July 1, 2005

Asbestos and Fire: Technological Trade-Offs and the Body at Risk

By NINA C. AYOUB

Has asbestos received a bad rap? Yes and no, says Rachel Maines, a historian of technology and an independent scholar. While never denying the cancer and other health risks linked to the substance, she argues that debates over asbestos have been oddly ahistorical, neglecting the reasons it became ubiquitous in the environment.

Ms. Maines is no stranger to controversial topics. Her 1999 book, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction created a