This is not a book for environmentalists, only. Those who are pregnant or those who want healthy grandchildren will especially want to read Hormonal Chaos by Sheldon Krimsky. Every person who bought Mary Shomons' or Dr. Sanford Siegals' new books on thyroid failure should be interested in this book on the Environmental Endocrine Hypothesis. Synthetic thyroid is one of the most prescribed medications in the world. Thyroid disease is on the rise. Any person who ever faced infertility, prostate cancer or most cancer for that matter, reduced cognitive function, congestive heart failure, diabetes or immune dysfunction in themselves or someone they love must read Hormonal Chaos. Endocrine failure is involved in all of the above; furthermore,environmental endocrine disrupters may be the trigger that sets off a cascade of disease which results in "ambiguous sexual development" or fewer males. Krimsky has a very important message.

Sheldon Krimsky has written a readable, persuasive, informative and timely book. This is not a quick read but an engrossing read. Sheldon has proven a link between environmental toxins and endocrine disease. He offers not only a credible theory for endocrine failure through environmental toxins but documents it with scientifically sound data. Krimsky says, "It is usually in books, not in peer-reviewed journals, that one finds bold synthetic ideas that cross disciplinary boundaries." Sheldon Krimsky has crossed those boundaries; he is one of those courageous individuals who takes us to the next paradigm at perhaps his own peril.

Could the trigger that unleashes endocrine imbalance and failure be estrogenic hormonal modulators? Is it possible that with or even without a genetic glitch an environmental trigger could mean hormonal chaos? Could it be that endocrine disrupters such as chemicals combine with modern stress, polluted water and food to disrupt the metabolic pathway to produce the most prevalent and virulent diseases that plague our lives, even result in dual sexual organs. Krimsky has made a solid case for such an environmental endocrine hypothesis. I highly recommend Hormonal Chaos.

This book has achieved the status of a classic in the field of the social theory of risk. The collection of essays featured here are written by the leading authors in social science research on risk. I recommend this book as both a good introductory overview of the field as well as a handy reference volume. It is difficult to find an article written in the field that does not refer to this title.