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American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice
From the national bestselling author of The Food Explorer comes the untold story of Alice Hamilton, a trailblazing doctor and public health activist who took on the booming auto industry—and the deadly invention of leaded gasoline, which would poison millions of people across America.
At noon on October 27, 1924, a factory worker was admitted to a hospital in New York City, suffering from hallucinations and convulsions. Before breakfast the next day, he was dead. Alice Hamilton was determined to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
By the time of the accident, Hamilton had pioneered the field of industrial medicine in the United States. She specialized in workplace safety years before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created. She was the first female professor at Harvard. She spent decades inspecting factories and mines. But this time, she was up against a formidable new America’s relentless push for progress, regardless of the cost.
The 1920s were an exciting decade. Industry was booming. Labor was flourishing. Automobiles were changing roads, cities, and nearly all parts of American life. And one day, an ambitious scientist named Thomas Midgley Jr. triumphantly found just the right chemical to ensure that this boom would continue. His discovery—tetraethyl leaded gasoline—set him up for great wealth and the sort of fame that would land his name in history books.
Soon, Hamilton would be on a collision course with Midgley, fighting full force against his invention, which poisoned the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the basic structure of our brains.
American Poison is the gripping story of Hamilton’s unsung battle for a healthy planet—and the ramifications that continue to echo today.
At noon on October 27, 1924, a factory worker was admitted to a hospital in New York City, suffering from hallucinations and convulsions. Before breakfast the next day, he was dead. Alice Hamilton was determined to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
By the time of the accident, Hamilton had pioneered the field of industrial medicine in the United States. She specialized in workplace safety years before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created. She was the first female professor at Harvard. She spent decades inspecting factories and mines. But this time, she was up against a formidable new America’s relentless push for progress, regardless of the cost.
The 1920s were an exciting decade. Industry was booming. Labor was flourishing. Automobiles were changing roads, cities, and nearly all parts of American life. And one day, an ambitious scientist named Thomas Midgley Jr. triumphantly found just the right chemical to ensure that this boom would continue. His discovery—tetraethyl leaded gasoline—set him up for great wealth and the sort of fame that would land his name in history books.
Soon, Hamilton would be on a collision course with Midgley, fighting full force against his invention, which poisoned the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the basic structure of our brains.
American Poison is the gripping story of Hamilton’s unsung battle for a healthy planet—and the ramifications that continue to echo today.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published February 18, 2025
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December 22, 2024
You need to be careful what you say is going to be in your story. In the case of American Poison by Daniel Stone, we have another book where the book blurb promises something it does not deliver.
The specific problem is that of Alice Hamilton. To be clear, Alice Hamilton is a fascinating person who deserves a book dedicated to her life. However, this book is about the environmental problem of the creation of tetraethyl leaded gasoline by Thomas Midgely Jr. Midgely was trying to figure out how to make gasoline less noisy in a car engine and more effective. He succeeded in both cases while also succeeding in accidental poisoning workers and the overall population along the way.
The blurb for the book promises some sort of reckoning with Hamilton leading the charge. This never happens. Hamilton is known for a lot of things, but she was not nearly as instrumental in this story as suggested. Stone does not go deep enough into any of the characters in this book including Hamilton. Stone gives some interesting tidbits but never fully fleshes out his characters. I think when a book details a person well, then you can picture what they would be like if they sat down to have a drink with you. I never felt like I understood Hamilton based on the information in this book which could often be conflicting. There is also not enough in the narrative about this specific episode to justify Hamilton's inclusion and that leaves the subtitle of "A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice" feeling like a big stretch.
Where Stone does shine though is the science sections. You can feel Stone getting excited in these passages to explain internal combustion edges and chemistry. These sections are easy to read and very insightful. A more focused narrative without extraneous matter could have been very compelling.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton.)
The specific problem is that of Alice Hamilton. To be clear, Alice Hamilton is a fascinating person who deserves a book dedicated to her life. However, this book is about the environmental problem of the creation of tetraethyl leaded gasoline by Thomas Midgely Jr. Midgely was trying to figure out how to make gasoline less noisy in a car engine and more effective. He succeeded in both cases while also succeeding in accidental poisoning workers and the overall population along the way.
The blurb for the book promises some sort of reckoning with Hamilton leading the charge. This never happens. Hamilton is known for a lot of things, but she was not nearly as instrumental in this story as suggested. Stone does not go deep enough into any of the characters in this book including Hamilton. Stone gives some interesting tidbits but never fully fleshes out his characters. I think when a book details a person well, then you can picture what they would be like if they sat down to have a drink with you. I never felt like I understood Hamilton based on the information in this book which could often be conflicting. There is also not enough in the narrative about this specific episode to justify Hamilton's inclusion and that leaves the subtitle of "A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice" feeling like a big stretch.
Where Stone does shine though is the science sections. You can feel Stone getting excited in these passages to explain internal combustion edges and chemistry. These sections are easy to read and very insightful. A more focused narrative without extraneous matter could have been very compelling.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton.)
November 12, 2024
Gifted 🎁 💝 copy from the publisher DuttonBooks, thanks! :)
All my opinions are my own.
----
Once again life stuff gets in the way (mostly mentally) but I was really enjoying so it was all good.
This woman should be more well known..humble, intelligent, stubborn.. the type of person that doesn't make a big deal about herself and is just concerned with her work and making things safer for everyone.
I was disgusted and pissed but not surprised at the lengths these companies and people would go to blast through the naysayers and keep their product going, even after they knew it was dangerous (think some did some major mental gymnastics to justify it for themselves).
Is it bad that I have not much sympathy for these guys when they got sick?
Alice was ahead of her time in many ways, courageous as well. She's someone I would have loved to know.
Hopefully more people will be inspired to learn more her and her work with book out in the world 🌎.
I was shocked how long this gasoline with lead was around, and how "late" in the decades.. and the impact to the environment, oh man :(.
The author writes ✍️ everything wonderfully, really brings you into the story.. you feel like you got to know the people involved very well.
Would recommend 👌! Gonna looking his other books to add to my wishlist for xmas 🎄 ideas.
All my opinions are my own.
----
Once again life stuff gets in the way (mostly mentally) but I was really enjoying so it was all good.
This woman should be more well known..humble, intelligent, stubborn.. the type of person that doesn't make a big deal about herself and is just concerned with her work and making things safer for everyone.
I was disgusted and pissed but not surprised at the lengths these companies and people would go to blast through the naysayers and keep their product going, even after they knew it was dangerous (think some did some major mental gymnastics to justify it for themselves).
Is it bad that I have not much sympathy for these guys when they got sick?
Alice was ahead of her time in many ways, courageous as well. She's someone I would have loved to know.
Hopefully more people will be inspired to learn more her and her work with book out in the world 🌎.
I was shocked how long this gasoline with lead was around, and how "late" in the decades.. and the impact to the environment, oh man :(.
The author writes ✍️ everything wonderfully, really brings you into the story.. you feel like you got to know the people involved very well.
Would recommend 👌! Gonna looking his other books to add to my wishlist for xmas 🎄 ideas.
June 16, 2025
Daniel Stone is an American historian and author; in his 2025 book American Poison, he weaves together multiple stories -- how leaded gasoline (sold by the Ethyl Corporation as tetraethyl lead) was developed and marketed, how little focus on worker protection and environmental safety there was in the early 20th century compared to now, how leaded gasoline fell out of favor as the detrimental effects of lead on human health and the environment were discovered and publicly accepted, and how trailblazing female physician and pioneer of the field of occupational health Alice Hamilton (1869-1970) was involved in all of this. It took a while for me to get into this book due to the extensive work Stone did to set the scene, so I definitely enjoyed the second half more than the first.
Further reading:
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Deborah Blum
What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha
Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims by Jennifer Vanderbes
My statistics:
Book 180 for 2025
Book 2106 cumulatively
Further reading:
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Deborah Blum
What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha
Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims by Jennifer Vanderbes
My statistics:
Book 180 for 2025
Book 2106 cumulatively
February 9, 2025
My passion for history didn’t come alive until undergrad and it was women in the Progressive Era that first drew me in. So when I saw the title of Daniel Stone’s most recent work, I knew it would be right up my alley. In American Poison, Stone explores the conflict of technological progress v. impacts on humanity and the perpetual debate over the role of government. I was engrossed with the historical context provided in Part 1. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Alice Hamilton. As a Hull House resident, first female Harvard Professor, and environmental advocate, Hamilton dedicated her life to doing her part to make the world better. As she studied toxicity of industrial chemicals, she became a leading expert in the field in spite of the obstacles she faced as a result of her gender. Hamilton and others face off with industrial giants including General Motors and Ethyl Corporation to convince Congress to ban leaded gasoline before the devastating impacts of lead poisoning become widespread. Unfortunately, there are far too many examples of modern relevance, but Stone’s final thoughts leave readers hopeful and significantly more aware of the ins and outs of the difficulties in fighting against big business in a capitalist economy. I recommend Stone’s American Poison to those interested in the history of environmental activism and women’s stories.
I am grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Daniel Stone’s American Poison.
I am grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Daniel Stone’s American Poison.
October 25, 2024
The titular woman who battled for environmental justice is the heroic Alice Hamilton, who for decades in the 20th century fought companies who thought nothing of poisoning their own workers, and also the rest of us, if it meant a healthy bottom line. Hamilton also dealt with routine male condescension and sexism. Oh, and the polluting companies also lied, bullied, and sued anyone who tried to stop them.
Hamilton is a person who did great work and seemed almost completely unburdened by the urge for personal advancement or even recognition. She worked tirelessly for admirable ends and seemed to have no colorful bad habits. So, sorry, but: she’s really not so interesting to read about. What this book needed to be more compelling is a very conceited, really awful, completely disgraceful villain. Luckily, it has one.
His name is Thomas Midgley.
When the 20th century ended, so, I once thought, had the competition for worst human being in that century also concluded, with the usual big names (Hitler, Stalin, etc.) in the top slots. However, recently, I perceive, the contest has reopened as the full consequences of the actions of Thomas Midgley become clearer.
To relieve any suspense you may be feeling at this moment, I will now clearly state the reason that Midgley, a mechanical engineer by training, has acquired infamy now, sixty years after his death. It is because he is responsible for the development of leaded gasoline (covered extensively in this book) and Chlorofluorocarbons (mentioned but not a major part of the narrative). Their use is now banned due to the negative effects on, respectively, human health and the environment.
Actually, the development of these noxious substances is not the worst part of the Midgley legacy. Anyone can make colossal mistakes and it was difficult to predict the long term effects of any activity at the outset. The really evil part is the full-throated participation by Midgley and allies in the legal counter-attacks, spin-doctoring, and public-relations blitzes that plagued the lives of the experts who correctly predicted the dire evil consequences of exposure to Midgley’s inventions, often long after reasonable people had ceased to have any doubt about the harm that was being done.
I recommend this book for its well-researched and almost gleeful recounting of the awfulness of Midgley and his allies, but if you want to learn more immediately, there are two excellent essays on the internet on this same topic, by science writer Steven Johnson, author of Ghost Map and other works. Find Johnson's article from the New York Times here (if you are not thwarted by the NYT's paywall) and a related (and complete unpaywalled) article from Johnson’s Substack here.
Perhaps the renewed enthusiasm for vilifying Midgley’s memory is due to the fact that last year (2023) was the 100th anniversary of the widespread introduction of leaded gasoline into the environment (as an answer to the problem of “engine knock”). No matter the reason for the renewed interest, not only is Midgley the target of opprobrium now on new and legacy media, but there apparently is “a new tragedy meets dark comedy film” in development about the life and works of Midgley by a writer and producer responsible for the TV series “Boardwalk Empire” and the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, working together with Leonardo DiCaprio's film production company Appian Way Productions.
I apologize for dwelling so much on Midgley in a book which wants very badly to highlight the tireless and often thankless efforts of Alice Hamiltion and allies to make the world a liveable place for the rest of us.
It's just that – as anyone who had to read “Paradise Lost” in school knows – sometimes the Devil is the best character.
I received a free electronic copy of this book in advance of publication for review. Thanks to publisher Penguin Random House and Netgalley for making this possible.
Hamilton is a person who did great work and seemed almost completely unburdened by the urge for personal advancement or even recognition. She worked tirelessly for admirable ends and seemed to have no colorful bad habits. So, sorry, but: she’s really not so interesting to read about. What this book needed to be more compelling is a very conceited, really awful, completely disgraceful villain. Luckily, it has one.
His name is Thomas Midgley.
When the 20th century ended, so, I once thought, had the competition for worst human being in that century also concluded, with the usual big names (Hitler, Stalin, etc.) in the top slots. However, recently, I perceive, the contest has reopened as the full consequences of the actions of Thomas Midgley become clearer.
To relieve any suspense you may be feeling at this moment, I will now clearly state the reason that Midgley, a mechanical engineer by training, has acquired infamy now, sixty years after his death. It is because he is responsible for the development of leaded gasoline (covered extensively in this book) and Chlorofluorocarbons (mentioned but not a major part of the narrative). Their use is now banned due to the negative effects on, respectively, human health and the environment.
Actually, the development of these noxious substances is not the worst part of the Midgley legacy. Anyone can make colossal mistakes and it was difficult to predict the long term effects of any activity at the outset. The really evil part is the full-throated participation by Midgley and allies in the legal counter-attacks, spin-doctoring, and public-relations blitzes that plagued the lives of the experts who correctly predicted the dire evil consequences of exposure to Midgley’s inventions, often long after reasonable people had ceased to have any doubt about the harm that was being done.
I recommend this book for its well-researched and almost gleeful recounting of the awfulness of Midgley and his allies, but if you want to learn more immediately, there are two excellent essays on the internet on this same topic, by science writer Steven Johnson, author of Ghost Map and other works. Find Johnson's article from the New York Times here (if you are not thwarted by the NYT's paywall) and a related (and complete unpaywalled) article from Johnson’s Substack here.
Perhaps the renewed enthusiasm for vilifying Midgley’s memory is due to the fact that last year (2023) was the 100th anniversary of the widespread introduction of leaded gasoline into the environment (as an answer to the problem of “engine knock”). No matter the reason for the renewed interest, not only is Midgley the target of opprobrium now on new and legacy media, but there apparently is “a new tragedy meets dark comedy film” in development about the life and works of Midgley by a writer and producer responsible for the TV series “Boardwalk Empire” and the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, working together with Leonardo DiCaprio's film production company Appian Way Productions.
I apologize for dwelling so much on Midgley in a book which wants very badly to highlight the tireless and often thankless efforts of Alice Hamiltion and allies to make the world a liveable place for the rest of us.
It's just that – as anyone who had to read “Paradise Lost” in school knows – sometimes the Devil is the best character.
I received a free electronic copy of this book in advance of publication for review. Thanks to publisher Penguin Random House and Netgalley for making this possible.
June 15, 2025
Alice Hamilton was born in New York in 1869. She attended Miss Porter's Finishing School for Young Ladies and then studied science with a high school teacher in Fort Wayne and anatomy at Fort Wayne College of Medicine for a year before enrolling at the University of Michigan Medical School in 1892. In 1895, she studied bacteriology. Hamilton was a tireless worker in industrial hygiene and safety. Her findings compelled lawmakers to pass laws that promoted safety for both workers and the public at large. After her death in 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act to improve workplace safety in the United States.
I found the content of this book on lead poisoning to be particularly interesting. I was just discussing with a coworker the other day about an area of the city we live in being a former EPA Superfund site due to lead and other contamination from a foundry that was formerly located there. There are limits to the amount of fish you can consume per year from our river (we sit between nuclear power plants and downriver from others) due to heavy metals. I didn't realize that this book would discuss lead poisoning, it was just next on my list of unread Audible books. It had a tremendous amount of information about lead and other elements of industrial manufacturing. I thought this was a really wonderful and educational book.
I found the content of this book on lead poisoning to be particularly interesting. I was just discussing with a coworker the other day about an area of the city we live in being a former EPA Superfund site due to lead and other contamination from a foundry that was formerly located there. There are limits to the amount of fish you can consume per year from our river (we sit between nuclear power plants and downriver from others) due to heavy metals. I didn't realize that this book would discuss lead poisoning, it was just next on my list of unread Audible books. It had a tremendous amount of information about lead and other elements of industrial manufacturing. I thought this was a really wonderful and educational book.
April 6, 2025
A phenomenal book. This books provides an extensive biography of Alice Hamilton, a woman who few people knew about, who was a doctor in the 1920's and began warnings of lead in leaded gasoline, known as Ethyl. Lead is poisonous and Alive Hamilton took on the giant companies who produced the poisonous gasoline.
Alice Hamilton lived to be 101. In 2021, leaded gasoline was finally banned throughout the world. It had been banned in many countries prior to 2021.
Corporate greed kept companies producing leaded gasoline for decades. although they knew it was poisonous.
Alice Hamilton lived to be 101. In 2021, leaded gasoline was finally banned throughout the world. It had been banned in many countries prior to 2021.
Corporate greed kept companies producing leaded gasoline for decades. although they knew it was poisonous.
February 22, 2025
More than slightly depressing how little corporations have changed in over a hundred years. Profits over people and public safety. This is a fascinating story of lead and the people, especially Alice Hamilton, who fought against it in gasoline.
November 25, 2025
Really interesting detailing of the creation of leaded gasoline and the still present death grip corporations have on money over the well-being of the public. Alice Hamilton is obviously a pioneer and badass in industrial hygiene. However, sometimes it felt like there were others that had more of a role in some of the fight against Ethyl Corp. I obviously appreciate the attention paid to a woman (rightfully so) in this era, but I do wonder if the story could be told a bit wider, since there were many other scientists also angered by the use of leaded gasoline.
Also, can we just stop naming buildings after people? Always depressing to learn somewhere I’ve been or known is named after a corrupt, murderous businessman.
Also, can we just stop naming buildings after people? Always depressing to learn somewhere I’ve been or known is named after a corrupt, murderous businessman.
September 29, 2024
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
This is a must read for everyone. American Poison tells the history behind leaded gasoline and a century long battle get it off the market. Potentially one of the most destructive inventions and has long term impacts to every living organism, read American Poison to understand how corporate greed poisoned the world. As the intro says, this is a story about Alice Hamilton, a woman in the 1920s (and beyond) who defined a new era of environmentalism, then called public health and safety. Basically, Alice saw dangers to the world and humans, and fought to create safety measures and stop as much of the dangerous behavior as possible. This is just one of her many crusades.
"...her desire to protect workers was somehow at odds with the pillars of capitalism..."
Today we take for granted that the fuel we use does not contain the dangerous, and deadly, element lead. It has long been known to be a health hazard, however, in the early part of the 21st century, modernization was booming, particularly with science and technology, and those with capability did not always invent with responsibility or honesty. Enter the automobile. Certainly a world changing invention that today, in 2024, we could not conceive of not having a motorized mode of transportation. But when, in 1886, "the world's first automobile, known as the Benz Patent-Motorwagen...from Germany..." was introduced, "it symbolized progress and the dawn of something new." "They promised freedom and adventure...[and] within a few years, automobiles clogged the roadways...followed by a thick cloud of exhaust."
Cars, automobiles, required certain things to run, like gasoline. "Gasoline didn't appear until 1865, the same year the Civil War ended..." and was first used to "provide light in large buildings...for which kerosene wasn't powerful enough." When automobiles were first invented, "gasoline grew in popularity since it had enough force to power an engine. "One company had come to dominate the making of all petroleum products...that company was named Standard Oil..." now known as Exxon Mobile. But, there was a problem with gasoline and automobile engines - when consumers wanted more speed from their cars, and push them to their limits, there would be a "loud clanging sound," and thus the "problem of inefficient fuel detonation [was] an urgent [problem] to solve. This problem became known as engine knock, and is what started one inventor on the course to prevent it.
Over the years, various people did studies and experiments to solve this but one man, Thomas Midgely, was able to bring his/i> solution to the market first. The details of how are long and complicated, but in short, adding a small amount of lead to gasoline stopped the knocking, and it was a very cheap solution which would make people like Thomas beyond rich, and cause the death of untold numbers of people, the effects of which are still around today.
Alice Hamilton, a rare woman doctor in the 1920s, was a pioneer and was able to study the impacts of lead to those who worked with it in factories. By the 1920s, lead (known dangerous but how much was too much sill not understood at the time) was used to make a lot of things and factory workers were falling ill. Hamilton used her knowledge and took advantage of being a woman to negotiate her way into factories to study their conditions, and speak to the workers. Alice Hamilton long knew of the dangers lead presented, and when she learned, along with dozens of other scientists, about lead being used in gasoline, they wrote to the Surgeon General at that time to warn of the dangers.
After years long battle, and studies not able to be fully implemented to tell the truth behind the long-term impacts of lead in gasoline, the companies behind its creation and distribution, General Motors, Dupont, and Standard Oil (now Exxon), won. They won for profits over human safety, which they failed to see was also going to hurt them and their families. Leaded gasoline did not discriminate - it's exhaust carried and stayed in the air.
Alice Hamilton died in 1970, and did not live long enough to see the end of leaded gasoline. The story is too complex and I'm not going to write a full-on book report. If the facts haven't enticed you to read this, maybe the next set of facts will.
"In the summer of 1971, Needleman started to collect baby teeth from first and second graders in Philadelphia." "[He] found exactly what he predicted. Many of the kids had been exposed to low or even moderate amounts of lead almost their entire lives. This was stunning. But for it to mean anything, he wanted to find out if the lead in each child somehow influenced their behavior. Needleman had the idea to enlist teachers. He asked them to fill out questionnaires about each of their students. They were simple yes/ no questions: Is the child distractible? Are they disorganized? Are they hyperactive or impulsive? The teachers didn’t know which students were in the study, nor did they know any student’s tooth lead levels. But their responses revealed a strong correlation. As tooth lead went up, so did the number of bad reports. Children with the highest levels had the most trouble paying attention and were slowest to learn to read. Needleman gave IQ tests to all of the students and, almost uniformly, the higher the lead in their teeth, the lower their scores. Needleman published his findings in 1979 in the New England Journal of Medicine. He knew it would be controversial. But he also had a thick skin and a general conviction against injustice, however small. And the data suggested this was bigger than a small injustice."
"As time went on, Needleman’s tidy correlations inspired more researchers to dig into an area almost guaranteed to produce striking discoveries. One by one, each new study zeroed in on the same source of lead responsible for the most damaging effects on public health—not paint, not pipes, but gasoline."
"...environmental health scientist at Columbia found that when children are exposed to lead dust in their early years, they become like a delayed train, arriving later and later to future developmental milestones."
"As a neurotoxin, lead was well-known among doctors for the way it killed gray matter in the brain’s prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that regulates emotion, impulse control, and moral judgment. In places with a high consumption of leaded gasoline, Needleman and other scientists were startled to discover higher rates of high school dropouts and teen pregnancies. What this meant for society at large wasn’t clear at the time. It would take years for children born in the early 1970s, at the peak of leaded gasoline consumption, to be adults in the 1990s."
"But then, in 1990, something unexpected started happening. Almost overnight, crime rates across America appeared to reach a peak, and then, rather quickly, they dropped."
"... like a camel’s hump...consumption of leaded gasoline... rose in the 1940s and 1950s, peaked in the 1970s, and then declined... violent crime was the exact same [camel’s hump]," just "twenty years delayed."
"In 2002, the United Nations Environment Programme launched an initiative to eliminate leaded gasoline worldwide. More than forty countries still used it at the time, including almost every country in Africa...In 2021...Algeria was the last country to phase it out."
"If one person or one company can cause so much harm for their own personal gain, then the opposite is also true. A single person who’s prepared and perseverant can create considerable progress for the good of others."
Modern day scientists were surprised that Alice Hamilton and other scientists in the 1920's warned of the impact leaded gasoline would have on the world, that it was dangerous and would kill people.
I highly recommend this book and I clearly didn't talk about every aspect, just gave some of the highlights. If you want to learn the whole story, and how powerful people and companies were able successfully lie and end up making billions of dollars off the deaths workers and consumers, and not caring about the human suffering, read this book.
5 stars.
This is a must read for everyone. American Poison tells the history behind leaded gasoline and a century long battle get it off the market. Potentially one of the most destructive inventions and has long term impacts to every living organism, read American Poison to understand how corporate greed poisoned the world. As the intro says, this is a story about Alice Hamilton, a woman in the 1920s (and beyond) who defined a new era of environmentalism, then called public health and safety. Basically, Alice saw dangers to the world and humans, and fought to create safety measures and stop as much of the dangerous behavior as possible. This is just one of her many crusades.
"...her desire to protect workers was somehow at odds with the pillars of capitalism..."
Today we take for granted that the fuel we use does not contain the dangerous, and deadly, element lead. It has long been known to be a health hazard, however, in the early part of the 21st century, modernization was booming, particularly with science and technology, and those with capability did not always invent with responsibility or honesty. Enter the automobile. Certainly a world changing invention that today, in 2024, we could not conceive of not having a motorized mode of transportation. But when, in 1886, "the world's first automobile, known as the Benz Patent-Motorwagen...from Germany..." was introduced, "it symbolized progress and the dawn of something new." "They promised freedom and adventure...[and] within a few years, automobiles clogged the roadways...followed by a thick cloud of exhaust."
Cars, automobiles, required certain things to run, like gasoline. "Gasoline didn't appear until 1865, the same year the Civil War ended..." and was first used to "provide light in large buildings...for which kerosene wasn't powerful enough." When automobiles were first invented, "gasoline grew in popularity since it had enough force to power an engine. "One company had come to dominate the making of all petroleum products...that company was named Standard Oil..." now known as Exxon Mobile. But, there was a problem with gasoline and automobile engines - when consumers wanted more speed from their cars, and push them to their limits, there would be a "loud clanging sound," and thus the "problem of inefficient fuel detonation [was] an urgent [problem] to solve. This problem became known as engine knock, and is what started one inventor on the course to prevent it.
Over the years, various people did studies and experiments to solve this but one man, Thomas Midgely, was able to bring his/i> solution to the market first. The details of how are long and complicated, but in short, adding a small amount of lead to gasoline stopped the knocking, and it was a very cheap solution which would make people like Thomas beyond rich, and cause the death of untold numbers of people, the effects of which are still around today.
Alice Hamilton, a rare woman doctor in the 1920s, was a pioneer and was able to study the impacts of lead to those who worked with it in factories. By the 1920s, lead (known dangerous but how much was too much sill not understood at the time) was used to make a lot of things and factory workers were falling ill. Hamilton used her knowledge and took advantage of being a woman to negotiate her way into factories to study their conditions, and speak to the workers. Alice Hamilton long knew of the dangers lead presented, and when she learned, along with dozens of other scientists, about lead being used in gasoline, they wrote to the Surgeon General at that time to warn of the dangers.
After years long battle, and studies not able to be fully implemented to tell the truth behind the long-term impacts of lead in gasoline, the companies behind its creation and distribution, General Motors, Dupont, and Standard Oil (now Exxon), won. They won for profits over human safety, which they failed to see was also going to hurt them and their families. Leaded gasoline did not discriminate - it's exhaust carried and stayed in the air.
Alice Hamilton died in 1970, and did not live long enough to see the end of leaded gasoline. The story is too complex and I'm not going to write a full-on book report. If the facts haven't enticed you to read this, maybe the next set of facts will.
"In the summer of 1971, Needleman started to collect baby teeth from first and second graders in Philadelphia." "[He] found exactly what he predicted. Many of the kids had been exposed to low or even moderate amounts of lead almost their entire lives. This was stunning. But for it to mean anything, he wanted to find out if the lead in each child somehow influenced their behavior. Needleman had the idea to enlist teachers. He asked them to fill out questionnaires about each of their students. They were simple yes/ no questions: Is the child distractible? Are they disorganized? Are they hyperactive or impulsive? The teachers didn’t know which students were in the study, nor did they know any student’s tooth lead levels. But their responses revealed a strong correlation. As tooth lead went up, so did the number of bad reports. Children with the highest levels had the most trouble paying attention and were slowest to learn to read. Needleman gave IQ tests to all of the students and, almost uniformly, the higher the lead in their teeth, the lower their scores. Needleman published his findings in 1979 in the New England Journal of Medicine. He knew it would be controversial. But he also had a thick skin and a general conviction against injustice, however small. And the data suggested this was bigger than a small injustice."
"As time went on, Needleman’s tidy correlations inspired more researchers to dig into an area almost guaranteed to produce striking discoveries. One by one, each new study zeroed in on the same source of lead responsible for the most damaging effects on public health—not paint, not pipes, but gasoline."
"...environmental health scientist at Columbia found that when children are exposed to lead dust in their early years, they become like a delayed train, arriving later and later to future developmental milestones."
"As a neurotoxin, lead was well-known among doctors for the way it killed gray matter in the brain’s prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that regulates emotion, impulse control, and moral judgment. In places with a high consumption of leaded gasoline, Needleman and other scientists were startled to discover higher rates of high school dropouts and teen pregnancies. What this meant for society at large wasn’t clear at the time. It would take years for children born in the early 1970s, at the peak of leaded gasoline consumption, to be adults in the 1990s."
"But then, in 1990, something unexpected started happening. Almost overnight, crime rates across America appeared to reach a peak, and then, rather quickly, they dropped."
"... like a camel’s hump...consumption of leaded gasoline... rose in the 1940s and 1950s, peaked in the 1970s, and then declined... violent crime was the exact same [camel’s hump]," just "twenty years delayed."
"In 2002, the United Nations Environment Programme launched an initiative to eliminate leaded gasoline worldwide. More than forty countries still used it at the time, including almost every country in Africa...In 2021...Algeria was the last country to phase it out."
"If one person or one company can cause so much harm for their own personal gain, then the opposite is also true. A single person who’s prepared and perseverant can create considerable progress for the good of others."
Modern day scientists were surprised that Alice Hamilton and other scientists in the 1920's warned of the impact leaded gasoline would have on the world, that it was dangerous and would kill people.
I highly recommend this book and I clearly didn't talk about every aspect, just gave some of the highlights. If you want to learn the whole story, and how powerful people and companies were able successfully lie and end up making billions of dollars off the deaths workers and consumers, and not caring about the human suffering, read this book.
5 stars.
November 2, 2025
The perfect companion book to anyone who has read or has interest in Radium Girls by Kate Moore, American Poison by Daniel Stone is the story of Alice Hamilton’s life and scientific legacy. Hamilton devoted her career to proving that environmental factors in industrial settings directly caused the diseases, disabilities, and premature deaths of American workers. She was among the first scientists to expose the dangers of leaded gasoline, standing against influential industry bosses who not only insisted it was safe but also paid their own scientists to “prove” the point and paid the government to look the other way.
Alice is one of the people that we have to thank for our standard of living today and American Poison is just a fabulous overview of the fight against corporate greed and government complacency that defined her career. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Alice is one of the people that we have to thank for our standard of living today and American Poison is just a fabulous overview of the fight against corporate greed and government complacency that defined her career. I cannot recommend this book enough.
April 30, 2025
My academic and professional background is in safety and environmental health, so this book was right up my alley. Alice Hamilton was a woman ahead of her time and of course I found her lifelong achievements interesting.
Even more interesting was the life and professional achievements of Thomas Midgley who while not a chemist created two of the most prolific sources of environmental toxins in the 20th century. He liked to play with his concoctions and grew incredibly ego-centric following his brief career. Perhaps due to exposure to the product he invented.
Amazing story, well written.
Even more interesting was the life and professional achievements of Thomas Midgley who while not a chemist created two of the most prolific sources of environmental toxins in the 20th century. He liked to play with his concoctions and grew incredibly ego-centric following his brief career. Perhaps due to exposure to the product he invented.
Amazing story, well written.
April 8, 2025
This was an extremely interesting book. While it was a biography of Alice Hamilton, it also showed that large corporations seem to have always been the enemy of the people. Alice Hamilton spent her life trying to protect the health of American workers, and large corporations put profits first. An excellent book!
Read
April 6, 2025Book Review: American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice by Daniel Stone
Introduction
In American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice, Daniel Stone presents a compelling and meticulously researched narrative that chronicles the life and legacy of Alice Hamilton, a pioneering physician and public health advocate. Not only does the book explore Hamilton’s critical role in combating the dangers of leaded gasoline, it also serves as a broader commentary on the intersections of environmental health and social justice during the early 20th century. Stone’s work highlights the ongoing relevance of Hamilton’s activism in today’s environmental justice movements.
Summary of Content
Stone constructs the narrative around the historical context of Hamilton’s life, tracing her journey from her early education to her influential work in the field of occupational health. The book is divided into chapters that detail specific phases of Hamilton’s career and the societal challenges she faced. Key elements of the narrative include:
The Historical Context: The book opens with an exploration of the industrial landscape of the early 1900s, detailing how the emergence of leaded gasoline represented a significant public health risk. Stone effectively illustrates the pervasive environmental hazards of the time and their deleterious effects on workers and communities.
Alice Hamilton’s Advocacy: Stone highlights Hamilton’s tireless efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of lead exposure, portraying her as a formidable force in challenging corporate negligence and advocating for regulatory reforms. Her research and testimonies played a crucial role in uncovering the health implications of leaded gasoline.
The Intersection of Science and Policy: The author emphasizes the interplay between scientific research and policy-making, demonstrating how Hamilton utilized her expertise to inform legislation aimed at protecting public health. Stone details her collaborations with other activists and public health officials, illustrating the collective effort required to effect change.
Environmental Justice Legacy: Stone draws connections between Hamilton’s work and contemporary environmental justice movements, highlighting how her legacy continues to inspire modern advocates. He addresses ongoing issues related to environmental racism and the disproportionate impact of toxic pollutants on marginalized communities.
Challenges and Triumphs: Throughout the book, Stone does not shy away from depicting the obstacles Hamilton faced, including sexism in a male-dominated field and resistance from powerful corporate interests. However, her determination and resilience ultimately led to significant public health advancements.
Themes and Analysis
Stone’s American Poison engages with several important themes:
Women in Science and Activism: The book challenges traditional narratives that often overlook women’s contributions to science and public health. Hamilton’s story serves to illuminate the vital roles women have played in advocating for social justice and health reform.
Corporate Responsibility and Public Health: Stone critiques the historical lack of accountability from corporations regarding environmental health risks, raising essential questions about ethics in industry practices. Hamilton’s advocacy for regulation reflects a broader call for corporate responsibility.
Environmental Justice and Equity: The author draws attention to the disparities in who suffers the consequences of environmental hazards, reinforcing Hamilton’s relevance in today’s discussions about equity and justice in environmental policy.
Style and Writing
Daniel Stone’s writing is both engaging and informative, characterized by a clear narrative style that balances historical detail with accessible prose. His thorough research is evident, as he weaves together personal anecdotes, historical documents, and scientific data to create a rich tapestry of Hamilton’s life and work. The organization of the book enhances the reader’s understanding of the complexities surrounding environmental health issues and the need for advocacy.
Conclusion
American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice by Daniel Stone is a significant contribution to the literature on public health and environmental justice. Through the lens of Alice Hamilton’s life, Stone not only recounts a pivotal moment in American history but also offers critical insights into the ongoing struggles for environmental equity. This book is recommended for scholars, students, and activists interested in the intersections of science, women’s history, and social justice. Stone’s narrative serves as both a tribute to Hamilton’s legacy and a call to action for contemporary readers to continue the fight for a healthier, more equitable world.
Introduction
In American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice, Daniel Stone presents a compelling and meticulously researched narrative that chronicles the life and legacy of Alice Hamilton, a pioneering physician and public health advocate. Not only does the book explore Hamilton’s critical role in combating the dangers of leaded gasoline, it also serves as a broader commentary on the intersections of environmental health and social justice during the early 20th century. Stone’s work highlights the ongoing relevance of Hamilton’s activism in today’s environmental justice movements.
Summary of Content
Stone constructs the narrative around the historical context of Hamilton’s life, tracing her journey from her early education to her influential work in the field of occupational health. The book is divided into chapters that detail specific phases of Hamilton’s career and the societal challenges she faced. Key elements of the narrative include:
The Historical Context: The book opens with an exploration of the industrial landscape of the early 1900s, detailing how the emergence of leaded gasoline represented a significant public health risk. Stone effectively illustrates the pervasive environmental hazards of the time and their deleterious effects on workers and communities.
Alice Hamilton’s Advocacy: Stone highlights Hamilton’s tireless efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of lead exposure, portraying her as a formidable force in challenging corporate negligence and advocating for regulatory reforms. Her research and testimonies played a crucial role in uncovering the health implications of leaded gasoline.
The Intersection of Science and Policy: The author emphasizes the interplay between scientific research and policy-making, demonstrating how Hamilton utilized her expertise to inform legislation aimed at protecting public health. Stone details her collaborations with other activists and public health officials, illustrating the collective effort required to effect change.
Environmental Justice Legacy: Stone draws connections between Hamilton’s work and contemporary environmental justice movements, highlighting how her legacy continues to inspire modern advocates. He addresses ongoing issues related to environmental racism and the disproportionate impact of toxic pollutants on marginalized communities.
Challenges and Triumphs: Throughout the book, Stone does not shy away from depicting the obstacles Hamilton faced, including sexism in a male-dominated field and resistance from powerful corporate interests. However, her determination and resilience ultimately led to significant public health advancements.
Themes and Analysis
Stone’s American Poison engages with several important themes:
Women in Science and Activism: The book challenges traditional narratives that often overlook women’s contributions to science and public health. Hamilton’s story serves to illuminate the vital roles women have played in advocating for social justice and health reform.
Corporate Responsibility and Public Health: Stone critiques the historical lack of accountability from corporations regarding environmental health risks, raising essential questions about ethics in industry practices. Hamilton’s advocacy for regulation reflects a broader call for corporate responsibility.
Environmental Justice and Equity: The author draws attention to the disparities in who suffers the consequences of environmental hazards, reinforcing Hamilton’s relevance in today’s discussions about equity and justice in environmental policy.
Style and Writing
Daniel Stone’s writing is both engaging and informative, characterized by a clear narrative style that balances historical detail with accessible prose. His thorough research is evident, as he weaves together personal anecdotes, historical documents, and scientific data to create a rich tapestry of Hamilton’s life and work. The organization of the book enhances the reader’s understanding of the complexities surrounding environmental health issues and the need for advocacy.
Conclusion
American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice by Daniel Stone is a significant contribution to the literature on public health and environmental justice. Through the lens of Alice Hamilton’s life, Stone not only recounts a pivotal moment in American history but also offers critical insights into the ongoing struggles for environmental equity. This book is recommended for scholars, students, and activists interested in the intersections of science, women’s history, and social justice. Stone’s narrative serves as both a tribute to Hamilton’s legacy and a call to action for contemporary readers to continue the fight for a healthier, more equitable world.
January 11, 2025
This is not a sad story. It’s a shocking one…but ultimately it’s a story of two incredible Americans and their fight to build conflicting worlds. from American Poison by Daniel Stone
In the 1920s, the brilliant chemist Thomas Midgley developed an additive to gasoline that solved engine knock and increased fuel efficiency, the lucrative discovery known as Ethyl. Midgley denied that Ethyl’s lead content was a health hazard, ignoring the signs that it had affected his body.
Dr. Alice Hamilton, born to wealth, was driven to change the world’s ills. She was concerned with the health of workers in industry. There were no laws to protect workers–including the millions of children working in mills and factories and mines–only laws to protect capitalists. Her work at Hull House with Jane Addams and her medical training impelled her environmental activism. She became an authority on lead poisoning and she challenged the notion that Ethyl’s lead was harmless.
Tetraethyl lead was killing men, causing hallucinations, and sudden personality changes with violent outbursts. Hamilton knew that lead poisoning was irreversible, that lead remained in the body for ever, and that no amount of exposure to lead was safe.
The story sent chills up my spine as I read about the challengers to Ethyl failing due to skewed and biased data and the lack of a long term, scientific, study.
Midgley became wealthy, denying to the end that his declining health was from lead poisoning. Hamilton wrote the book that became the definitive guide to known poisons in the workplace and inspired future environmentalists like Rachel Carson. In 1970, Congress finally created the occupational Safety and Health Act. In 1975 catalytic converters ended the need for leaded gasoline.
And yet Hamilton has been forgotten.
Studies have indicated that the greatest use of leaded gasoline, peaking in the 1970s, is shadowed by a peak in crime twenty years later, indicting that children exposed to lead became young adults with brain damage. I shudder to consider the children of Flint, Michigan, exposed to lead in their water. To know that the lead in gasoline has contaminated everything, is in the soil, is terrifying.
This book affected me in a very personal way. In the 1940s, my grandfather built a gas station literally in his front yard. My father ran the station after he graduated from high school. At some time, all my uncles worked at the station.
The house was divided into three apartments, and all my cousins and I lived there in our early years.
My maternal grandfather moved to Metro Detroit for an engineering job at GM, and the family relocated after them. After a few years working as a mechanic in a service station Dad finally got a job at Chrysler.
All of my family would have been affected by the chemicals in gasoline, tetraethyl lead and benzene. Dad recalled dealing with asbestos lined brake pads. He died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but also suffered from severe anemia and neuropathy. And I have to wonder how exposure to lead and other toxins played out in his health.
I have read this kind of story over and over, how one person crusades to better the world, standing up to power and money, which too often wins in the short term, but not before leaving a poisonous legacy.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.
In the 1920s, the brilliant chemist Thomas Midgley developed an additive to gasoline that solved engine knock and increased fuel efficiency, the lucrative discovery known as Ethyl. Midgley denied that Ethyl’s lead content was a health hazard, ignoring the signs that it had affected his body.
Dr. Alice Hamilton, born to wealth, was driven to change the world’s ills. She was concerned with the health of workers in industry. There were no laws to protect workers–including the millions of children working in mills and factories and mines–only laws to protect capitalists. Her work at Hull House with Jane Addams and her medical training impelled her environmental activism. She became an authority on lead poisoning and she challenged the notion that Ethyl’s lead was harmless.
Tetraethyl lead was killing men, causing hallucinations, and sudden personality changes with violent outbursts. Hamilton knew that lead poisoning was irreversible, that lead remained in the body for ever, and that no amount of exposure to lead was safe.
The story sent chills up my spine as I read about the challengers to Ethyl failing due to skewed and biased data and the lack of a long term, scientific, study.
Midgley became wealthy, denying to the end that his declining health was from lead poisoning. Hamilton wrote the book that became the definitive guide to known poisons in the workplace and inspired future environmentalists like Rachel Carson. In 1970, Congress finally created the occupational Safety and Health Act. In 1975 catalytic converters ended the need for leaded gasoline.
And yet Hamilton has been forgotten.
Studies have indicated that the greatest use of leaded gasoline, peaking in the 1970s, is shadowed by a peak in crime twenty years later, indicting that children exposed to lead became young adults with brain damage. I shudder to consider the children of Flint, Michigan, exposed to lead in their water. To know that the lead in gasoline has contaminated everything, is in the soil, is terrifying.
This book affected me in a very personal way. In the 1940s, my grandfather built a gas station literally in his front yard. My father ran the station after he graduated from high school. At some time, all my uncles worked at the station.
The house was divided into three apartments, and all my cousins and I lived there in our early years.
My maternal grandfather moved to Metro Detroit for an engineering job at GM, and the family relocated after them. After a few years working as a mechanic in a service station Dad finally got a job at Chrysler.
All of my family would have been affected by the chemicals in gasoline, tetraethyl lead and benzene. Dad recalled dealing with asbestos lined brake pads. He died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but also suffered from severe anemia and neuropathy. And I have to wonder how exposure to lead and other toxins played out in his health.
I have read this kind of story over and over, how one person crusades to better the world, standing up to power and money, which too often wins in the short term, but not before leaving a poisonous legacy.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.
December 10, 2024
It is a good history on the long story of an environmental disaster, but tends towards the superficial.
The book is mis-blurbed. It is not the story of Alice Hamilton, a doctor who dramatically improved the lives of industrial workers by inventing safety (at least as toxic chemicals are concerned). It is also not an untold story. The story here is of Ethyl, AKA leaded gas, from its invention, to he discovery of its health hazards, the mostly failed attempts to subject it to better regulation, and its eventual prohibition. The story is a popular one on the 'podcast circuit,' and many amateur pop historians take it on.
Looking to sell the book as focused on Hamilton makes sense. Thomas Midgley Jr., the inventor and chief antagonist of the book, is typically the one focused on. And considering his role in more than one deadly invention, bizarre and outlandish behavior, and downright wacky demise, I understand why he is. Which does justify the story as focused on Hamilton.
The book does highlight her role in things more, but I was often left wanting for more detail. Also, Hamilton is a frustrating historical figure. I am reminded of John Boyd. For an perennial outsider and maverick, she sure gets treated like an insider by a lot of important people. She is also frustrating in a different way than the usual mixed messaging of historical figures, where we have to accept their flaws. Here you have a passionate progressive activist but with a monomaniacal bent, so much so that she seems to flip conservative to get to do her work. Again, I feel like I only got some of the picture of Hamilton here. I wanted more analysis.
I wanted more in general. My most frequent note while reading was wanting something to have more analysis, more data and explanation of a historical event and how things went down, largely related to the fighting between the corporation and the doctors. The author goes hard in the paint for both the lead-based cause of the alleged fall of Rome and the lead-crime hypothesis. This is not cause for immediate tossing across the room, but does cause one to check to see whether the cat is in the way.
One additional point worth mention is contained in the epilogue, and the refusal of the successor corporation to work with the author in the history. This is shameful. All the perpetrators are dead and, as the author points out in the book, most of the profits are already laundered - in socially beneficial ways nonetheless. Release the archives. The anti-business, pro-regulation of the *checks notes* ...er...Nixon era is long past. You are not protecting anyone's interests. No one will care. No one is going to take action. You are just annoying readers of history books and wasting author's time through their attempts at due diligence.
Thanks to the author, Daniel Stone, and to the publisher, Dutton, for making the ARC available to me.
The book is mis-blurbed. It is not the story of Alice Hamilton, a doctor who dramatically improved the lives of industrial workers by inventing safety (at least as toxic chemicals are concerned). It is also not an untold story. The story here is of Ethyl, AKA leaded gas, from its invention, to he discovery of its health hazards, the mostly failed attempts to subject it to better regulation, and its eventual prohibition. The story is a popular one on the 'podcast circuit,' and many amateur pop historians take it on.
Looking to sell the book as focused on Hamilton makes sense. Thomas Midgley Jr., the inventor and chief antagonist of the book, is typically the one focused on. And considering his role in more than one deadly invention, bizarre and outlandish behavior, and downright wacky demise, I understand why he is. Which does justify the story as focused on Hamilton.
The book does highlight her role in things more, but I was often left wanting for more detail. Also, Hamilton is a frustrating historical figure. I am reminded of John Boyd. For an perennial outsider and maverick, she sure gets treated like an insider by a lot of important people. She is also frustrating in a different way than the usual mixed messaging of historical figures, where we have to accept their flaws. Here you have a passionate progressive activist but with a monomaniacal bent, so much so that she seems to flip conservative to get to do her work. Again, I feel like I only got some of the picture of Hamilton here. I wanted more analysis.
I wanted more in general. My most frequent note while reading was wanting something to have more analysis, more data and explanation of a historical event and how things went down, largely related to the fighting between the corporation and the doctors. The author goes hard in the paint for both the lead-based cause of the alleged fall of Rome and the lead-crime hypothesis. This is not cause for immediate tossing across the room, but does cause one to check to see whether the cat is in the way.
One additional point worth mention is contained in the epilogue, and the refusal of the successor corporation to work with the author in the history. This is shameful. All the perpetrators are dead and, as the author points out in the book, most of the profits are already laundered - in socially beneficial ways nonetheless. Release the archives. The anti-business, pro-regulation of the *checks notes* ...er...Nixon era is long past. You are not protecting anyone's interests. No one will care. No one is going to take action. You are just annoying readers of history books and wasting author's time through their attempts at due diligence.
Thanks to the author, Daniel Stone, and to the publisher, Dutton, for making the ARC available to me.
April 13, 2025
Daniel Stone's third, nonfiction book, American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled For Environmental Justice, is my exciting introduction to Stone, but I'm going to check out his others like his first, The Food Explorers. Alice Hamilton is still considered the mother of President Nixon's sweeping public health reforms and though most Americans have never heard of her, she was included in the stamp series of Great Americans in 2021.
The 1920s were a time when Americans could taste the fruits of their labor for economic dominance, helpful inventions coming from right and left, and they were drooling like rabid dogs. When the auto industry sought to get rid of the flaws in their product's performance, a clever scientist found a chemical combo that made autos run much better.
Tetraethyl lead was a known, deadly poison, but when workers handling the new gasoline started dying or becoming very sick and hallucinogenic, the inventor's company didn't want to lose the millions they'd make from it and used every trick in the conman's book to keep the government and public satisfied with its safety.
Hamilton had been involved in public health activism as a doctor for a couple decades when she started to be concerned about the leaded gasoline and began investigating it with passion.
To make a long story short, Hamilton's expertise didn't carry enough weight to stop the corporation, although she won a few concessions from the US Surgeon General for safety's sake. Leaded gasoline didn't kill or sicken workers like before, but in the 1960s another scientist noticed how pervasive lead dust was. By studying the ocean he found that the dust only appeared around 1923, which is when leaded gasoline was first used.
Leaded gasoline started being phased out in 1974 after the corporation was ordered to, but it wasn't completely phased out until 2021 in Algeria. This is infuriating that it took so long because there are much safer alternatives to leaded gasoline that they knew about, but didn't care.
I wondered if mushrooms would absorb lead dust saturating soil and they do. This saturation is considered one of the biggest health hazards by international organizations.
Oyster and wood ear mushrooms are particularly good for absorbing lead that's accumulated in our brains, bones, and tissues. You won't notice it in your blood. It could be causing your health complaints or why your child is developmentally slow or overactive or becomes violent. Crime rates fall bigtime after leaded gasoline is stopped being used.
Very highly recommended!
The 1920s were a time when Americans could taste the fruits of their labor for economic dominance, helpful inventions coming from right and left, and they were drooling like rabid dogs. When the auto industry sought to get rid of the flaws in their product's performance, a clever scientist found a chemical combo that made autos run much better.
Tetraethyl lead was a known, deadly poison, but when workers handling the new gasoline started dying or becoming very sick and hallucinogenic, the inventor's company didn't want to lose the millions they'd make from it and used every trick in the conman's book to keep the government and public satisfied with its safety.
Hamilton had been involved in public health activism as a doctor for a couple decades when she started to be concerned about the leaded gasoline and began investigating it with passion.
To make a long story short, Hamilton's expertise didn't carry enough weight to stop the corporation, although she won a few concessions from the US Surgeon General for safety's sake. Leaded gasoline didn't kill or sicken workers like before, but in the 1960s another scientist noticed how pervasive lead dust was. By studying the ocean he found that the dust only appeared around 1923, which is when leaded gasoline was first used.
Leaded gasoline started being phased out in 1974 after the corporation was ordered to, but it wasn't completely phased out until 2021 in Algeria. This is infuriating that it took so long because there are much safer alternatives to leaded gasoline that they knew about, but didn't care.
I wondered if mushrooms would absorb lead dust saturating soil and they do. This saturation is considered one of the biggest health hazards by international organizations.
Oyster and wood ear mushrooms are particularly good for absorbing lead that's accumulated in our brains, bones, and tissues. You won't notice it in your blood. It could be causing your health complaints or why your child is developmentally slow or overactive or becomes violent. Crime rates fall bigtime after leaded gasoline is stopped being used.
Very highly recommended!
July 19, 2025
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
🧪Daniel Stone’s American Poison is a riveting excavation of industrial ambition, scientific integrity, and the long shadow of environmental injustice. At its core, it’s a dual biography—of Thomas Midgley Jr., the chemist behind leaded gasoline, and Alice Hamilton, the pioneering physician who tried to stop him. But it’s also a cautionary tale about how progress, when untethered from ethics, can poison more than just the air.
📖 Stone chronicles the rise of tetraethyl lead, a chemical additive that solved the problem of engine knock but unleashed a public health crisis. Midgley’s invention, backed by General Motors and cloaked in corporate PR, became a triumph of engineering and a tragedy of denial. Enter Alice Hamilton: Harvard’s first female professor, a public health crusader, and a relentless voice against industrial toxins. Her battle against leaded fuel—despite being sidelined, silenced, and outspent—forms the emotional backbone of the book.
🔍 Excellent aspects
- Narrative Duality: Stone juxtaposes Midgley’s ascent with Hamilton’s resistance, crafting a story that’s both thrilling and sobering.
- Historical Depth: From Hull House to government hearings, the book immerses readers in early 20th-century America’s industrial boom and its toxic underbelly.
- Emotional Resonance: Hamilton’s quiet heroism—her empathy for workers, her scientific rigor, her moral clarity—makes her a figure worth rediscovering.
- Modern Echoes: The tactics used to defend leaded gasoline—doubt, denial, and delay—mirror those of Big Tobacco, Big Oil, and today’s PFAS debates.
🧠 Themes
- Science vs. Industry: The book explores how corporate interests can distort scientific truth, often with devastating consequences.
- Gender & Power: Hamilton’s marginalization underscores how women’s voices in science were (and still are) often dismissed.
- Environmental Legacy: Leaded gasoline’s impact wasn’t just immediate—it lingered in soil, air, and bodies for generations.
🌍 American Poison is part exposé, part elegy. It doesn’t just recount a historical battle—it invites readers to reflect on the cost of innovation and the courage it takes to speak truth to power. Stone’s storytelling is both meticulous and moving, making this a must-read for anyone interested in environmental justice, scientific ethics, or the unsung heroes who fight for a safer world.
🧪Daniel Stone’s American Poison is a riveting excavation of industrial ambition, scientific integrity, and the long shadow of environmental injustice. At its core, it’s a dual biography—of Thomas Midgley Jr., the chemist behind leaded gasoline, and Alice Hamilton, the pioneering physician who tried to stop him. But it’s also a cautionary tale about how progress, when untethered from ethics, can poison more than just the air.
📖 Stone chronicles the rise of tetraethyl lead, a chemical additive that solved the problem of engine knock but unleashed a public health crisis. Midgley’s invention, backed by General Motors and cloaked in corporate PR, became a triumph of engineering and a tragedy of denial. Enter Alice Hamilton: Harvard’s first female professor, a public health crusader, and a relentless voice against industrial toxins. Her battle against leaded fuel—despite being sidelined, silenced, and outspent—forms the emotional backbone of the book.
🔍 Excellent aspects
- Narrative Duality: Stone juxtaposes Midgley’s ascent with Hamilton’s resistance, crafting a story that’s both thrilling and sobering.
- Historical Depth: From Hull House to government hearings, the book immerses readers in early 20th-century America’s industrial boom and its toxic underbelly.
- Emotional Resonance: Hamilton’s quiet heroism—her empathy for workers, her scientific rigor, her moral clarity—makes her a figure worth rediscovering.
- Modern Echoes: The tactics used to defend leaded gasoline—doubt, denial, and delay—mirror those of Big Tobacco, Big Oil, and today’s PFAS debates.
🧠 Themes
- Science vs. Industry: The book explores how corporate interests can distort scientific truth, often with devastating consequences.
- Gender & Power: Hamilton’s marginalization underscores how women’s voices in science were (and still are) often dismissed.
- Environmental Legacy: Leaded gasoline’s impact wasn’t just immediate—it lingered in soil, air, and bodies for generations.
🌍 American Poison is part exposé, part elegy. It doesn’t just recount a historical battle—it invites readers to reflect on the cost of innovation and the courage it takes to speak truth to power. Stone’s storytelling is both meticulous and moving, making this a must-read for anyone interested in environmental justice, scientific ethics, or the unsung heroes who fight for a safer world.
December 19, 2025
This title is one of the most important titles of all time. It may seem irrelevant but this all started from a quest on "why are people so cruel and selfish". That question sent me on a rabbit-hole of important people and an aspect of history that when analyzed in parallel with other histories is just mind-blowing.
Alice Hamilton is an amazing woman and I hope to see her statue someday. I would clean it up and pull any weeds and admire a truly great person. This woman is as close to Christlike as it gets. You know this because she only has a humble statue hidden in an alcove to her name and legacy. She didn't end up with buildings and mansions. He inability to tolerate injustice ensures that I will never forget her. So much debate and mudslinging happens that we find ourselves rooting for opportunity to exploit and destroy ourselves. This is beyond cruel. Imagine rooting and asking for this devastation. Imagine sending kids outside to play and they get hit with smoke of this madness. Theres no respite from it. The pipes of the most disenfranchised are contaminated and we lack testing methods. I can only say the world is in such a state that I prepare to leave but I can't express why. We are cooked. In an age where Tylenol is blamed, we see big business once again pushing the buck on what is the cause of our diminishing returns they beg us to make and attempt to control even though lead is making them psychotic, disobedient, abusive and slower.
Every figure mentioned was legendary. Even the ones who destroyed us. This is the saddest part. Midgley and Kettering sounded like chumps but their intelligence and psychopathy was unique enough to bring this evil situation to its conclusion. I cannot get over the figures. It must sound ridiculous to say that even the most villainous figures of the past are admirable but these stories are the ones we must share with out children. They must also admire the greatness of these figures, learn from them and seek to be better than them.
This entire book was jaw dropping and the issue never ended. It stopped in 2021 and that means in 23 years we have evil clowns preparing to rise again and dominate the nation. Controlled by hate, susceptible to lies and dominated by lead. That is the American public and probably the greatest gift we gave the plant. I absolutely love this horrifying title and look forward to reading it a year from now.
Alice Hamilton is an amazing woman and I hope to see her statue someday. I would clean it up and pull any weeds and admire a truly great person. This woman is as close to Christlike as it gets. You know this because she only has a humble statue hidden in an alcove to her name and legacy. She didn't end up with buildings and mansions. He inability to tolerate injustice ensures that I will never forget her. So much debate and mudslinging happens that we find ourselves rooting for opportunity to exploit and destroy ourselves. This is beyond cruel. Imagine rooting and asking for this devastation. Imagine sending kids outside to play and they get hit with smoke of this madness. Theres no respite from it. The pipes of the most disenfranchised are contaminated and we lack testing methods. I can only say the world is in such a state that I prepare to leave but I can't express why. We are cooked. In an age where Tylenol is blamed, we see big business once again pushing the buck on what is the cause of our diminishing returns they beg us to make and attempt to control even though lead is making them psychotic, disobedient, abusive and slower.
Every figure mentioned was legendary. Even the ones who destroyed us. This is the saddest part. Midgley and Kettering sounded like chumps but their intelligence and psychopathy was unique enough to bring this evil situation to its conclusion. I cannot get over the figures. It must sound ridiculous to say that even the most villainous figures of the past are admirable but these stories are the ones we must share with out children. They must also admire the greatness of these figures, learn from them and seek to be better than them.
This entire book was jaw dropping and the issue never ended. It stopped in 2021 and that means in 23 years we have evil clowns preparing to rise again and dominate the nation. Controlled by hate, susceptible to lies and dominated by lead. That is the American public and probably the greatest gift we gave the plant. I absolutely love this horrifying title and look forward to reading it a year from now.
April 11, 2025
Rating: 3.5
Here's the problem with this otherwise excellent book: its publicity promises something it doesn't deliver -- in fact, something that is not historically accurate. The jacket copy indicates the book will do two things: tell you about the invention of a deadly poison, and and tell the story of the woman who defeated it. Author Daniel Stone delivers on the first; I'm not sure its his fault that we don't get the second. ( I blame it on the book's publicist).
The book is set in the 1920s, when an excellent young inventor, Thomas Midgley,Jr.,discovers the substance tetraethyl lead will stop engine knock in the newly popular creation, the automobile. The problem is that tetraethyl lead is a deadly poison, but it works so well his bosses at Delco (later absorbed by General Motors) figure to work around that. Stone's description of the research process and the subsequent efforts to make the end product -- leaded gasoline -- "safe" are well-presented and comprehensible to the non scientists ( like me) among us.
The other character in the story is physician Alice Hamilton, whose specialty is industrial medicine. In particular she focuses on the effects of dangerous industrial chemicals, and she takes aim at Midgley's new discovery. The promo copy for the book implies she fought it and won. That's not what happened -- at least not when she was actively opposing the use of tetraethyl lead in the 1920s. Long story short: leaded gasoline did not fully disappear from the U,S. scene until the 1990s. long after Hamilton's death.
That's not to say that Hamilton wasn't a scrappy fighter and doesn't deserve a book. But the most interesting part of the story.other than the catalogue of damage created by Midgley's discovery, is the post-World War research that ultimately led to the elimination of leaded gasoline from U.S. gas pumps. For that 2 chapters alone, the book is worth reading.
Here's the problem with this otherwise excellent book: its publicity promises something it doesn't deliver -- in fact, something that is not historically accurate. The jacket copy indicates the book will do two things: tell you about the invention of a deadly poison, and and tell the story of the woman who defeated it. Author Daniel Stone delivers on the first; I'm not sure its his fault that we don't get the second. ( I blame it on the book's publicist).
The book is set in the 1920s, when an excellent young inventor, Thomas Midgley,Jr.,discovers the substance tetraethyl lead will stop engine knock in the newly popular creation, the automobile. The problem is that tetraethyl lead is a deadly poison, but it works so well his bosses at Delco (later absorbed by General Motors) figure to work around that. Stone's description of the research process and the subsequent efforts to make the end product -- leaded gasoline -- "safe" are well-presented and comprehensible to the non scientists ( like me) among us.
The other character in the story is physician Alice Hamilton, whose specialty is industrial medicine. In particular she focuses on the effects of dangerous industrial chemicals, and she takes aim at Midgley's new discovery. The promo copy for the book implies she fought it and won. That's not what happened -- at least not when she was actively opposing the use of tetraethyl lead in the 1920s. Long story short: leaded gasoline did not fully disappear from the U,S. scene until the 1990s. long after Hamilton's death.
That's not to say that Hamilton wasn't a scrappy fighter and doesn't deserve a book. But the most interesting part of the story.other than the catalogue of damage created by Midgley's discovery, is the post-World War research that ultimately led to the elimination of leaded gasoline from U.S. gas pumps. For that 2 chapters alone, the book is worth reading.
September 8, 2024
You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.
Thank you, Dutton, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice, by Daniel Stone.
This book will be released on February 18, 2025.
This is the story of Alice Hamilton, who was an early 20th century doctor and public health advocate who became the first female professor at Harvard. She spent decades investigating factories and mines, studying the terrible effects of lead.
Hamilton had determined how breathing lead at approximately the time that General Motors had determined that they could make millions more by selling leaded gasoline. But, what really attracted attention to the dangers of lead was an incidents in a factory in New Jersey in October 1924. The proximity to New York, then just like now, the media capital of the world, ensured that it got a lot of attention.
The book then chronicles how corporate greed and caring only about profits, once again ended up winning against the interests of people. The book showed how the company then launched its successful offensive against science.
I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on September 8, 2024.
Thank you, Dutton, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice, by Daniel Stone.
This book will be released on February 18, 2025.
This is the story of Alice Hamilton, who was an early 20th century doctor and public health advocate who became the first female professor at Harvard. She spent decades investigating factories and mines, studying the terrible effects of lead.
Hamilton had determined how breathing lead at approximately the time that General Motors had determined that they could make millions more by selling leaded gasoline. But, what really attracted attention to the dangers of lead was an incidents in a factory in New Jersey in October 1924. The proximity to New York, then just like now, the media capital of the world, ensured that it got a lot of attention.
The book then chronicles how corporate greed and caring only about profits, once again ended up winning against the interests of people. The book showed how the company then launched its successful offensive against science.
I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on September 8, 2024.
March 23, 2025
I gave this book 4 stars. The historical, biographical, business, enviornmental, and medical topics were interesting and seemingly well-written. However, there were many problems with the chemical information in the book, mostly related to tetraethyl lead. I am a retired PhD organic chemist with 40 years’ experience in the chemical industry. I like to read books on chemical topics that are written for the lay public because they’re usually on topics I never encountered in my chemistry classes. I always read them with a sharp eye for inaccurate and misleading chemical information. It is important to me that I point out incorrect chemical information because errors will creep into the public’s mind, giving the attitude: “I read it in a book, so it must be true.” I have read many such books containing egregious chemical misstatements. These errors indicate that the authors didn’t know much or anything about chemistry, but they have written about a chemical topic anyway. These authors could have simply found chemists to check their manuscripts for chemical errors before publication. The book “American Poison” is one loaded with incorrect chemistry, too numerous to list here.
I did not check the book for accuracy concerning people and biographical information, history of the companies mentioned, biology or medicine related to tetraethyllead (TEL). However, the author has claimed to be a science writer, and has ventured into the field of chemistry, but has given incorrect chemical information.
I did not check the book for accuracy concerning people and biographical information, history of the companies mentioned, biology or medicine related to tetraethyllead (TEL). However, the author has claimed to be a science writer, and has ventured into the field of chemistry, but has given incorrect chemical information.
August 30, 2025
This was a fascinating book about the poison of lead and the woman who spent her life fighting against it [and many other environmental poisons].
While I loved learning about Alice Hamilton [what a life she led!!], including learning about her living at Hull House and becoming close friends with its owner Jane Addams [Jane Addams was one of the first "real" people I read biography about, at age 10, and I absolutely adore her and her mission], a good chunk of this book went over my head as there is SO. MUCH. SCIENCE. [Thomas Midgley, the man behind Ethyl and lead gasoline, was a prolific scientist and we get to learn a LOT about him, including all the moronic things he did; he was a genius yes, but also a bit of a moron in regards to things outside of science], which is not only NOT my jam, it is not my strength either. while I truly was fascinated by what I was listening to [and trying to make heads or tails of what I was learning], I have to admit that most of the the science stuff was like listening to the teacher in the Peanuts cartoons. ;-)
I would 100% recommend this book because it IS fascinating and I absolutely loved learning about Alice Hamilton - she was really a force to be reckoned with and we need to be thankful that she did all she did to keep the world a much safer place.
Thank you to NetGalley, Daniel Stone, and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton/Dutton for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
While I loved learning about Alice Hamilton [what a life she led!!], including learning about her living at Hull House and becoming close friends with its owner Jane Addams [Jane Addams was one of the first "real" people I read biography about, at age 10, and I absolutely adore her and her mission], a good chunk of this book went over my head as there is SO. MUCH. SCIENCE. [Thomas Midgley, the man behind Ethyl and lead gasoline, was a prolific scientist and we get to learn a LOT about him, including all the moronic things he did; he was a genius yes, but also a bit of a moron in regards to things outside of science], which is not only NOT my jam, it is not my strength either. while I truly was fascinated by what I was listening to [and trying to make heads or tails of what I was learning], I have to admit that most of the the science stuff was like listening to the teacher in the Peanuts cartoons. ;-)
I would 100% recommend this book because it IS fascinating and I absolutely loved learning about Alice Hamilton - she was really a force to be reckoned with and we need to be thankful that she did all she did to keep the world a much safer place.
Thank you to NetGalley, Daniel Stone, and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton/Dutton for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 27, 2024
I loved this book, it read like a fast paced true crime novel. It set the time period, early 1920's, the characters from the "mad" scientist, the global elite power house of General Motors, against Alice Hamilton, a modern day workers rights champion....all clashing over tetra-ethyl Lead in gasoline.
The book read like a transcript from a court report. It was so engrossing, I loved learning all about gasoline, engine knock, and the race to find a better fuel for cars.
The characters themselves were almost mythical. The scientist, Midgley, who wanted to be a great inventor, and in his own right he was, however, even when he got lead poisoning he still believed that lead was the best, even knowing better.
The crusader, Alice Hamilton, working first at Hull House, and then a Harvard Professor, coming in to say, HEY there is a problem with this tetra ethyl leaded gasoline.
Then the court battle. And it was more of a trial in front of the US Surgeon General. But it was decided to put profits ahead of human health.
This book is so dramatic, it kept me engaged and made me want to learn all that I could about leaded gasoline.
THe author really did this subject justice and I understood exactly what he was saying and I learned something new.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
The book read like a transcript from a court report. It was so engrossing, I loved learning all about gasoline, engine knock, and the race to find a better fuel for cars.
The characters themselves were almost mythical. The scientist, Midgley, who wanted to be a great inventor, and in his own right he was, however, even when he got lead poisoning he still believed that lead was the best, even knowing better.
The crusader, Alice Hamilton, working first at Hull House, and then a Harvard Professor, coming in to say, HEY there is a problem with this tetra ethyl leaded gasoline.
Then the court battle. And it was more of a trial in front of the US Surgeon General. But it was decided to put profits ahead of human health.
This book is so dramatic, it kept me engaged and made me want to learn all that I could about leaded gasoline.
THe author really did this subject justice and I understood exactly what he was saying and I learned something new.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
January 31, 2025
This book was provided as an advance reader's copy from NetGalley.
American Poison is fairly well-written and informative. It does a good job of showing how corporations have used money and marketing campaigns to influence public opinion and policy for the sake of profit, rather than the common good.
However, this book is very disappointing, as it is completely mis-marketed and the description is miles away from what it claims to be. Alice Hamilton barely factors into this story, even as the subtitle and blurb give her top billing. After her early life/career is described, the story becomes about Thomas Midgley and Charles Kettering and their role in the Ethyl Corporation. The author clearly admires these men and spends a good many pages bringing them to life. Occasionally, Alice Hamilton pops in (like a cameo), to be angry with Ethyl Corp or mad at nazis. At these points her accomplishments/activities over the last few decades (because the story sometimes progresses that far along without a single mention of her) are listed out like a laundry list-- no real insight or depth fleshing them out. Kind of like the author suddenly remembered this is supposed to be a book about her. It really is a shame because she seems like a fascinating character. I would really have liked to read a book about her.
American Poison is fairly well-written and informative. It does a good job of showing how corporations have used money and marketing campaigns to influence public opinion and policy for the sake of profit, rather than the common good.
However, this book is very disappointing, as it is completely mis-marketed and the description is miles away from what it claims to be. Alice Hamilton barely factors into this story, even as the subtitle and blurb give her top billing. After her early life/career is described, the story becomes about Thomas Midgley and Charles Kettering and their role in the Ethyl Corporation. The author clearly admires these men and spends a good many pages bringing them to life. Occasionally, Alice Hamilton pops in (like a cameo), to be angry with Ethyl Corp or mad at nazis. At these points her accomplishments/activities over the last few decades (because the story sometimes progresses that far along without a single mention of her) are listed out like a laundry list-- no real insight or depth fleshing them out. Kind of like the author suddenly remembered this is supposed to be a book about her. It really is a shame because she seems like a fascinating character. I would really have liked to read a book about her.
May 5, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Riveting and Relevant Read
American Poison by Daniel Stone is deeply researched, well written, and disturbingly relevant. Stone unearths the gripping and little-known story of Alice Hamilton, a trailblazing doctor, scientist, and reformer who fought tirelessly to expose the hidden dangers of industrial toxins in the early 20th century. Her work laid the foundation for occupational health and environmental safety, yet her name remains unsung.
What makes this book exceptional is how Stone connects Hamilton's historic fight to our modern world. The same strategies used a century ago to downplay health risks—corporate obfuscation, political denial, and manipulation of public perception—are still very much alive today. American Poison is not just a biography; it's a warning.
Stone's storytelling is as gripping as it is enlightening, making scientific and political history feel urgent and personal. Without this book, I would have never known the magnitude of Alice Hamilton's legacy or how her courage continues to echo in today's environmental and public health debates. It is a powerful, essential read.
American Poison by Daniel Stone is deeply researched, well written, and disturbingly relevant. Stone unearths the gripping and little-known story of Alice Hamilton, a trailblazing doctor, scientist, and reformer who fought tirelessly to expose the hidden dangers of industrial toxins in the early 20th century. Her work laid the foundation for occupational health and environmental safety, yet her name remains unsung.
What makes this book exceptional is how Stone connects Hamilton's historic fight to our modern world. The same strategies used a century ago to downplay health risks—corporate obfuscation, political denial, and manipulation of public perception—are still very much alive today. American Poison is not just a biography; it's a warning.
Stone's storytelling is as gripping as it is enlightening, making scientific and political history feel urgent and personal. Without this book, I would have never known the magnitude of Alice Hamilton's legacy or how her courage continues to echo in today's environmental and public health debates. It is a powerful, essential read.
August 2, 2025
I picked up "American Poison" after a conversation with my son about "Poison Eaters" and the dangers lurking in everyday substances. He said, “Wait until you learn about lead in fuel. That’s what poisoned, killed, and slowed progress more than anything else.” He wasn’t exaggerating.
Daniel Stone dives deep into the history of leaded gasoline, tracing how it became the additive of choice despite early warnings and clear evidence of its toxicity. What shocked me most was that the inventor of leaded fuel *knew* it was poisonous,he even suffered from lead poisoning himself. Yet it was still pushed into widespread use.
The book also explores the flawed logic behind product regulation: instead of requiring proof of safety before something hits the market, the burden was on others to prove it was dangerous after harm was done. Workers were blamed for health issues that were clearly caused by the fuel itself. It’s infuriating and illuminating.
Highly recommend for anyone interested in environmental history, public health, or just understanding how corporate decisions shape our lives in ways we’re still reckoning with.
Daniel Stone dives deep into the history of leaded gasoline, tracing how it became the additive of choice despite early warnings and clear evidence of its toxicity. What shocked me most was that the inventor of leaded fuel *knew* it was poisonous,he even suffered from lead poisoning himself. Yet it was still pushed into widespread use.
The book also explores the flawed logic behind product regulation: instead of requiring proof of safety before something hits the market, the burden was on others to prove it was dangerous after harm was done. Workers were blamed for health issues that were clearly caused by the fuel itself. It’s infuriating and illuminating.
Highly recommend for anyone interested in environmental history, public health, or just understanding how corporate decisions shape our lives in ways we’re still reckoning with.
February 20, 2025
Absolutely fascinating and brilliantly written. American Poison is a compelling read that captures so many aspects of history I’d never considered—like how a graduate student first came up with the initial idea to understand the age of the Earth and what came before it.
Daniel Stone masterfully weaves science, history, and storytelling, making complex ideas both accessible and engaging. His ability to connect seemingly small discoveries to sweeping societal and environmental impacts is what makes this book so thought-provoking. It’s not just a story about science; it’s about the power of curiosity, the unintended consequences of progress, and the way knowledge evolves over time.
What struck me most was how the book challenges conventional wisdom—revealing the hidden forces that shaped our understanding of the natural world. Stone’s research is meticulous, but his writing is far from dry; it’s immersive, fast-paced, and filled with surprising twists. If you’re a fan of narrative non-fiction that blends history with scientific discovery, this is a must-read.
Daniel Stone masterfully weaves science, history, and storytelling, making complex ideas both accessible and engaging. His ability to connect seemingly small discoveries to sweeping societal and environmental impacts is what makes this book so thought-provoking. It’s not just a story about science; it’s about the power of curiosity, the unintended consequences of progress, and the way knowledge evolves over time.
What struck me most was how the book challenges conventional wisdom—revealing the hidden forces that shaped our understanding of the natural world. Stone’s research is meticulous, but his writing is far from dry; it’s immersive, fast-paced, and filled with surprising twists. If you’re a fan of narrative non-fiction that blends history with scientific discovery, this is a must-read.
March 23, 2025
Focused on two people, Alice Hamilton and Thomas Midgley Jr. who had impacts on inventions and environmental justice. Hamilton worked tirelessly to identify poisons that were hurting workers and children and figuring out ways to both advertise the disastrous consequences of it and find ways to take care to prevent it from continuing. It was her life's work. Midgley was a curious inventor who used gasoline to make efficient and quieter horseless carriages (cars) but also created the deadly conditions in which workers were subjected to. He was a curious fellow who made lots of money on his inventions and through the Depression built a monumental home continually employing people to give some of his money through work because he didn't know any other way before he was diagnosed with polio in his fifties.
This is an impactful nonfiction story about labor, lead, gasoline, working conditions, and justice that was more interesting than I thought it would be.
This is an impactful nonfiction story about labor, lead, gasoline, working conditions, and justice that was more interesting than I thought it would be.
November 19, 2025
You aren’t going to want to hear this but businesses don’t care about you, the environment, or even our very survival on this planet. By businesses, I mean large groups of horrible people. They care about money, inventing extremely harmful things to sell you so they can make more of it than they could ever spend or appreciate. Luckily, there are some people who do care about the truth, our safety, and our planet not dying. This is a well researched account of a couple of those people and a bunch of the former because unfortunately good and evil aren’t balanced in this world. Loved the inclusion of the very apropos deaths of some of the poison spewing super villains. Adored the ultimate understanding the world had of the heroes who fought against poisoning our planet and humankind. Seriously, it is hard to make all these facts interesting and the author made it downright compelling akin to a Marvel movie.
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