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A Civil Action
by: Jonathan Harr |
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Binding: Audio Cassette Dewey Decimal Number: 346.73038 EAN: 9780679445616 Edition: Abridged Format: Abridged, Audiobook ISBN: 0679445617 Label: Random House Audio Manufacturer: Random House Audio Number Of Items: 4 Publication Date: August 29, 1995 Publisher: Random House Audio Release Date: August 29, 1995 Studio: Random House Audio |
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| Customer Reviews | ||
  - An interesting readI had to buy this book for a class in law school and turned out to really enjoy it. It not only is a great plot, but is able to provide helpful lessons about the law. Note, the book is far better than the movie so it is worth a read! Rating:  - Excellent story on high stakes litigationI am a personal injury lawyer. This is perhaps the best legal book I've ever read. I highly recommend it for lawyers and non-lawyers. The book is much better than the movie. Rating: - Sunken Cost Theory Lived by Lawyers, Clients, CommunitiesEvery lawyer and every lawyer's client ultimately must confront a fundamental truth of economic analysis--a lesson learned from well drilling. The lesson follows and is a bit of a plot spoiler, so if you haven't heard what happens in this fairly famous non-fiction, go read "A Civil Action" and come back. Here's the lesson: If it costs $10,000 to drill another 100 feet of well, you must decide whether to spend the money based on how likely it is to hit water (or oil) during the exploration without regard to the amount of money already spent. The temptation is to be emotionally invested, economically irrational because of your previous investment. An old adage advises us not to throw good money after bad and this is exactly what the talented protagonist did in the Woburn case. It makes me feel old to have graduated form law school before this book became required reading for future lawyers but I like the trend. The pace is intense and worthy of a movie (I haven't seen it). The narrative is tight. Legal complexities are understandable. The emotional weight is just bearable. A Civil Action should remain required reading for lawyers but another group of people must learn the theory of sunk legal costs: our clients. Every client who has a divorce settlement that is "almost" fair or a personal injury offer they consider "nearly" enough should carefully count the cost of transforming the good into the perfect. Rating: - Good ReadA Civil Action was a good book to read in my opinion. However, some parts of the story were a little long winded. Overall a good read. Rating: - I would hire Jan Schlictmann in a minute!After watching the movie a couple of times, I was glued to the story and was so thankful that somebody donated a book to the thrift shop so I can read it. It's amazingly detailed, researched, and thoroughly a fascinating read. I am almost done. The movie had done justice to this incredible story of greed, indifference, and violations against a community scarred forever. The case was not just about the loss of children and even adults to acute leukemia but the book details the story further about the permanent effects of the chemical poisoning that affected the wells in the small community. Woburn had no idea of the damage until it was too late. There are many victims and villains in this case. I admire Jan Schlictmann who went broke trying this case. He used and hired every possible expert, tests, and experiments in studying the land, soil, water, the victims and their families that costs millions of dollars. I admired the lawyers who despite the case's heavy costs kept going when the money was running low or out. I was surprised that some of the victims like Anne Anderson who lost her beloved son, Jimmy, didn't give Jan much credit. He was going after the companies at a heavy cost of financial burden. His partners wanted a settlement to end this but Jan kept going like the energizger bunny. It wasn't about money and I think Anne should have realized that eventually. I can't imagine losing a child and the book clearly explains the details of how the families struggled, fought, and searched for answers. I admire the families' quest for the truth. I never thought Jan treated the families with a patronizing habit. He kept them informed everyday with daily transcripts copied and sent by courier to the involved families at another expensive cost. He kept pushing for an admittance of guilt. Something she wanted like the other families, nobody could have imagined the expense and costs of proving the case in court to a jury. I would love somebody like Jan Schlictmann who pushed costs and expense aside to find out the truth in this investigation. The families weren't looking for money. They were looking for somebody to admit their guilt in the loss of their children's lives and hoped that action would include cleaning up the contaminated wells that impacted so many of the residents' lives. The book is excellent in detailing how the contamination started with a weird smell, taste in the water, and expands. This book is a keeper on my shelf. This book is truly awe-inspiring in finding justice. |
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