Breathing space : how allergies shape our lives and landscapes / Gregg Mitman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mitman, Gregg.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Respiratory allergy--Popular works.

Respiratory allergy.

Respiratory allergy--Environmental aspects.

Physical Description:

xv, 312 p. : ill., maps.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Allergy is the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the United States. More than fifty million Americans suffer from allergies, and they spend an estimated 8 billion coping with them. Yet despite advances in biomedicine and enormous investment in research over the past fifty years, the burden of allergic disease continues to grow. Why have we failed to reverse this trend? Breathing Space offers an intimate portrait of how allergic disease has shaped American culture, landscape, and life. Drawing on environmental, medical, and cultural history and the life stories of people, plants, and insects, Mitman traces how America's changing environment from the late 1800s to the present day has led to the epidemic growth of allergic disease. We have seen a never-ending stream of solutions to combat allergies, from hay fever resorts, herbicides, and air-conditioned homes to numerous potions and pills. But, as Mitman shows, despite the quest for a magic bullet, none of the attempted solutions has succeeded. Until we address how our changing environment-physical, biological, social, and economic-has helped to create America's allergic landscape, that hoped-for success will continue to elude us.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

Introduction

1. Hay Fever Holiday

2. When Pollen Became Poison

3. The Last Resorts

4. Choking Cities

5. On the Home Front

6. An Inhaler in Every Pocket

Epilogue

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [255]-295) and index.

ISBN:

9786611729011

9781281729019

1281729019

9780300138320

0300138326

OCLC:

923591300