Yesterday, at the American Public Health Association annual meeting, I picked up a copy of Les Leopold’s new biography The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor: The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi. Tony is the towering figure in the US occupational safety and health movement. Until his death in 2002, Tony did more than anyone else in the country to shape the way unions and public health professionals work independently and together to prevent occupational injury and illness.

The book is a great read. It kept me up late last night fascinated and exhilarated, inside the passage of the OSHAct, the death of Karen Silkwood and other momentous events. I’ll try to get permission to excerpt parts of the book for The Pump Handle, but if you are involved in occupational health and safety and you don’t know the Tony Mazzocchi story, don’t wait. Buy this book now.