{"product_id":"desperate","title":"Desperate","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.","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48841099477197,"sku":"9781501187353","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0557\/1529\/9533\/files\/imageloader_3643f60c-274c-441c-822e-66791bd0c6ca.jpg?v=1792002992","url":"https:\/\/booksatmidnight.com\/products\/desperate","provider":"Books At Midnight","version":"1.0","type":"link"}