fagin press kit

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PRESS RELEASE

Toms River A Story of Science and Salvation

By Dan Fagin With New Afterword Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction The New York Library Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism The National Academies Best Book Award The Society of Environmental Journalists Rachel Carson Book Award Washington, DC (April 7, 2015) – The story of Toms River, New Jersey, is all too familiar: a chemical company, a small town, sick children, government secrecy, and too many questions. But in the Pulitzer-Prize–winning Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, professor and journalist Dan Fagin gives the town’s story a life of its own, delivering a stunning narrative that seamlessly blends hard-hitting investigative journalism, scientific discovery, and unforgettable characters.

Deemed a “new classic of environmental reporting” by the New York Times when it was originally published in hardcover, Toms River is the story of how a town was ravaged by industrial pollution and how the community fought for justice. But Fagin digs deeper, raising fundamental questions about living in an industrial world. How is pollution connected to disease? How might economic and health risks be balanced? What is the responsibility of manufacturers to operate safely? What role does government play? How do we protect our children?

These questions have become universal in the wake of Love Canal, NY; Woburn, MA; Toms River; and other environmental catastrophes. But the details of each story matter, and this is where Fagin is a master. With his exceptional talent for investigative reporting and storytelling, he tells the story of the everyday people involved: a young boy whose fastgrowing tumors decimated his body from birth; a nurse who brought to light the alarming incidence of childhood cancers to the attention of authorities who didn’t want to listen; a ISLAND PRESS | PRESS RELEASE | 1

mother whose love for her stricken child transformed her into a tenacious advocate for change; scientists who spent countless hours poring over epidemiological data; lawyers who battled over the weight of scientific evidence; and a community that is still trying to make sense of its toxic legacy.

Rooted in a centuries-old scientific quest, Toms River is an epic of dumpers at midnight and deceptions in broad daylight, of corporate avarice and government neglect, and of a few brave individuals who refused to keep silent until the truth was exposed. It achieves that special feat of a great narrative: offering a story that is at once universal and deeply personal, iconic and unforgettable. When it was first published in 2013, the book was universally praised and won numerous awards. Now, in a new afterword, Fagin reflects on readers’ response to the book and the ongoing environmental health issues it forces us to confront.

Dan Fagin is an associate professor of journalism and the director of the Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. His work has been recently published in Nature, The New York Times, Scientific American, and Slate and he is also the co-author of Toxic Deception. Visit danfagin.com for more information.

Toms River

By Dan Fagin Island Press Paperback 576 pages | Price: $18.00 | ISBN: 978-1-61091-591-5 Publication Date: April 7, 2015 www.islandpress.org/toms-river Founded in 1984, Island Press works to stimulate, shape, and communicate the information that is essential for solving environmental problems. Today, with more than 800 titles in print and some 40 new releases each year, it is the nation’s leading publisher of books on environmental issues. But Island Press does more than publish books. It advances environmental science by nurturing the exchange of ideas across disciplines and sectors, and by helping to create a multidisciplinary literature on environmental problems and solutions. Island Press’s emphasis is, and will continue to be, on transforming objective information into understanding and action. For more information and further updates be sure to visit www.islandpress.org. ###

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT EMAIL CONTACT EMAIL WEBSITE

Jaime Jennings, 202-232-7933 x44 jjennings@islandpress.org Meghan Bartels, 202-232-7933 x43 mbartels@islandpress.org www.islandpress.org

PRAISE

TOMS RIVER

by Dan Fagin 2014 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction “[S]urely a new classic of science reporting . . . This is, after all, no fairy tale, but a sober story of probability and compromise, laid out with the care and precision that characterizes both good science and great journalism in a territory where both are often reduced to their worst.”

—The New York Times “[A]n absorbing and thoughtful navigation of our era of synthetic chemicals.”

—USA Today

“Dan Fagin traces [the town’s destruction] with marvelous precision in his new book, Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation.”

—The New Yorker “Fagin’s . . . exhaustive reporting and honest look at the cause, obstacles, and unraveling of a cancerous trail should be required environmental reading.”

—Philadelphia Inquirer “[E]qual parts sociology, epidemiology, and detective novel . . . Fagin’s compelling book raises broader questions about what communities are willing to sacrifice in the name of economic development.”

—Mother Jones “Dan Fagin’s narrative . . . weaves a complex tale of powerful industry, local politics, water rights, epidemiology, public health and cancer in a gripping, page-turning environmental thriller. Fiercely reported and accentuated with lessons in both historical science and modern medicine, Toms River is a tale of toxic waste, and the families and communities left in its wake.”

—National Public Radio “A fascinating, carefully written description of chemical industry malpractices during the past five decades.”

—Science “This hard-hitting account of cancer epidemiology in the New Jersey town of Toms River is a triumph.”

—Nature “Informative, eye-opening, and equally troubling and inspiring; an expertly written example of economics at a human cost with a strong vein of science throughout. This book is necessary reading for anyone interested in environmental health and cancer epidemiology.”

—The Lancet “A crisp, hard-nosed probe into corporate arrogance and the power of public resistance makes this environmental caper essential reading.”

—Publishers Weekly

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT EMAIL CONTACT EMAIL WEBSITE

Jaime Jennings, 202-232-7933 x44 jjennings@islandpress.org Meghan Bartels, 202-232-7933 x43 mbartels@islandpress.org www.islandpress.org

BIOGRAPHY Dan Fagin A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who writes frequently about environmental science, Dan Fagin is also a science journalism professor at New York University. His book, Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer for General Nonfiction, as well as the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, the National Academies Science Book Award, and the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award. Fagin’s recent publications include articles in The New York Times, Scientific American, Nature, and Slate. His new book project is about monarch butterflies and the Anthropocene. Fagin is also the co-author of Toxic Deception (2002, Common Courage Press), which The New York Times called “the story of the triumph of a special interest over the public interest.”

Before joining the NYU faculty in 2005, Fagin was the environmental writer at Newsday for 15 years, during which time he was twice a principal member of reporting teams that were Pulitzer finalists. He has also won both of the best-known science journalism prizes in the United States: the Science Journalism Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Science in Society Award of the National Association of Science Writers. At NYU, Fagin is an associate professor of journalism at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and the director of the masters-level Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP), one of the oldest and best-regarded science journalism training programs in the world.

Fagin has been a Templeton-Cambridge Fellow in Science and Religion at the University of Cambridge and has also had fellowships at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and the Institute of Arctic Biology in Toolik Lake, Alaska. He is a former president of the 1,200-member Society of Environmental Journalists, the oldest and largest association of journalists dedicated to improving the quality, accuracy, and visibility of environmental coverage.

Photo courtesy Ken Spencer

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