Book 11 of 52: The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance by Dan Egan

February 27, 2023 / Jen Miller / /

Here I am again with a review but not really, because I might be interviewing the author for work. I’ve put off posting something until I know, but alas! Time marches on.

But I can say that Dan Egan’s The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, which is out on March 7, is a quick trip into a very bad problem: that overuse and not very good use of phosphorus-rich fertilizer is wrecking our waterways. Right as I finished this book, the Florida Department of Health issued and alert about an algae bloom in Florida’s Lake Okeechobee — one of the lakes Egan writes about. The book is full of WTF moments, possibly none more than that the bones of soldiers killed in the 1815 Battle of Waterloo were most likely sold to be used as fertilizer. Cripes.

Anyway, can’t say more. Alas! But that’s what happened when I wrote this blog the first time around, I started writing about books on this blog and then pitching more articles about books, etc etc. If I do get this assignment, I’ll post an update in a Friday Folio.

Nail polish: My Private Jet by OPI.

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Jen Miller

Jen Miller

Jen A. Miller is a an author and freelance writer. Her memoir, Running a Love Story, was a Philadelphia Inquirer best book of the year. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, SELF, Buzzfeed and the Guardian, among others.

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