| Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir from an Atomic Town Contributor(s): McMasters, Kelly (Author) |
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ISBN: 1610397061 ISBN-13: 9781610397063 Publisher: PublicAffairs OUR PRICE: $20.89 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: December 2015 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography - Science | Environmental Science (see Also Chemistry - Environmental) |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2007038193 |
| Lexile Measure: 1290 |
| Physical Information: 0.8" H x 5.5" W x 8.2" (0.85 lbs) 328 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Mid-Atlantic - Cultural Region - Northeast U.S. - Geographic Orientation - New York |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Shirley seemed to be doomed from the beginning. Founded by a Vaudevillian huckster who touted it as a seaside haven despite the sand bar that blocks access to the shore, the town has been plagued by one disaster after another -- a UFO, a childhood cancer cluster, and a mysterious federal nuclear laboratory in nearby Brookhaven that leaked toxic nuclear and chemical waste into the aquifer from which the residents unknowingly drew their well water. This is Kelly McMasters' account of growing up in a cursed town and loving it anyway, and of a girl's awakening to tragedy and to a sense of mission. Told in a deliciously engaging voice, Welcome to Shirley balances the bitter with the sweet, the funny with the infuriating, in an unforgettable story of working class Long Island. |