In this probing look at how plastic built the modern world--and the price the world has paid for plastic--journalist Freinkel points out that we're nearing a crisis point and gives readers the tools needed through lively anecdotes and analysis.

Praise for Plastic:

In a world glutted and fouled with fake plastic crap we never missed during nearly our entire history, Susan Freinkel s timely book on the subject is the real thing. No animals or children were harmed by its writing, I m sure but thanks to her diligence, a whole lot of them just might be saved. Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us

Plastic is everywhere, and Susan Freinkel explains why. Plastic: A Toxic Love Story is gracefully written and deeply informative. Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe

The first step to creating change is understanding, and the first step to understanding anything to do with plastic is reading Susan Freinkel s compelling, much-needed, and truly brilliant book. David de Rothschild, leader of the Plastiki Expedition

Who d have thought that combs, Frisbees, and lighters could have such secret histories and such disturbing futures? Susan Freinkel s page-turner brings together history, science, and culture to help us understand the plastic world that we have wrought and that has become part of us. Although we should all worry that plastics will persist for centuries, Plastic deserves to endure for years to come. Raj Patel, author of The Value of Nothing

A must-read, and a fun-read, for anyone who wonders how our society became so plastics-saturated and who wants to do something about it. Annie Leonard, author of The Story of Stuff

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It turns out that plastic is not only an ongoing environmental peril, but a compulsively interesting story. Buy it (with cash). Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth, founder of 350.org

Susan Freinkel s book exponentially increased my desirous love and my hate for plastic. What a great read rigorous, smart, inspiring, and as seductive as plastic itself. Karim Rashid, Designer

Plastic built the modern world. Where would we be without pacemakers, polyester, computers, cell phones, sneakers, or chewing gum? (Plastic in gum? Yes!)

But a century into our love affair with plastic, the romance is starting to fray. Plastics draw on dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. And yet each year we use and consume more; we ve produced as much plastic in the past decade as we did in the entire twentieth century. We re trapped in an unhealthy dependence a toxic relationship.

In this engaging and eye-opening book, journalist Susan Freinkel shows that we have reached a crisis point. She treks through history, science, and the global economy to assess the real impact of plastic on our lives.

Freinkel tells her story through eight familiar plastic objects: comb, chair, Frisbee, IV bag, disposable lighter, grocery bag, soda bottle, and credit card. Each one illuminates a different facet of our synthetic world, and together they give us a new way of thinking about a substance that has become the defining medium and metaphor of our age.

Her conclusion? We cannot stay on our plastic-paved path. And we don t have to. Plastic points the way toward a new creative partnership with the material we love to hate but can t seem to live without.

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Plastic built the modern world. Where would we be without bike helmets, baggies, toothbrushes, and pacemakers? But a century into our love affair with plastic, we're starting to realize it's not such a healthy relationship. Plastics draw on dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. As journalist Susan Freinkel points out in this engaging and eye-opening book, we're nearing a crisis point. We've produced as much plastic in the past decade as we did in the entire twentieth century. We're drowning in the stuff, and we need to start making some hard choices.

Freinkel gives us the tools we need with a blend of lively anecdotes and analysis. She combs through scientific studies and economic data, reporting from China and across the United States to assess the real impact of plastic on our lives. She tells her story through eight familiar plastic objects: comb, chair, Frisbee, IV bag, disposable lighter, grocery bag, soda bottle, and credit card. Her conclusion: we cannot stay on our plastic-paved path. And we don't have to. Plastic points the way toward a new creative partnership with the material we love to hate but can't seem to live without.