Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, ... (ISBN 0452274141)

Riviting & Deeply Disturbing:
The inside cover of Our Stolen Future says: "...by two leading environmental scientists and an environmental journalist, is the first book to piece together the compelling evidence from wildlife studies, laboratory experiments, and human data and to lay out the emerging scientific case regarding this largely unrecognized threat. Picking up where Silent Spring left off, it reveals the underlying causes of the symptoms that had so alarmed Carson." In this book, I got a look at the role that certain chemicals that have been put out into the environment since the 1950's might be affecting plants and animals, including human beings, specifically as "endocrine disruptors" and "hormone imposters." I know there has been some review of Our Stolen Future that call into question the validity of the study that the core ideas in this book are built upon...I honestly don't know enough about the subject to make my own decision about that, YET. What I can say, is based on previous reading on loosely related subjects (The Crazy Makers, Eat Here, The Omnivores Dilemma), is that I believe that this is entirely possible and if so, it is also deeply disturbing. I did enjoy reading it, though it took me six days to work my way through it because it is fact intensive and books of this nature are, for me, harder to absorb in general (compared to fiction). The information contained here is both enlightening and disturbing...ranging from problems like decreased sperm count and motility in males over the last thirty years, to birth defects, sexual abnormalities, reproductive/fertility issues, the increase of certain types of cancer, and even touching on aggression, attention deficit disorders, and similar concerns. I am glad to have read this one and will read more on the subject to gain a great understanding of the issues touched on in Our Stolen Future. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

scary:
this book is a narrative of science, outlining cases that aim to prove that humans are introducing harmful chemicals into the environment. what is scary about these chemicals are that the effects are subtle and have gradually emerged over time to cause damage to species ability to reproduce. endocrine disruptors come from all kinds of different sources and many have yet to be identified, let alone their exact function. this book promotes awareness and hopes to spur people into action. what is postulated in this book is quite scary indeed. recommended reading for all concerned citizens of the earth

Well written and packed with information:
Great credit needs to be given to Dianne Dumanoski, the writer who teamed up with researchers Colborn and Myers to produce this very readable warning to all of us. Research information can easily bog a reader down but this book keeps moving with revelation after revelation. I kept running to my PC to check for later information on the studies covered in this book (written in 1997) and I found nothing to refute the central claim that we are "flying blind" by releasing thousands of chemical formulations annually without knowing what the results will be in the wild. Once released, many chemicals have very long lives and several accumulate in our bodies to be handed on through a mother's milk to the next generation, with a likelihood that fetal development is affected and with it the future...a future that is being stolen in this way. The reader is never left confused. The book starts with a clear and simple explanation of the power of hormones and the way they work within our bodies (and those of other animals). Then we move through accounts of troubles in the natural world and the link they may have with hormone disruption either by enhancement or blocking. No wild claims are made, instead a case is made with reasonable hypotheses given in each instance as we move through what the cover rightly says is a scientific detective story. Ignorance can hurt us and humanity has a track record of ignorance resulting in damage (think CFC's, lead, DDT, Thalidomide). Profit is a powerful incentive to minimize risks and the chemical industry is a very very big business so we must be extremely vigilant for our own good. This book provides a public service to us all.

Very important Read:
This was a great read, there was just so much information that I was ignorant of. After reading this book many of the choices I make in my day to day life have been improved. Everyone should read this book. Perhaps if we can change and simplify the way we live there will be less demand for all those chemicals that are currently playing havoc with our lives.

More info just out:
A new report just out Dec. 8, 2008, by Britain's ChemTrust, reports and summarizes findings from studies from over 200 environmental scientists that have found 'gender-bender' reproduction abnormalities and lowered sperm counts in species that include, deer, polar bears--and human babies. These scientists now say the findings "are a red flag" for humanity and show that evolution itself is being disrupted. Our Stolen Future was written over 10 years ago. Today these new studies support and expand upon the book's premise. The book gave us an early warning--too bad we ignored it. Looks as though rapidly dropping sperm counts and human penis abnormalities are putting humans on the endangered species list on the road to extinction. Better living through chemistry? I think not. Sad to say, just the opposite. Guess the de-bunkers can dismiss this one book, but what about the findings of the other 200-plus distinguished scientists??