Set in Appalachian coal country, this âsuperbâ (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) 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.
For two decades, the water in the taps and wells of Mingo County didnât look, smell, or taste right. Could the water be the root of the health problemsâfrom kidney stones to cancerâin this Appalachian community? Environmental lawyer Kevin Thompson certainly thought so.
For seven years, Thompson waged an epic legal battle against Massey Energy, West Virginiaâs most powerful coal company, helmed by CEO Don Blankenship. While Masseyâs lawyers worked out of a gray glass office tower in Charleston known as âthe Death Star,â 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 communityâs drinking water at risk.
Retired coal miners, women whose families had lived in the areaâs coal camps for generations, a respected preacher and his brother, all put their trust in Thompson when they had nowhere else to turn. Desperate is a masterful work of investigative reporting about greed and denial, âboth a case study in exploitation of the little guy and a playbook for confronting itâ (Kirkus Reviews). Maher crafts a revealing portrait of a town besieged by hardship and heartbreak, and an inspiring account of one tenacious environmental lawyerâs mission to expose the truth and demand justice.