Evolution in a Toxic World : How Life Responds to Chemical Threats.

"Exceedingly detailed and thoroughly researched treatise... Monosson's prose is necessarily complex as she gives her subject its scientific due, but for those who seek a thorough understanding of this timely issue, she offers a text solidly grounded in both history and contemporary analysis. Patient readers will be well rewarded."--Booklist "A new field is born--evolutionary toxicology--and Monosson has opened the door for us."--Quarterly Review of Biology "Well written, very readable, thought-provoking. Highly recommended reading for environmental scientists and non-scientists." --Peter M. Chapman, principal, Golder Associates Ltd "Dr. Monosson has provided an original synthesis of this intriguing and often neglected topic. She uses fascinating examples to illustrate how an evolutionary perspective enriches our understanding of chemicals and their myriad interactions with living systems." --Mark E. Hahn, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution "Evolution in a Toxic World describes how biological defenses have evolved over time, responding to challenges of an ever-changing environment. Monosson draws on 'lessons learned' to address the key question of whether we can defend ourselves against the myriad agents that we introduce into the environment. In this engaging and sweeping book, she looks for the answer." --Jonathan M. Samet, Director, Institute for Global Health, University of Southern California "This 222-page book is a thought-provoking summary of an important but often ignored subject matter, environmental toxicology." --Barney Lipscomb "Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas " "The book is written in an accessible style and is aimed at the general public, as well as at scientists. The third-person scientific writing is interspersed with personal anecdotes and thoughts, which should help to make the book more appealing." --Bioscience "Monosson posits that the field of toxicology should look to evolution to understand biological responses to today's chemical threats." --Conservation "This book is utterly fascinating, covering all sorts of toxins from the beginning of life on Earth, and continuing through modern times and predicting what the future may hold." --The Guardian GrrlScientist blog "The book should appeal to a broad audience and will spur future interest in the fields of evolutionary toxicology....well-written" --Ecology "An intriguing and thought-provoking synthesis of how environmental stressors have shaped life on the planet. The book challenges us to consider that genomic diversity not only tells us about the past, it helps us predict the future: how different groups of organisms will respond to new environmental stressors, including those of human origin." --L. Earl Gray, Research Biologist "Evolution in a Toxic World addresses the challenges posed to life on earth by a plethora of toxic threats. There are chapters dedicated to ozone, oxygen, metals, assorted chemical agents, cancer, etc. ... The book serves as an excellent introduction to the topic of toxicology and evolution for the college student or general reader." --Science Books and Films "A toxicologist traces how life evolved to deal with toxic substances and how this plays into chemical exposures today." --Science News ..".it does provide detailed information about how life evolved to survive everything that our planet, other organisms and its own cells can throw at it through some fascinating examples." --Science Illustrated "this book really made me love evolutionary biology" --Toxicology Student Association blog Read more...