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xxstefaniereadsxx's review
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.0
This book was about the Buffalo Creek mining disaster. Reading about the negligence of the company was infuriating to me. So many companies want to cut corners and cut costs, and terrible things happen and they hate to be accountable for what they did or did not do. I cannot imagine a tidal wave of coal waste washing away everyone and everything I knew. These people really went through a terrible experience. I hate to say this was a good book because it covered something so awful, but it was a good read.
johnsonnoel9's review
1.0
1.5 stars; I was not a fan of the writing style and the book kind of came off as a long brag instead of really explaining the case it was presenting. However, I read this book after I read A Civil Action which was incredible so my rating may be skewed because I was comparing it to that book.
chrisiant's review
3.0
This is a quick little read, with an arguably happy ending (although whether the survivors of Buffalo Creek "won" is debatable). It's a good lens through which to contemplate things like the difficulties that arise when rich city lawyers represent people who are none of those things, and how environmental corner cutting leads to disasters that companies then try to weasel out of dealing with. It's also an interesting snapshot of the internal workings of an environmental disaster lawsuit.
miscbrah's review
4.0
I read this book for my civil procedure class. Wish that the author went into more details about his expert reports prior to going to trial, and then perhaps in the practical aspects of settling. He just kind of concludes at the end that he settled for $13 million rather than explaining what happens after(proper allocation, company admitting guilt?, distribution to various classes of plaintiffs, etc)
But anyways this book served its purpose and is a decent primer to Civil Procedure in America. I'm more of a fan of A Civil Action. Was a lot better and had more details. Gerald Stern kinda skimps out but it's a shorter read so I guess that is good.
But anyways this book served its purpose and is a decent primer to Civil Procedure in America. I'm more of a fan of A Civil Action. Was a lot better and had more details. Gerald Stern kinda skimps out but it's a shorter read so I guess that is good.
emonroe26's review
4.0
For a school book, I really enjoyed this book. Even for a non-school book, I enjoyed it! Using this case and the details of the lawsuit to learn civ pro has been a way more entertaining way to study 1L material than just reading and briefing a whole bunch of statutes and cases.
nicoletort's review
3.0
Had to read this for class - a quick, interesting read for those in the legal field.
manda_panda95's review
5.0
I read this my first year in law school. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction because I tend to find it boring or depressing. I’m much more of an escapist reader. And this book was depressing at times. But it was so compelling! Very good.
lanikei's review
4.0
I enjoy the weird finds that turn into fascinating reads.
The book seems to be geared towards a law student audience, in that it discusses much of the methodolgy used by the legal team suing on behalf of the Buffalo Creek flood victims. Fortunately, this isn't all legal jargon and dry text, and this ends up a suprisingly readable book.
The chapters tend to blend the personal histories with the legal process, keeping a very human side to this telling. I think that's particularly important when writing a book that was won primarly by emphasizing the humanity of the victims that were essentially preyed upon by a mining company with little regard for public safety.
It's a slim pocket size book, and even when the case drags, the author makes an effort to keep the pacing pleasant to read. Not sure why you would read this unless intending to use it as a case study of a settlement, but I enjoyed the book more than expected.
The book seems to be geared towards a law student audience, in that it discusses much of the methodolgy used by the legal team suing on behalf of the Buffalo Creek flood victims. Fortunately, this isn't all legal jargon and dry text, and this ends up a suprisingly readable book.
The chapters tend to blend the personal histories with the legal process, keeping a very human side to this telling. I think that's particularly important when writing a book that was won primarly by emphasizing the humanity of the victims that were essentially preyed upon by a mining company with little regard for public safety.
It's a slim pocket size book, and even when the case drags, the author makes an effort to keep the pacing pleasant to read. Not sure why you would read this unless intending to use it as a case study of a settlement, but I enjoyed the book more than expected.