This is what I call a Stance Book. It's a specific subgenre of current events non-fiction, in which the author(s) present an argument for a certain belief. These books are common, and relatively easy to identify. Stance Books have true merit; they can expose people to new ideas and intellectual stimulation, or even just help readers refine their beliefs (as happened with me when I read "The Case for Animal Rights" by Tom Regan). Even if sometimes they contribute to information bubbles, they're still an informative way for somebody to expand their mind. That being said, the VAST majority of stance books are garbage.

For every insightful book outlining the rise of extremism in modern American politics, there's twenty with flashy titles like "Clutz in Chief: The Drumpf story", or "Obummer: How Barack Damaged the American Tradition". And yes, I made both of those titles up, but I would not be surprised to find them on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. Books like these, which are largely designed to attract brief attention and become bookshelf-buys, are the click-bait of literature. Usually you can flip to a random chapter and immediately detect how hollow and uninformative any of the content is.

However, this is a great Stance Book. "The Real Cost of Fracking" does exactly what it tells you it will do: outlines why we should be opposed to the process of hydraulic fracturing to obtain natural gas. It's a controversial topic that I knew less about compared to other environmental issues, so I picked this up for a quick read before going home for the summer. Upon starting, I tore this puppy apart in about 3 days. Granted, part of that is because it's a shorter book than it appears (it has thick pages and large margins), but it's also because the argumentation was addictive. Why? This was written by a scientist and a veterinarian, and yet it has the literary gravitas of some of the best non-fiction I've ever found.

The arguments are so filled with scientific research and technical speak, it gets a little dry. This is part of why it's four stars, not five. However, this works to it's advantage. Most of the book contains first-hand accounts of families that have been damaged by fracking, so doing it through a lens of research allows for the book to hold up against almost any counter-argument. Stance Books are often purely opinion based or anecdotal, while some of them drown in so much science it's more of a thesis than an actual book. The Real Cost of Fracking finds a good balance, and effectively briefs the reader on this issue, both in terms of the science and in terms of the application.

Granted, I am probably this book's ideal choice as a reader. Somebody is young, loves reading, and is already passionate about environmental activism. Nevertheless, the closing chapter titled "Where Do We Go From Here?" was absolutely stirring and inspiring, not to mention the incredibly helpful Appendix that explains what the heck fracking is in the first place.

I feel more knowledgeable, and more interested, in the topic now that I've read the book. While I agreed with the authors going in, I have a better idea of why I believe these things and why I should fight for those beliefs. This is the ultimate goal of any given Stance Book, so this book was an objective success.

(Plus, it's such a great physical book to own. The matte-paperback cover feels so nice, the pages are thick, I could hold this book for 80 years. If this publisher makes more books like this, I'll listen to whatever garbage the author wants to write for me.) ( )

The “Real Cost of Fracking” by Michelle Bamberger and Robert Oswald is an outstanding work on the toll that our dependence on fossil fuel has had on the health of people, animals and the environment. As a New Yorker living over the Utica shale, I found the stories of the people affected by the fracking industry very disturbing. No one in this country, or the world for that matter, should be denied a safe source of drinking water, nor should companies be allowed to be secretive about the chemicals used in the fracking process. If this is so “safe” then why are people becoming sick with serious illnesses, animals dying and farmers unable to assure a safe food supply on these lands? It is indeed time for a wake-up call before we damage our planet and ourselves beyond repair. I highly recommend this book to all ! ( )

In “The Real Cost of Fracking,” Bamberger and Oswald describe the medical and environmental challenges associated with the fracking industry. The biggest issue with the industry is how secretive it is about the chemicals that are used and how claimants are not allowed to talk about their medical problems. Companies are extremely protective of the mixture of chemicals that they use and have made sure that the law allows them to stay unidentified. With animals and land resources being harmed, many more people are affected by these damages. The authors make well informed arguments for why these chemical mixtures need to be known and the harmful consequences of allowing them to remain a secret. This is a must read for anyone interested in the fracking industry.

The Real Cost of Fracking hooked me from the start with a foreword by Sandra Steingraber. This book was an engaging read. The authors mix scholarly explanations of the fracking process with compassionate stories of people and animals negatively impacted. The explanations are thorough but easy to follow. There are extensive footnotes. An appendix describes the history from the geological creation of the substances we know as fossil fuels to the current high-tech extraction process known as high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing. One minor complaint: the authors focus on fracking for natural gas in the northeastern United States, but fracking for oil is prevalent elsewhere in the U.S., like the Dakotas, Texas, Illinois, and Indiana, and presents similar dangers.

Toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, polluted water supplies, earthquakes, violations of landowner rights, climate change, environmental justice, and politics, they’re all here. And solutions, too. Readers will be the benefactors of the four years of work that went into this presentation. ( )

The authors do a fantastic job explaining why the biggest threats to public health in America may not be a virus, superbug, or rising drug costs, but rather nondisclosure agreements in civil lawsuits. In 'Real', a veterinarian and a pharmacologist spend years documenting the impact hydraulic drilling/extraction is having on the health and livelihoods of farmers and their ranch/companion animals who have lost their water supplies to fracking operations in rural Pennsylvania and other states. They also shed some much-needed light on the reasons why nobody outside the courtroom, including doctors, are talking about these issues. A must read for anyone considering leasing their mineral rights, or who inherited/bought property with unused mineral rights, or anyone sharing a neighborhood with either of those people. While the contents apply to many states, this book will be of particular interest to residents of Pennsylvania. ( )