Toxic Debt

Josiah Rector is assistant professor of history at the University of Houston.

[Josiah Rector] has written a book that advances two major interventions. First, it pushes back the environmental justice movement's genesis to midcentury union organizing. Second, and just as significantly, it firmly connects the effects of debt and austerity--that is to say, capitalism--to environmental racism. . . . Toxic Debt is an outstanding book . . . relentlessly clear-eyed in its focus on contemporary injustice and resistance."--Scott W. Stern, New York Review of Books A groundbreaking study that opens up new questions and perspectives in urban and environmental history, while simultaneously showing a real understanding of the stakes for present and future residents of Detroit . . . . a major achievement . . . . a new model for understanding and explaining our current environmental challenges, as well as their causes and consequences."--Journal of American History A must-read for anyone doing work on the environment, sociology, public health, policy, or labor in Detroit and beyond . . . . accessible and important for wide-reaching audiences, including activists, policymakers, practitioners, and scholars."--Sociology of Race and Ethnicity An outstanding book examining multiple issues of environmental justice in Detroit. . . . Alongside the issues, Rector highlights the story of the many people involved in environmental justice activism, critically examining successes and failures in their efforts to bring about change. . . . Highly recommended."--CHOICE