Northshire Bookstore Event: Rowan Jacobsen – In Defense of Sunlight: The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure
(Manchester Center, VT) On Saturday, June 20 at 6 pm, acclaimed science and nature journalist
Rowan Jacobsen will discuss the quiet revolution transforming our understanding of sunlight’s
effects on human health.
For decades, a “zero-sun” policy has characterized our approach to sun protection, but recent
studies have proved that this policy is mistaken. In this incisive work, acclaimed journalist
Rowan Jacobsen presents the growing case for the importance of modest sun exposure for our
health and well-being. Aided by the most up-to-date studies on the effects of sunlight on human
health, Jacobsen presents a much-needed, lucid assessment of not only what the sun can do for
us, but how a lack of sun could actively be harming us.
In Defense of Sunlight sounds the call on what researchers have been sure of for years, and what
health care providers and media outlets have been slow to take up: that sunlight is one of the
simplest, and most equitable, treatments for a variety of health issues, from diabetes to dementia
to multiple sclerosis. Laying out the new science of sunlight in a straightforward and responsible
manner for mainstream readers, this book is an eye-opening story of scientific discovery,
outlining not only best practices for sun exposure, but the story of how current recommendations
became misguided, how a few inquisitive scientists glimpsed the truth and deciphered the
mechanisms responsible, and how everyone can safely incorporate this new knowledge into their
daily lives. It also exposes the implicit injustice underlying current approaches, which benefit the
whitest people on earth (who are the most susceptible to skin cancer) at the expense of those with
darker skin (who suffer extremely low rates of skin cancer and have the most to gain from sun
exposure).
“The sun provides our civilizations with light, warmth, dinner (via photosynthesis) and of late
more and more of the power we use. It also provides our bodies, as this entertaining and
informative account makes clear, with what they need. It’s the only object in our universe we
can’t look at directly, but this sideways glance reminds us why we can’t live without it.” —Bill
McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun
ROWAN JACOBSEN writes about science and nature and the less-explored corners of the
world for Harper’s, Outside, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Smithsonian, The New York
Times, The Washington Post, MIT Technology Review, Businessweek, and others, and his work
has been anthologized in The Best American Science & Nature Writing and other collections. He
has received awards from the James Beard Foundation, the Society of American Travel Writers,
and the Overseas Press Club. He is the author of nine books, including A Geography of Oysters,
Fruitless Fall, and Truffle Hound, several of which have been named to Best Book of the Year
lists by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, NPR, and Publishers
Weekly.
If you have questions about this or any other Northshire event, please write us at
events@northshire.com.
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For more information on this or other events, email events@northshire.com, or visit the
Northshire Bookstore website at www.northshire.com.
Northshire Bookstore, originally founded in 1976, has locations in Manchester, Vermont and
Saratoga Springs, NY as well as at Northshire.com. Our large but intimate general bookstores
carry the largest selection of categories and genres including new & used fiction, history,
cooking, arts and rare author-signed editions. We also have entire floors devoted to Children’s
Books and toys, a full line of stationery, magazines, music, cards, calendars, locally-sourced
foods and many fine gifts from clothing to jewelry. Open to the public daily from 10:00 AM to
7:00 PM and 24/7 online with free shipping at www.northshire.com