Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?--A Scientific Detective Story

by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, John Peterson Myers

Book Overview

"A critically important book that forces us to ask new questions about the synthetic chemicals that we have spread across this earth."--former vice president Al Gore, author of An Inconvenient Truth

Our Stolen Future examines the ways that certain synthetic chemicals interfere with hormonal messages involved in the control of growth and development, especially in the fetus.

The developing fetus uses these natural hormonal messages, which come from both from its own hormone system and from its mother, to guide development. They influence virtually all of the growing individual's characteristics, from determining its sex to controlling the numbers of toes and fingers to shaping intricate details of brain structure.

Scientific research over the last 50 years has revealed that this hormonal control of development is vulnerable to disruption by synthetic chemicals. Through a variety of mechanisms, hormone-disrupting chemicals (also known as endocrine disrupting chemicals or endocrine disruptors) interfere with the natural messages and alter the course of development, with potential effects on virtually all aspects of bodily function.

Our Stolen Future explores the scientific discovery of endocrine disruption. The investigation begins with wildlife, as it was in animals that the first hints of widespread endocrine disruption appeared. The book then examines a series of experiments examining endocrine disruption of animals in the laboratory which show conclusively that fetal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals can wreak life-long damage. These experiments also reveal some of the biological processes by which these chemicals have their effects, and that endocrine disruption effects can be caused by exposure to infinitesimally small amounts of contaminant. Moving from animals to people, Our Stolen Future summarizes a series of well-studied examples where people have been affected by endocrine disrupting chemicals, most notably the synthetic hormone dietheylstilbestrol (DES), to which several million women were exposed through misguided medical attempts to manage difficult pregnancies in the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

Our Stolen Future then asks a broader, more difficult and more controversial set of questions. Given what is known from wildlife and laboratory studies, and from examples of well-studied human exposure, and given that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in the real world is widespread at levels comparable to those sufficient to cause animal harm, what effects should health scientists be looking for in people in general? Effects to be expected include declines in fertility and other impacts on the reproductive system of both men and women, impairments in disease resistance, and erosions in intelligence.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452274141
• ISBN13: 9780452274143
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

A life changer

The simple but profound truths in this book opened a lot of eyes -- within the chemical industry and in the real world. Facing some of the strongest opposition, Dr. Colborn changed lives (and scientific approaches) with Stolen Future. Humanity owes her a debt of gratitude. Perhaps EPA will start to require testing of chemicals for endocrine disruption. Regulations have only been delayed for a dozen years...

This book will make you think

This book is an incredible read. I highly recommend it for anyone who is concerned about the environment and their own health. This book contains a lot of research, which contributes to its credibility, however it is far from your typical scientific book. It's a fascinating read for anyone, whether they have a background in biology or environmental science or not. I actually read it as part of an extra credit assignment for one of my college classes. My original intention was to skim the book and write a summary. I became so wrapped up in the book that I literally read it cover to cover - including the forward and the afterward. I later purchased my own copy. This book is both challenging and fascinating. Read it!

An alert for us to heed now and to prevent further damage ..

This book is a must read for all who are concerned about improving their own quality of life and that of our future generations, as well as preserving life in every facet. It is our responsibility to pass on this information in whatever capacity we are equipped to do so.

Our Stolen Future, Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelli

This book is a must read for anyone concerned about the survivial of the human race and the terrible price we are paying by pouring toxic chemicals into our environment without thought for the consequences. As a gynecologist I have been trained in reproductive embryology and endocrinology. Cancer is only one of many worries from these pollutants and this book makes more sense than any I've read on the subject. Easy to read for laypeople and scientist alike. Should be required reading for every high school and college student and every parent.

Please stop the world now, I?d like to get off?.

Without doubt, this is the most terrifying book I've ever read. Stephen King, move over, reality bites.....Nope, this is not fiction, this is the air we breathe, the food we eat - even the very containers we eat from. No place on the planet is safe anymore, so would someone please stop it and let me off now?For me, the most terrifying aspect was the dawning realization that I had read many of the research papers cited within, but had not drawn the elements together. As the pieces fell into place, my eyes opened in horror at the implications....and I looked down at my infant son, who I was breastfeeding, appalled at the choices now confronting me. But make no mistake, this is no tabloid horror, nor a new age book on the environment. This is a well-researched work, with an opening prelude by Vice President Al Gore. The facts are presented in a clear, concise manner that does not require a college degree to understand, but nor will it bore academics. Told with the same mounting tension as Richard Preston's The Hot Zone, the real terror comes when the reader realizes that unlike Ebola, there is no possible escape. This is not some emerging virus in a distant country, this is here...now, already in us....Current human population growth masterfully disguises an insidious biological time bomb already exploding within us all. In our desire to create new and better chemical nightmares manufactured under the guise of modern living conveniences, we may be headed to extinction as fast and sure as any currently endangered species. ...And it's hitting is right where it hurts most, the physical and psychological abilities we need to reproduce. But like a well presented piece of research, with the null hypothesis clearly in mind, this book does not draw unfounded conclusions. It allows you, the reader, to draw your own. And when you do, you may never sleep well again.Buy this book. Read it, lend a copy to a friend and encourage them to buy it. It may be the single most important book you ever read.