Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Poison Spring  By  cover art

Poison Spring

By: E. G. Vallianatos, McKay Jenkins
Narrated by: Michael McConnahie
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.95

Buy for $17.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

Editors Select, April 2014 - E.G. Vallianatos, writing with journalist McKay Jenkins, shares his insider knowledge of the Environmental Protection Agency – his employer for 25 years – in this horrifying yet important listen, Poison Spring. Vallianatos’ account of the deep-rooted corruption at the EPA, and the alarming number of poisons we ingest as a result of said corruption, genuinely frightened me. Outdated laws, an incredibly low number of test labs, and politicians (as well as the people who finance their campaigns) all contribute to an EPA whose interests no longer align with the health and welfare of the American people. Vallianatos advocates for a politically neutral EPA and smaller farms that promote safe agricultural practices as the path to a healthier future. Narrator Michael McConnahie delivers this message with the gravity and authority it deserves. —Katie, Audible Editor

Publisher's summary

Imagine walking into a restaurant and finding chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides, or neonicotinoid insecticides listed in the description of your entree. They may not be printed in the menu, but many are in your food.These are a few of the literally millions of pounds of approved synthetic substances dumped into the environment every day, not just in the US but around the world. They seep into our water supply, are carried thousands of miles by wind and rain from the site of application, remain potent long after they are deposited, and constitute, in the words of one scientist, "biologic death bombs with a delayed time fuse and which may prove to be, in the long run, as dangerous to the existence of mankind as the arsenal of atom bombs". All of these poisons are sanctioned--or in some cases, ignored--by the EPA.

For 25 years E.G. Vallianatos saw the EPA from the inside, with rising dismay over how pressure from politicians and threats from huge corporations were turning the it from the public's watchdog into a "polluter's protection agency." Based on his own experience, the testimony of colleagues, and hundreds of documents Vallianatos collected inside the EPA, Poison Spring reveals how the agency has continually reinforced the chemical-industrial complex.

Writing with acclaimed environmental journalist McKay Jenkins, E.G. Vallianatos provides a devastating expos of how the agency created to protect Americans and our environment has betrayed its mission. Half a century after after Rachel Carson's Silent Spring awakened us to the dangers of pesticides, we are poisoning our lands and waters with more toxic chemicals than ever.

©2014 E. G. Vallianatos with McKay Jenkins (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Poison Spring

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Frightening Wake Up Call!

As usual, the American public is under an illusion about what ''government'' agencies are supposed to be 'watching out for us and keeping us safe. However, this candid inside view of the EPA is a scary check of the real story and what goes on behind the scenes.

Their hands are tied and the large corporations that feed them are all corrupt and DO NOT have our best interest at heart. Well done to Valliantos and Jenkins for having the courage to write it down and spread the word. Maybe one day, someone will grow large enough testicles Or ovaries, to bring this out into the open and expose them for who they truly are and what they 'do not stand for'. You'll be outraged and sickened by the cover ups, the disregard and complete disdain for the American public. Fobid! That the American health of the people residing in it, should actually matter and be treated as a valued population where in their health could be placed at the top of the list.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love This Book

It's all what I wanted in a book. Recomended by the Beyond Pesticides organization that is legitimate with an achive of research of pestcidies and links to several diseases.

I've seen many of the things said here and there, but this seals the deal. Giving me a near push to get out of this country, on top of all the other issues that could be solved by the government. Will we survive healthy as we continue to live in the USA? Not sure.

Thank you for having this made as an audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

If you can get past the alarmist tone...

Lots of good information, again, if you can get past the alarmist tone the author has. Honestly, this is my critique of most environmentalists, through their tone and candor, they sound the part of an unreliable narrator... even when they are stating undeniable truths.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Shocking. Outrageous.

I can hardly believe the extent to which our government abandons science and public health in the face of industry bullying. Gross. All organic for me from now on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book that everyone should read!

If everyone read this book the world would be abetter place. Spells out the origin of all disease

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perhaps The Most Important Book of the 21st Century

This book contains information that every American needs to know, especially if you have children or grand children.

The Secret History of the EPA is worst than I have ever imagined. And the conduct of our elected officials, and the worlds' chemical companies is criminal.

The chemicals that are allowed to be used in our homes, yards, communities, and farmlands are truly weapons of mass destruction; and their use must be stopped, by whatever peaceful means possible.

If you are a parent with children, you need to know this information.

I would strongly encourage you take immediate action to protect your family's health by eliminating chemicals in your home. Take measures to filter you indoor air, your tap and well water, and eat beyond organic, local foods (know where your comes from and how it is grown).

Once you clean up your own house, tell your neighbors and form action committees to influence your community, and your local politicians.

Mothers, grandmothers, it is time to wake-up and take action to protect your/our children...!

Read this book, and get it into the hands of every person that you know, and then get involved, start your own local movement of change -- The time to act is now...!


Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful