This book was very annoying.

It should have been a good book. It had good ingredients - the author is clearly very knowledgeable and had a compelling reason to get into this subject long ago. He is likable and obviously passionate. And this book is new (2023), so the information is up to date.

But the recipe was ruined by dumbing it all down to a 6th grade level. This is a trend in modern books and I absolutely hate it. I am also guilty; I avoid big and rare words and attempt the simplest explanation. But this book took it too far.

He tried to cover practically every consumer product category (makeup, cleaners, EMF, clothing, food, etc.), which is admirable, but it all felt rushed - an incomplete overview. It was frustrating to me because I’ve read better books on all of these subjects, and I think just a little bit more explanation on each subject would make it actually make sense.

The author tried. I don’t really blame him. But it’s clear that he knows more than is in the book. He could have included more, but I assume that crucial details were left out to keep the book at a 6th grade level.

The biggest failure here is writing for the wrong audience. If he were truly writing for kids then they wouldn’t get it because he still uses several medical words and it lacks the thorough explanation a beginner would need. And it’s definitely not written for adults. I don’t know anyone I could recommend this to.

Covering so many topics needs more space. It couldn’t possibly be good enough as a brisk overview. Language can be dumbed down but the concepts should still be properly explained. And though it’s a minor thing, the author swore once for no reason at all, which is another thing I hate about modern books. I wouldn’t normally mention this but it was jarring to me and totally unnecessary.

I just kept hoping for more. These topics are interesting and important, but it just kept whisking me onto the next topic. I like the author’s perspective (he’s hard line: just stop using ___; but he also provided less harmful alternatives), but I hated the delivery.

Disappointing. Do not recommend.