About this title: Children in Woburn, Massachusetts began getting leukemia in unusually high numbers in the mid-1960s. At about the same time, the water from two local wells began to taste of chemicals. Despite the complaints of local residents, the wells were not permanently closed until 1979. The site was put on the federal Superfund list, but the leukemia cases continued to mount. Five families from the area hired a law firm in 1980, and in 1982 their attorney filed a complaint. This is the story of that lawsuit, in which the defendants were W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods, who owned the facilities which the ...
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"This book is about the suit 7 families with sick children brought against companies suspected of dumping chemicals in the local water system.
I see that my rating is well above average, but I think this is easily a five-star book. I read it in three days, and was captivated by every minute detail about the lengthy trial. As I read it, I alternated between thinking that it would be really cool to be a lawyer and that it sounds like the worst job in the world."
"Good insight on what it's like to be a Boston lawyer and a lawyer in general. It means Princeton sort of life: hard work all the time (w/ adrenaline), big rewards, good reps, good food, nice living, and some losses. Have to be strategic about picking cases to fight for. Otherwise, same old, typical, boring, no rep thing. Like Erin Brocavich but from a lawyer's point of view, and of one who totally loves to spend. Better idea of what it's like to be in a court fighting other lawyers and working with a tough judge.
Realized that the author, Jonathan Harr, was a non-fiction writer who was friends with Tracy Kidder who is also a non-fiction writer who wrote Mountains Beyond Mountains, another awesome book that I totally love too. I'm thinking, instead, to become a non-fiction writer in addition to...what?"
"This book tells the true story of one of the most significant environmental legal cases in US history: Anderson v. Cryovac (1983), known more informally as "the Woburn case." The citizens of Woburn, MA suffer from an unusually high rate of leukemia. Civil lawyer Jan Schlichtmann takes the case against the powerful companies suspected of dumping toxic chemicals.
I taught this in my course on rhetoric and the law. My students were very frustrated by the ending. They were looking for the standard Hollywood plot where the little guy overcomes the big guy and right overcomes might. But sometimes, the bad guys just have a lot more money. It's pretty disturbing, too, how this case ruins Schlichtmann's life. Maybe I made the right choice not going to law school after all."
"This is a great book and a fast read about an environmental civil suit against Grace and Beatrice corporation for causing children cancer because of environmental toxins on their land.
It is amazing how the court system, even though it is the most fair system in the world, is more interested in preserving protocol rather than preserving justice.
But I guess if you have rules it is better to stick to them rather than deciding on the rules in a case by case basis."
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