Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed
"Atop a craggy mesa in the northern reaches of the Navajo reservation lies what was once a world-class uranium mine called Monument No.2 Discovered in the 1940s---during the government's desperate press to build nuclear weapons---the mesa's tremendous lode would forever change the lives of the hundreds of Native Americans who labored there and of their families, including many who dwelled in the valley below for generations afterward." "Yellow Dirt offers readers a window into a dark chapter...
Search in google:
Award-winning reporter Judy Pasternak tells the haunting story of uranium mining on the Navajo desert and its terrible, long-ignored legacy. The Washington Post - Ann Cummins …disturbing and illuminating…There's nothing clinical or dry about Yellow Dirt. While Pasternak cites a wide array of specialists in fields ranging from geology to nuclear physics, the story unfolds like true crime, where real-life heroes and villains play dynamic roles in a drama that escalates page by page…Pasternak is a compelling writer…
Principal CharactersPrologue S-37, Som, and Soq 1THE URANIUM RUSHPART I THE PATRIARCHDiscoveryChapter 1 The Special Rocks 13Chapter 2 The Secret Quest 24Chapter 3 Jumping on the King 33PART II THE SONFear and FrenzyChapter 4 The Power of Leetso 43Chapter 5 Cold War 53Chapter 6 The Obstacle 65Chapter 7 A Hundred Tons a Day 80Chapter 8 Endings 98TOXIC LEGACYPART III THE GRANDCHILDRENAftermathChapter 9 Fallout 119Chapter 10 Avalanche of Suspicion 131Chapter 11 A Blind Eye and a Deaf Ear 145PART IV THE GREAT-GRANDCHILDRENDeath and AwakeningChapter 12 "Hear Our Voices" 163Chapter 13 Under Scrutiny from Every Angle 180Chapter 14 Resistance 197Chapter 15 Ghosts 220Chapter 16 Beginnings 241Epilogue The Steeple 254Acknowledgments 261Notes 265Selected Bibliography 293Index 305
\ Publishers WeeklyJournalist Pasternak details the history of American uranium mining and its horrific consequences for the Navajo people in this stunning tale of deception, betrayal, and bitter consequences. Situated atop some of the richest uranium deposits in the country, the reservation covers parts of Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona and the area was instrumental in the building of the atomic bomb and, later, the cold war arms race. From 1930 to 1960, Navajo miners worked long days without ventilation or protective gear, while mining companies and government officials withheld from them information about the hazards of radiation. As birth defects and cancers became more prevalent than in the general population (residents of the reservation were 15-200 times more likely to contract stomach cancer), government agencies actively prevented the Navajos from connecting their illnesses to the uranium saturating their water, homes, livestock, and topsoil. The author brings half a century of deception to light and details the halting efforts to secure compensation for the victims. With nuclear power once more being discussed as a solution to America’s energy problems, Pasternak’s portrait of a devastated community and callous governmental indifference is crucial reading. (Sept.)\ \ \ \ \ Ann Cummins…disturbing and illuminating…There's nothing clinical or dry about Yellow Dirt. While Pasternak cites a wide array of specialists in fields ranging from geology to nuclear physics, the story unfolds like true crime, where real-life heroes and villains play dynamic roles in a drama that escalates page by page…Pasternak is a compelling writer…\ —The Washington Post\ \ \ From the Publisher"An explosive account.... Disturbing and well-documented." —-Kirkus Starred Review\ \
