From the worst cases of syphilis to Sigmund Freud's first cases of hysteria, from baffling new disorders in 19th century Britain to the modern scourge of autism, this book traces the long overlooked history of mercury poisoning. It demonstrates with clarity how chemical and environmental clues may have been missed as medical "experts," many of them blinded by decades of systemic bias, instead placed blamed on parental behavior or children's biology.

Foreword /David Kirby -- Introduction. The seed -- Part One. The roots -- Chapter 1: The age of syphilis -- Chapter 2: The age of hysteria -- Chapter 3: The age of acrodynia -- Chapter 4: Pollution -- Chapter 5: Targeted toxins -- Part Two. The rise -- Chapter 6: Germination -- Chapter 7: The wrong branches -- Chapter 8: Growing like a weed -- Chapter 9: Fruit of the poisoned tree -- Chapter 10: Digging up the roots -- Epilogue. The nightmare and the dream -- Appendix A. Notes on the Tuskegee Studies -- Appendix B. Selected papers and patents of the Plant Pathology Network.