This book investigates how residents of a polluted Argentine shantytown navigate and interpret the persistent environmental hazards surrounding their daily lives. Javier Auyero and Débora Alejandra Swistun utilize ethnographic research conducted in the Villas del Riachuelo to examine the social and political dimensions of toxic exposure. The authors argue that environmental suffering is not merely a physical condition but a complex social process shaped by institutional neglect, misinformation, and the production of uncertainty. By documenting the lived experiences of the community, the text highlights how residents manage the cognitive and emotional burdens of living in a contaminated environment.

Experts in urban sociology and environmental anthropology frequently cite this work for its rigorous methodology and its focus on the intersection of poverty and pollution. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a detailed, sobering look at how marginalized communities process systemic environmental risks.