{"product_id":"desperate-an-epic-battle-for-clean-water-and-justice-in-appalachia-9781501187353","title":"Desperate: An Epic Battle for Clean Water and Justice in Appalachia","description":"\u003cb\u003eSet in Appalachian coal country, this \"superb\" (\u003ci\u003ePittsburgh Post-Gazette\u003c\/i\u003e) legal drama follows one determined lawyer as he faces a coal industry giant in a seven-year battle over clean drinking water for a West Virginia community.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor two decades, the water in the taps and wells of Mingo County didn't look, smell, or taste right. Could the water be the root of the health problems--from kidney stones to cancer--in this Appalachian community? Environmental lawyer Kevin Thompson certainly thought so. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor seven years, Thompson waged an epic legal battle against Massey Energy, West Virginia's most powerful coal company, helmed by CEO Don Blankenship. While Massey's lawyers worked out of a gray glass office tower in Charleston known as \"the Death Star,\" Thompson set up shop in a ramshackle hotel in the fading coal town of Williamson. Working with fellow lawyers and a crew of young activists, Thompson would eventually uncover the ruthless shortcuts that put the community's drinking water at risk. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRetired coal miners, women whose families had lived in the area's coal camps for generations, a respected preacher and his brother, all put their trust in Thompson when they had nowhere else to turn.\u003ci\u003e Desperate\u003c\/i\u003e is a masterful work of investigative reporting about greed and denial, \"both a case study in exploitation of the little guy and a playbook for confronting it\" (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e). Maher crafts a revealing portrait of a town besieged by hardship and heartbreak, and an inspiring account of one tenacious environmental lawyer's mission to expose the truth and demand justice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Scribner Book Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/25\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781501187353\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.62lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.38h x 5.50w x 1.04d","brand":"Kris Maher","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42439216234677,"sku":"9781501187353","price":15.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_bdd8c473-f755-4e08-a0e7-169e8027ed29.jpg?v=1665460461","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/desperate-an-epic-battle-for-clean-water-and-justice-in-appalachia-9781501187353","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}