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A review by kevin_shepherd
Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong by Paul A. Offit
3.0
Original Review, June 26, 2022:
I have fretted over this review for hours. I’ve written it and edited it and scrapped it and rewritten it and re-edited it and scrapped it again. It’s not that the book is particularly horrible or spectacularly great or overly complicated. In fact, my inability to churn out one of my patently lackluster critiques has very little to do with Pandora’s Lab and almost everything to do with me.
If you were to write about the medical malpractice and corporate greed that led up to the current opioid epidemic [as Paul Offit has done here], I would be right there with you. If you were to expound on the mountains of dietary misinformation concerning heart disease and its relationship to cholesterol and saturated fats [ibid], I would be on your side. If you were to correlate the historical atrocities of eugenics with Donald Trump’s condemnation of Mexican and Muslim immigration [ibid], I would most definitely sing your praises while simultaneously applauding your courage. But, criticize Silent Spring, the storied polemic that sparked worldwide environmental activism, and I will (I’ve learned) take an inordinate amount of umbrage and assume a posture of defensive hostility.
As much as I might want to deny it, I still have heroes. In baseball it’s Jackie Robinson. In American history it’s Thomas Paine. In music it’s Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone (I couldn’t narrow it down to just one). And in environmentalism it’s Rachel Carson. Attack the credibility of one of my heroes and you better have your facts straight. I take it personally.
In Pandora’s Lab, Paul A. Offit launches a full frontal assault on Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (ouch!). My knee jerk response was inordinately emotional and combative. The first review I wrote on Dr. Offit’s book was almost one thousand words, referenced five medical studies on the long term effects of pesticide DDT (and DDE) exposure, and was topped off with a vindictive rating of two stars. I just couldn’t bring myself, in good conscience, to post it. So, in the spirit of open-mindedness, I am willing to give Dr. Offit the benefit of doubt.
*This is me struggling desperately to practice what I preach and not draw conclusions without all the facts… BUT, I reserve the right to edit this review after I have (critically) read Carson’s book. For now, [26 June 2022] Pandora’s Lab gets four (tentative) stars.
__________________________________________
Update February 15, 2023
After reading Rachel Carson’s book and some associated studies I find myself questioning Offit’s reasoning concerning Silent Spring and its scientific value. I still have some further research to do, but for now I’m reducing my rating of Pandora’s Lab to three (tentative) stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1993459147
I have fretted over this review for hours. I’ve written it and edited it and scrapped it and rewritten it and re-edited it and scrapped it again. It’s not that the book is particularly horrible or spectacularly great or overly complicated. In fact, my inability to churn out one of my patently lackluster critiques has very little to do with Pandora’s Lab and almost everything to do with me.
If you were to write about the medical malpractice and corporate greed that led up to the current opioid epidemic [as Paul Offit has done here], I would be right there with you. If you were to expound on the mountains of dietary misinformation concerning heart disease and its relationship to cholesterol and saturated fats [ibid], I would be on your side. If you were to correlate the historical atrocities of eugenics with Donald Trump’s condemnation of Mexican and Muslim immigration [ibid], I would most definitely sing your praises while simultaneously applauding your courage. But, criticize Silent Spring, the storied polemic that sparked worldwide environmental activism, and I will (I’ve learned) take an inordinate amount of umbrage and assume a posture of defensive hostility.
As much as I might want to deny it, I still have heroes. In baseball it’s Jackie Robinson. In American history it’s Thomas Paine. In music it’s Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone (I couldn’t narrow it down to just one). And in environmentalism it’s Rachel Carson. Attack the credibility of one of my heroes and you better have your facts straight. I take it personally.
In Pandora’s Lab, Paul A. Offit launches a full frontal assault on Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (ouch!). My knee jerk response was inordinately emotional and combative. The first review I wrote on Dr. Offit’s book was almost one thousand words, referenced five medical studies on the long term effects of pesticide DDT (and DDE) exposure, and was topped off with a vindictive rating of two stars. I just couldn’t bring myself, in good conscience, to post it. So, in the spirit of open-mindedness, I am willing to give Dr. Offit the benefit of doubt.
*This is me struggling desperately to practice what I preach and not draw conclusions without all the facts… BUT, I reserve the right to edit this review after I have (critically) read Carson’s book. For now, [26 June 2022] Pandora’s Lab gets four (tentative) stars.
__________________________________________
Update February 15, 2023
After reading Rachel Carson’s book and some associated studies I find myself questioning Offit’s reasoning concerning Silent Spring and its scientific value. I still have some further research to do, but for now I’m reducing my rating of Pandora’s Lab to three (tentative) stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1993459147