Plastic, Susan Freinkel
Plastic, Susan Freinkel
1 Rating(s)
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Plastic
A Toxic Love Story

Author: Susan Freinkel

Narrator: Pam Ward

Unabridged: 10 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/18/2011

Synopsis

Plastic built the modern world. Where would we be without bike helmets, baggies, toothbrushes, and pacemakers? But a century into our love affair with plastic, we're starting to realize it's not such a healthy relationship. Plastics draw dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. As journalist Susan Freinkel points out in this engaging and eye-opening book, we're nearing a crisis point. We're drowning in the stuff, and we need to start making some hard choices. Freinkel gives us the tools we need with a blend of lively anecdotes and analysis. She combs through scientific studies and economic data, reporting from China and across the United States to assess the real impact of plastic on our lives. She tells her story through eight familiar plastic objects: comb, chair, Frisbee, IV bag, disposable lighter, grocery bag, soda bottle, and credit card. Her conclusion: we cannot stay on our plastic-paved path. Plastic points the way toward a new creative partnership

About Susan Freinkel

Susan Freinkel has written for the New York Times, Discover, Smithsonian, and Health, among other publications. She is the author of American Chestnut, which Mary Roach called a perfect book and Richard Preston described as a beautifully written account filled with top-notch writing and reporting.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Beth on March 26, 2012

In the beginning of 2009, I sat in an Oakland Cafe with San Francisco journalist Susan Freinkel, explaining my plastic-free life. She was working on a book about the story of plastic and wanted to hear my point of view, which of course I shared enthusiastically, even dragging her off the butcher sho......more

Goodreads review by Adhityani on July 18, 2011

An absolute eye opener. As someone who calls herself eco-conscious, I am already aware of the dangers bit and pieces of plastic pose to our health and environment. But I must say I have been oblivious to the history and the science of plastic, and I also refused to think about plastic as a material......more

Goodreads review by Bintou on January 17, 2021

extremely informative and really forced me to take stock of the role plastic plays in my life and in our world. I don't know how we reconcile this with the obvious issue of plastic waste that we haven't quite solved. I took a star off for the format of the book. I think it was interesting that she e......more

Goodreads review by Elsie on May 09, 2012

As a sailor I’ve been horrified by plastic litter on remote and otherwise pristine beaches of the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska. “Plastic: A Toxic Love Story” explains how the plastic got there and why it’s so difficult to keep it away. This is a must read for anyone concerned about the envi......more

Goodreads review by Danielle on January 20, 2011

I received this book as an e-galley from NetGalley. After reading it I now know more about plastic than I ever thought possible. This is not necessarily a bad thing, I just had no idea how much there was to know about plastic. Freinkel looks at plastic through the lens of ordinary plastic things we......more

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