{"product_id":"valley-so-low-isbn-9780593321119","title":"Valley So Low","description":"\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE TENNESSEE BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION • A \u003ci\u003eNEW YORKER\u003c\/i\u003e BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A 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\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “[A] tense investigative chronicle.” —\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor more than fifty 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 sixty feet high and covering eighty-four acres, contained only by an earthen embankment. In 2008, just before Christmas, that embankment broke, unleashing a lethal wave of coal sludge that covered three hundred acres, damaged nearly thirty homes, and precipitating a cleanup effort that would cost more than a billion dollars—and the lives of more than fifty cleanup workers who inhaled the toxins it released.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJim 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?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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 calls into question whether—and how—the federal government has failed its people.\"\u003ci\u003eValley So Low \u003c\/i\u003eis more than a tale of unrepentant corporate evil and incomprehensible environmental destruction. It’s more, even, than a spellbinding courtroom drama. This brilliant, necessary book is a testament to the power of perseverance and a blueprint for challenging industry’s shrugged-off human costs. \u003ci\u003eValley So Low\u003c\/i\u003e is a ballad, yes, but it’s also an anthem. And a triumph.\" \u003cb\u003e—Margaret Renkl, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Comfort of Crows\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“This tense investigative chronicle of what Sullivan, a journalist, calls the ‘single largest industrial disaster in U.S. history in terms of volume’ focusses on the workers who cleaned up afterward. ... As Sullivan follows the court case filed by some of the affected men, the book becomes a legal thriller—a story of ‘simple, hardworking’ Davids fighting the Big Energy Goliath who poisoned them.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The New Yorker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Sullivan brings a maximalist, punctilious approach.... We don’t just read about the trial’s interminable delays: We feel them.”\u003cb\u003e —Nathaniel Rich, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Jared is a master storyteller and\u003ci\u003e Valley So Low \u003c\/i\u003eis definitely worth your time.” —\u003cb\u003eJohn Hendrickson, staff writer for \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Propulsive and written with flair, \u003ci\u003eValley So Low\u003c\/i\u003e is a valuable addition to the pantheon of legal thrillers.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBookpage\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A heartbreaking yet inspiring legal drama that reminds readers of the strength of ordinary people.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In \u003ci\u003eValley So Low\u003c\/i\u003e, Jared Sullivan recounts in cinematic detail the saga of a coal disaster and the self-described ‘hillbilly lawyers’ who stood up for blue-collar workers in a tiny Tennessee town.” —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGarden \u0026amp; Gun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jared Sullivan’s \u003ci\u003eValley So Low\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping legal thriller documenting the power and greed behind this appalling and deadly environmental disaster. Not since Jonathan Harr’s \u003ci\u003eA Civil Action \u003c\/i\u003ehas a book so compellingly documented one man’s Herculean efforts to force accountability through the courts.” \u003cb\u003e—Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eDevil in the Grove\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Jared Sullivan brings to mind a young William Langewiesche in his skill at following human stories through the dense fact-field of long, careful reporting on major events.” —\u003cb\u003eJohn Jeremiah Sullivan, author of \u003ci\u003ePulphead\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An unassuming book that proves it is easier to imagine the death of capitalism than it is to imagine the death of our better angels. This is the book we should be reading, the book we should all be trying to write. \u003ci\u003eValley So Low\u003c\/i\u003e is a masterpiece.” —\u003cb\u003eNico Walker, author of \u003ci\u003eCherry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eJARED SULLIVAN has written for \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker, Time, Garden \u0026amp; Gun\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e USA Today\u003c\/i\u003e, and he previously worked as a writer and editor at \u003ci\u003eMen’s Journal\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eField \u0026amp; Stream\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Franklin, TN.","brand":"Knopf","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300890923237,"sku":"NP9780593321119","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593321119.jpg?v=1767743365","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/valley-so-low-isbn-9780593321119","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}