Hazardous Substances Books

This is a non fiction book by Joseph Roth whose other books are mainly fiction - he was a prized journalist and writes like the best of both worlds - this book is an extraordinary picture of a period of life which we don't know enough about - because WW II got in the way and rendered information about Jews and life in Germany and eastern Europe in the 20's and 30's sort of academic and moot - It is an important and compelling and sad book - sad because we readers know facts that the author doesn't - we know what happened and he doesn't know the future. It is a valuable book which I have recommended and given to many friends.

"The Wandering Jews" of the title are the displaced and unwanted Jews of Eastern Europe (from where Roth himself came before he made himself into one of Western Europe's foremost journalists and writers) before World War II. As Roth puts it, "Eastern Jews have no home anywhere, but their graves may be found in every cemetery." And as Roth foreshadowed (that line originally was published in 1925; this translation also includes the preface and an afterword to the later 1937 edition), the plight of the Eastern Jews only promised to become more dire. Indeed, one senses that Roth despaired that any strident alarm would be in vain. Thus, more than an alarm, THE WANDERING JEWS is a requiem. (And Roth went on to drink himself to death in 1939.)

In the first part of the book, Roth sets out to limn the character and essence of the Eastern Jew. I am willing to believe that he is thoroughly successful. (Example: "None of the many untrue and unjust accusations that are brought against Eastern Jews by the West are as untrue and unjust as the accusation that they are what the gutter press likes to call Bolshevik. Of all the world's poor, the poor Jew is surely the most conservative.")

In the second part of the book, Roth provides snapshots of five different aggregations of the Eastern Jews -- in the ghettoes of Vienna, Berlin, and Paris, in America (where there are "people who are more Jewish than the Jews, which is to say the Negroes"), and in Soviet Russia. As for the future of the Jews in Russia, Roth was somewhat optimistic in 1925, but by 1937 that optimism had been dispelled altogether. (Roth thus proved himself more cold-bloodedly realistic than many contemporary European liberals.)

Joseph Roth was a superb writer and a masterful polemicist. (I recently read a collection of H.L. Mencken's journalism, this particular one "A Religious Orgy in Tennessee", dealing with the Scopes Monkey Trial, and while there are obvious similarities between Roth and Mencken, who were contemporaries, Roth was by far the better and more cultured writer.) Here, the sardonic and sarcastic tone, albeit understandable, is at times wearing, but it is readily tolerated and forgiven by virtue of the sheer acuity of Roth's intellect and insights and by his compassion.

Roth is extremely prescient, not only about communism and Soviet Russia and about the Nazis and the Holocaust ("Centuries of civilization are no guarantee that a European people, by some ghastly curse of fate, will not revert to barbarism."), but also, startlingly so, about the Zionist/Palestinian dilemma. With regard to that last conundrum, I will let Roth, once again, speak for himself:

"Zionism and nationhood are by their nature Western European ideals * * *. Only in the East do people live who are unconcerned with their "nationality", in the Western European sense. They speak several languages, are themselves the product of several generations of mixed marriages, and fatherland for them is whichever country happens to conscript them. * * * Natiionality is a Western concept."

"The young halutzim [Zionist Jews who seek to establish a Jewish presence in Palestine] are brave farmers and workers, and they demonstrate the willingness of the Jew to work and till the fields and become sons of the soil, in spite of having spent hundreds of years among books. Unfortunately the halutzim are also oblighed to take up arms, to be soldiers, and to protect the land against the Arabs. Thus the European example has been carried into Palestine. * * * The Jew has a right to Palestine, not because he once came from there but because no other country will have him. The Arab's fear for his freedom is just as easy to understand as the Jew's genuine intention to play fair by his neighbor. And despite all that, the immigration of young Jews into Palestine increasingly suggests a kind of Jewish Crusade, because, unfortunately, they also shoot."

This is a remarkable and brilliant portrait of a marginal and now tragically vanished people by a remarkable and brilliant person.

Joseph Roth's "The Wandering Jews" is one of the best written and most important books about East European Jews ever published. At a time of growing anti-Semitism (the first edition was written in 1926 and an update was published in Paris in 1937) and an immigration crisis affecting Germany as countless refugees poured into Berlin from the East, Roth--himself a Jew from Galicia, the easternmost part of the former Austrian empire--creates a sympathetic yet clearsighted portrait of contemporary Jewish life. In the process he effectively responds to all the stereotypes and libels heaped on East European Jews. For the contemporary reader, however, what is most affecting about this portrait is Roth's ability to convey a panorama of Jewish life on the brink of destruction. Though no one (except maybe Hitler) could have predicted, even in 1937, the extent of the devastation that would be visited on European Jewry, Roth's writing in this book serves as an indelible and moving memorial to a civilization that would soon disappear forever. It must therefore count among the first books in what would now be called "Holocaust literature," and one of the most meaningful works of protest literature--protest against the stereotypes that reduced Jews to objects of scorn and contempt; protest against the violence that would ensue from these stereotypes--of all time. Michael Hofmann's understated and articulate translation of this poignant, heartbreaking little book is a tremendous service for English-language readers. It fills in a vital space in the emerging image of Joesph Roth, a writer finally receiving his due in the precincts of European modernism, and it should be read by everyone interested in good writing and the problems of 20th century history.

Again and again--with one neat phrase--Roth puts anxieties into words that it took others whole books to communicate, and then, only vaguely. Not even the magnificent Kafka comes close to a tidy phrase of self-condemnation such as this, referring to the deracinated Western Jew, with his "secret perversities, his cringing before the law, his well-bred hat held in his anxious hand". This statement took my breath away. So did many others in this short book throbbing with love, fear, and sadness. Roth was himself a Jew, one of the thousands who had served his "adopted 'country' " in the Great War (as so many other Jews did for so many other countries) only to have reality--eternal victimhood, eternal wandering--thrust him away, from Vienna, to Berlin, and then to Paris. Like so many educated Western Jews, he looked back to the shtetl with admiration for its nurturing of an authentic self (coupled with a faint relief at not having to live there). This tension--and its guilt-feelings--are so tidily explained in Roth, and his predictions made in the 1930's so chilling--that I jumped almost with relief on his touting the Soviet Union as a better place for Jews. Ah...but an afterward to the second edition contains Roth's warning that things in the USSR have changed, and perhaps his enthusiasm was misplaced...

Then, reader, I cried uncle. Joseph Roth was perfect. Anger and love mix with poetry and humility. He neither rolls in the mud of guilt, nor clutches an ideology through all contrary evidence. Instead, he sings Kaddish for a people gone, a people authentic and pure and of, as Kafka said, "the prayer shawl, now flying away from us..."

This book was a paen by a 'civilized (read westernized)' Jew on the cusp of WW2 and the holocaust. Roth travelled in most of post-WW1 Eastern Europe to learn the plight of his Jewish compatriots. In the original edition (written in 1926) he speaks of Eastern European Jews (mostly those of Galicia and the remnants of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires) being able to find freedom of conscience and a world without anti-semitism by moving to the West. Unfortunately, by the West he meant Germany.

In the epilogue of the 1937 edition (which he wrote from self-exile in Paris) he takes the "New Germany" to task for the treatment of the Jews. He make major points as to the failure of the League of Nations to protect the Versailles Treaty 'national minorities' and specifically the treatment of DPs (displaced persons, people literally without a country). He makes the point that animals are protected in most countries better than Jews and DPs.

He is prescient when he speaks of an 'impending disaster' and seems to presage 'donor burnout'. He tells how right after a calamity, everyone seems to want to pitch in, but after awhile, except for a few philantropists, everyone pretty much wants to go back to their own lives.
This book is among the strongest statements made prior to WW2 of the approaching calamity, not just for Jews but all of Europe.

Emergency Characterization of Unknown Materials is the best reference book I have seen for detailed (but not too technical) information about all the hazardous materials emergency responders face. It is written by Rick Houghton, a retired Captain with the Lansing, Michigan Fire Department. There is a fabulous section with descriptions and information on all of the detection/identification technologies on the market. This is a "must have" for high level HazMat Technicians.

Tony Osborn
Vice President (and retired firefighter)
CBRNE Technologies Corporation

Emergency Characterization of Unknown Materials, Rick Houghton, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2008, ISBN: 978-0849379680
Review by Paul R. Laska
First, for full disclosure, I am the same Paul R. Laska whose comments appear in advertising blurbs for this book. During his research, Rick Houghton requested I review material dealing with explosives characterization; based upon that introduction, I recognized the value of his work.
Having had the opportunity to read the entire book, my only negative comment is that I wish I had had it much earlier. My science background is as weak as most with a degree in social science; then I entered a field of law enforcement where chemistry is an important aspect. I did attend a field offering of the NFA Haz-Mat Chemistry program. It was a well presented class, and I learned a great deal of organic chemistry, but over the years it faded. The first chapter of Houghton's book, Terms and Definitions, is a wonderful introduction to hazardous materials chemistry...not just organic, but also inorganic. It also covers biological, and importantly to me, radiologicals.
The middle chapter of the book deals with detection technologies. These range from simple "chemistry set" procedures to the variety of field useable and lab based advanced electronic technology that is available today. The final chapter looks at the application of these various technologies to the characterization of an unknown material.
Houghton approaches the material with the understanding that the audience is basically science ignorant. Without talking down, he educates them in the area of hazardous materials chemistry, using simple approaches to explain the whats and whys of the subject. Through wonderful sketches by his son he introduces humor, which he further follows up with his "Commandments of Thy Characterization Strategy."
The photographs in the book are produced in black and white, which Houghton admits are not illustrative of the effects one should be observing. To overcome this, he includes a web link to his site, where the original, color photos are available for review.
Emergency Characterization of Unknown Materials is a well written book for the average firefighter, haz-mat responder, law enforcement clandestine lab/bomb tech/environmental investigator, or anyone else whose assignment includes exposure to unknown chemical materials. It will greatly improve the reader's comprehension of haz-mat chemistry and walk the reader through the technologies and their application in the real world. It has application beyond the field, to the training and educational setting, where it could well serve as a text for basic hazardous materials chemistry classes.

I am very please with the service. The book was ordered Fri. evening and arrived Monday afternoon. Great service!!
Thanks

This text is a valuable reference for industrial chemicals.

Prudent Practices has combined and updated two of the most useful and informative books on chemical safety available. This is a must for chemical technicians, researchers and hazardous waste managers! The book(s) gives concise information on general chemical lab safety, proposes procedures for monitoring experiments, controlling waste and uncovering hazardous situations.

This book is an excellent reference for laboratory safety professionals, students, and science educators.

This book helped me steer clear of toxic waste! Without it, I don't know if I'd still be alive today.

I have started to read this text to prepair for a board exam in Occupational Medicine. The first 14 chapters cover a huge amount of information that serves as the basis for this field of medicine. This will be a big help for anyone looking for an organized review of this material. Section V examines specific toxins in detail and just about anything you would need to know about most chemicals is here. This text is vital for health professionals in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. It would also be very helpful to have as a reference for a terrorist attack that deals with radiation or the spread of toxic materials. It is the rare text that I WILL read from cover to cover, instead of using it to look up selected items. Highly recommended.

From Front Flap:

"This book gives the reader a guide to understanding the requirements of the various codes and regulations that apply to the design, construction and operation of facilities using hazardous materials in their processes. It applies to semiconductor and other facilities utilizing hazardous materials.

On-going revisions in code requirements, changes in technology, and changes in the use of a facility all demand that everyone involved with the design or operation of a hazardous occupancy understands code provisions. The guidelines discussed in this book go beyond minimum standards for design and operation to ensure good engineering practices are employed to address the many safety, health and other issues that pertain to any hazardous occupancy facility: exit corridors, air handling systems, life safety alarm systems, fire suppression, chemical delivery routes, chemical storage, etc.

The text is organized by facility system, consolidating the provisions of each code to that particular system. It also provides code excerpts, explanatory diagrams, tables and photos to help illustrate the application of codes. Use of this book will save the user countless hours of searching and uncertainty in his quest to understand the legal requirements. Proper interpretation of the codes governing these facilities requires an understanding of the context and interaction of the standards. William R. Acorn, the author, explains these codes, applying years of practical experience in the design of coee compliant facilities. The result is an informative, useful handbook for everyday use...a must for Facilities Owners, Managers, Designers and users of hazardous occupancies.

Presents a methodology for determining the performance & cost of air pollution control techniques designed to reduce or eliminate the emissions of potentially hazardous air pollutants for industrial/commercial sources. Covers: thermal incineration, catalytic incineration, flares, boiler/process heaters, carbon adsorption, absorption, condensers, fabric filters, electrostatic precipitators, venturi scrubbers, & costs of auxiliary equipment. Over 150 charts, tables & drawings.

Written by an expert in the field of British pollution control, this little book starts by explaining the structure and legal processes of the European Community and goes on to explain what is the Doctrine of Direct Effect and its impact on British regulation of discharges of dangerous substances. After a discussion of the direct effect of European Community Law on the control of hazardous substances, it concludes with case studies of British industries and recommendations which serve as an excellant guide for those interested in environmental law.

I just wanted to share with others how well this book has personally helped me to pass WMD HazMat Technician training.

It has alot of the same insights that I share when I teach HazMat and EMS as related to WMD. I know one of the authors,
Sam Hansen and have gained much insight from the chapters.

I would recommend this book to anyone attempting to prepare for IFSAC, NPQB, or any other certification testing to become competient as a first responder.

This is one reference book that the Training Officer for any HazMat Response Team needs to acquire. Would recommend using it to help develop monthly drills aimed at developing skill sets related to NFPA 472 and ODP Universal Task Lists.

Look forward to Wiley offering addendum for update to the NFPA 472 Standard and ODP Training Strategy.