Book Review: Rodney Barker, "And the Waters Turned to Blood" Reviewed by Mike Hoffman ad as it was for Maryland, the recent outbreak of Pfiesteria in some Eastern Shore rivers was very well-timed for Rodney Baker, whose book was rendered all the more topical. The ominous title and even more ominous subtitle ("The Ultimate Biological Threat") may help the book sell faster, but somewhat overstate the case; they also give a false impression that the book has an apocalyptic tone, which it doesn't. The book basically narrates a decade in the life of Dr. JoAnn Burkholder, Pfiesteria's chief discoverer, beginning with her arrival in North Carolina in 1986. It will therefore disappoint those looking for a scientific account of Pfiesteria and other toxic algae. To be sure, the essential facts about Pfiesteria and its hazards for human health feature prominently in the narrative, but the real focus of the book is Burkholder's struggle with a North Carolina Division of Environmental Management whose efforts to deny and minimize the Pfiesteria problem even extended to vilifying Burkholder and sabotaging her research. "By the end of the site visit, it was obvious to JoAnn that the affair had more to do with politics than precautions. Several recommendations for improvements to her culture facility were made, but none were beyond what she had already considered. They certainly didn't justify the expense of bringing in six scientists from around the country. Nor were they the kind that would threaten her right to continue research on this organism. In fact, the site visit team, while stipulating that certain additional safety measures would have to be in place before the funding freeze would be lifted, concluded that the health of her lab workers had for the most past been responsibly protected by the safeguards she had put in place. "And so, what she suspected was an attempt at a research coup failed, but not without taking a toll. Burkholder was left feeling drained, violated, and exposed. Her integrity as a scientist had been attacked. She'd been made to dance for people she did not respect. She would have no way of knowing, until she applied for more grants, if there would be any fallout from the failed attempt to blacklist her. And she felt she'd been put through all of this because of scientific greed."(Page 126) Rodney Barker, "And the Waters Turned to Blood" Simon and Schuster, 1997, 346 pp., $24