take. HowR. LEWE?.Crown, New York. 322 pp. About 30 #ustratiolls, $5.00. (5) Our Pofaanad l&rfh and Sky. J. I. RODALA?and Staff. Rodale Books, Emmaus, Pa. 735 pp. No illustrations. $7.95.
Book&views
347
W&h Em Breath yeu ‘ibke-is probably b#t meer%d as introductory E.sdiag for the serious smdent of air auction and it includesnotes on each of the chapters,a ~~~~P~ and index, There we one 0~ two odd statements,e.g. p. 12: ‘The rain evaporated even beGoreleaving the cloud”, but on the whole the book appearsmmonably sound and covers the chemical engineeringand medical asptcts of the problemin great detail.fprobably too great detail for the reader with sttpergcial interests,}7he price(for the size of book) has been kept low by a rather moderate quality of reproduction, but this is not bad enough to detract greatly from the ~dou~~ value of the book. Om P&amedEarthad Sky-cmers a wider tleld thau air pollution and points out the actual or feareddeleteriouseffectsof almost any additionto food, air or water and of any emission of radiation, gas, or particulatemate&l to the atmosphere. One feels that the authors may do the ~doubt~y just cause which they lapis so parody some harm by the very extent of their vGg%nce After all, fireengines and ambulanom kill, but one does not seriouslysuggest they be scrapped.The book is valuable in that it doespin-point potential hezerrdswherever they exist, but they should cry %mb“ occasionally.It is by no means light reading but has value as a work of referenceand is a mr& for the crusader, but will, Efear, provide valuabIe apron for the cranks. One ~~~ feature of all the books seems to be a tendency to regard total rate of emission of Mouton as being the enemy, rather than the ~~~ti~ of pollutant produced where the air is to be breathed or een have other harmful &ecus. There is a grave danger that an unM emphasis on “total emission” could in fact cause Prolongedsuiferingin many areas heavily a%cted by domestic pollution.If the fever from (say] coal-gred domestic heating to electricitywere made uneconomic bemuse of excessive attention to pollution removal equipment or excessively tall stacks, to reduce caution levels allay well below those alreadyexktingfrom domestic sources,then these higherpollution levels would continue, The crusaders would have slain the big plant dragon and left the maiden to suffocate in her own emissions. In conclusion, the order in which I have reviewed the books (1) to (4) representstheiracademic weight, ranging from early bi&h school to around graduate. All are worth reading at their own Ievel. (5) is primarily a work of reference. DJM.