{"product_id":"valley-so-low-one-lawyers-fight-for-justice-in-the-wake-of-americas-great-coal-catastrophe-9780593321119","title":"Valley So Low: One Lawyer's Fight for Justice in the Wake of America's Great Coal Catastrophe","description":"\u003cb\u003eA riveting courtroom drama about the victims of one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history--and the country lawyer determined to challenge the notion that, in America, justice can be bought\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor more than 50 years, a power plant in the small town of Kingston, Tennessee, burned fourteen thousand tons of coal a day, gradually creating a mountain of ashen waste 60 feet high and covering 84 acres, contained only by an earthen embankment. In 2008, just before Christmas, that embankment broke, unleashing a lethal wave of coal sludge that covered 300 acres, damaged nearly 30 homes, and precipitating a cleanup effort that would cost more than $1 billion--and the lives of more than 50 cleanup workers who inhaled ​​the toxins it released.​ \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Jim Scott, a local personal-injury lawyer, agreed to represent the workers after they began to fall ill. That meant doing legal battle against the Tennessee Valley Authority, a colossal, federally owned power company that had once been a famous cornerstone of President Franklin D. Roosevelt​'​​s New Deal. Scott and ​his hastily assembled team​​ gathered extensive evidence of malfeasance: threats against workers; retaliatory firings; disregarded safety precautions; and test results, either hidden or altered, that would have revealed harmful concentrations of arsenic, lead, and radioactive materials at the cleanup site. At every stage, Scott--outmanned and nearly broke--had to overcome legal hurdles constructed by TVA and the firm it hired to ​​help ​execute the cleanup. He grew especially close to one of the victims, whose swift decline only intensified his ​hunger for justice. As the incriminating evidence mounted, the workers seemed to have everything on their side, including the truth​--​​​and yet, was it all enough to prevail? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The lawsuit that Scott pursued on the workers​'​​ behalf was about their illnesses, no doubt. But it was also about whether blue-collar employees could beat the C-suite; if self-described ​\"​​​hillbilly lawyers​\"​​ could beat elite corporate defense attorneys; and whether strong evidence could beat fat pocketbooks. With ​​suspense and ​rich ​detail, Jared Sullivan's thrilling account lays bare the ​casual brutality of the American justice system​​, ​and ​call​s​​​ ​into​​ question whether--and how--the federal government has failed its people.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Knopf Publishing Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/15\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593321119\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.25w x 0.91d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2024 pg. 15\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/15\/2024\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Jared Sullivan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44576674349237,"sku":"9780593321119","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_b8508a7f-475f-4366-8cd4-5d42cfaf2a67.jpg?v=1724176304","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/valley-so-low-one-lawyers-fight-for-justice-in-the-wake-of-americas-great-coal-catastrophe-9780593321119","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}