How I Fought Big Oil and Won, and What You Should Know About the New Environmental Attack on America Crude Justice (Hardback) - Common

by Stuart H. Smith

One day in the small Mississippi town of Laurel, a 26-year-old expectant mom named Karen Street sat down at the edge of her bathtub—and felt her hip split in two. The episode was so bizarre it wasn’t until later, after she saw the doctor, that she realized her bone disease was almost certainly linked to her father-in-law’s business. Winston Street ran a machine shop that drilled the gunk out of pipes used by Chevron, Shell and other giants of the oil industry—creating a white powder that covered Karen Street’s husband’s overalls every night, which then landed in their vegetable garden...and was highly radioactive.Winston Street didn’t know the dust was poisonous, nor did his workers or his family. But someone did know. Indeed, there was evidence that America’s Big Oil companies were aware for decades that they were pulling up radium from under the earth, poisoning yards like Street’s while dumping radioactive water in unlined pits across the South. Now, to prove that and win justice for his blue-collar clients, an untested young lawyer named Stuart H. Smith and his eccentric team would have to get the better of America’s best-known radiation attorney and the global clout of Chevron inside a Mississippi courtroom.In a gripping tale that reads as if torn from the pages of a John Grisham novel, Crude Justice tells how the Little Guy can take on the behemoth of Big Oil and win…with the help of a good attorney. Recounting more than two decades as a top environmental lawyer in the toxic oil patch of the American South, Smith tells the story of how he upped the ante again and again—getting the best of Chevron, then taking on the world’s most powerful corporation, ExxonMobil, with $1 billion on the line, and finally ferreting out the elusive truth behind BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the worst oil spill in U.S. history.Smith finally builds upon the courtroom drama of his past and the environmental threats of the present—from fracking to the Keystone XL pipeline—to issue a resounding call for America to break its crippling addiction to fossil fuels.

Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[The Advocate]

"Fast-paced with a earthy and even gritty tone, Smith’s book is an alarming indictment of American dependence on fossil fuels."
Read more here.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2014 this book reads like maybe a “John Grisham” fast-paced and an everyday person going up against the big powers to be. Yet here you have a true story of a woman in Laurel Mississippi going up against big oil. Because of the white powder that was on her husband's overalls from work, that ended up in their vegetable garden the substance was later found to be radioactive. Then you find out that the oil companies knew about it but chose to do nothing about it.
Karen Smith though pregnant went and found an attorney who would take on her fight with her and together they fought big oil and big business, the little person won finally, but the story is more than that. It is once again a telling of how business can get away with so much and how I feel even your own government or people working for the government choose to do nothing until someone fights back. This is an excellent book and I am thankful for BenBella Books for the opportunity to read it. I received this book from Netgalley.com

[Judy Bohr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exciting (though really upsetting) to read. Smith does an excellent job of effectively educating the reader on an important subject, though at the cost of making the reader absolutely furious when faced with the extent of open governmental corruption at the expense of our planet and citizens' health. It's easy to read because of the fascinating descriptions of Smith's investigations followed by explosive revelations and entertaining courtroom drama. Highly recommend for anyone trying to understand some of the most pressing issues in environmental law within the United States. The truth will probably shock you.

[Mark Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tremendous book. It is a true story about the fight for justice for oil field workers and their families intentionally exposed to radiation by the major oil companies. You will not want to put it down.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Interesting

Everyone should read this book. It contains information all should know. Its well written and holds one's attention through out.

[Amy Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for anyone wanting to learn more about the oil industry. Eye-opening, fast paced, and honestly concerning. It was a very informative read with reliable sources, and the author has first-hand experience in this field. Be mindful of the author's bias, but it's hard not to be biased when it comes to something as controversial as the oil situation right now.