Synopsis
This title explores the explosion in environmental allergies--from sick buildings to multiple-chemical sensitivity.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1997-07-01 | | Editor: | Bill Phillips |
| Size | | Length: | 264 pages | | Height: | 9.8 in | | Width: | 6.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 16.8 oz |
Publisher's Note
The author of The Invisible Invaders discusses the causes and controversies surrounding Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), some form of which affects more than 2.5 million Americans, examining the history and spread of this new disease. 35,000 first printing. Tour.
Industry Reviews
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), or EI (environmental illness), is a poorly understood phenomenon that has no scientifically accepted definition or treatment. However, one commonality among MCS sufferers is development of physical symptoms after exposure to chemical substances. As symptoms appear, sufferers can become hypersensitive to many everyday chemicals, such as perfume, household cleansers, and exhausts. Many self-help books address this medical mystery, including classics like Bonnye Matthews's Chemical Sensitivity (McFarland, 1992), Janice Stubbe Wittenberg's The Rebellious Body (LJ 11/1/96), and Sherry Rogers's Tired or Toxic? Of the two new additions to the field, Radetsky's book is the more comprehensive in terms of MCS case histories, the relationship of MCS to Gulf War syndrome, medicolegal difficulties in establishing MCS as a "real" disease entity, and the possible cause(s) of MCS. By contrast, Breaking Out of Environmental Illness is an account by two MCS sufferers who on their journey to find a cure find solace from a "great spiritual teacher and healer who has a deep connection to Earth and humanity." This book is interesting if not essential reading for people with MCS/EI, but Radetsky's book belongs on the shelf with established MCS works. Susan Maret, Auraria Lib., Univ. of Colorado, Denver
Trelease
Cases of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), the terribly odd and tragically debilitating syndrome in which sufferers react as if they are allergic to virtually every aspect of modern life, from fresh paint to gasoline, are indisputably on the rise. Whether the illness is "real" or psychosomatic, however, remains a mystery. Radetsky (The Invisible Invaders) comes down solidly in favor of declaring MCS an organic disease. His argument is less than fully convincing, however, and he presents with little criticism the assertions of those who lucratively treat the afflicted alongside the claims of the sufferers themselves. Although the stories of the latter are often poignant, such anecdotes provide very little scientific insight into the nature of the problem itself. Radetsky's apparent lack of skepticism is a major flaw, and little is gained when advocates revel in the fact that virtually all their explanations of how the syndrome works fly in the face of orthodox understandings of human immunology and physiology. Although more research is called for by those who believe in the organic nature of MCS, few are actually undertaking any, while traditional studies calling MCS into question are here generally dismissed as flawed. Although credibility is further strained with lines such as "We know now that this problem is a big one, a bigger problem than AIDS, certainly," information useful to undiagnosed sufferers, including a list of treatment centers, is covered in the book. (July)
Bernstein
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