Desperate

“Maher’s book documents one of the most important court cases against some of the country’s most notorious polluters, revealing along the way the inherent pitfalls of single industry economies.”
–The Daily Yonder

“Kris Maher’s new book, Desperate, documents the long legal case [between Mingo County residents and Massey Energy] in all its heartbreaking and hopeful detail, exploring the longer history of and ravages to the and and its people along the way, telling a story that is cinematic in its scope and feeling.”
–Porchlight, Roundup

”[Desperate is] both a case study in exploitation of the little guy and a playbook for confronting it. A rigorous accounting of a remarkably hard-fought battle for clean water.”
–Kirkus

“A comprehensive account of the seven-year legal battle waged by residents of southern West Virginia against the state’s largest coal company… details of Thompson’s financial and marriage troubles make his battle to secure a \(35 million settlement for his clients seem all the more heroic. Readers will be appalled at how hard these communities had to fight for a modicum of justice."<br /> <b>--<i>Publisher's Weekly</i></b> </p><p> "<i>Wall Street Journal</i> reporter Maher unearths the secrets of this community and the determination of lawyer Kevin Thompson as he attempts to uncover one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters in West Virginia's history ... Maher's sharp, detailed prose reads like fiction ... [a] gripping account."<br /> <b>--<i>Booklist</i></b> </p><p> "Kris Maher's real-life legal thriller about an Appalachian community's fight for the right to clean drinking water will grip you from start to finish. It's an astonishing tale that pits a tenacious, environmental lawyer against one America's most infamous coal companies. Maher uncovers a trail of corporate greed and corruption on a monumental scale."<br /> <b>--</b><b>Eric Eyre, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of <i>Death In Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic</i></b> </p><p> <i>"Desperate</i> is an exhilarating chronicle of what it takes to build a better world. Kris Maher's brilliant reporting is the fuel behind this propulsive story of brass-tacks Appalachian justice, closely following a troubling case that forces us to face the hardest questions of public health and power. Its call for long-haul environmental accountability will resonate in every community that has been at the mercy of those who never seem to stop taking."<br /> <b>--Anna Clark, author of <i>The Poisoned City: Flint's Water and the American Urban Tragedy</i></b> </p><p> "Kris Maher has written a deft, illuminating and often riveting account of a modern-day David and Goliath legal battle, expertly revealing the devastating consequences of regulatory disregard and corporate greed behind our energy policies. Timely as ever, <i>Desperate </i>gives us reasons to believe in the still small possibility of justice--and the unsung heroes fighting to defend our right to a glass of clean drinking water."<br /> --<b>Jeff Biggers, author of <i>Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland</i></b></p><br />"Superb."<br /> <b>--<i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i></b> <p> "Important and gripping... Maher's book documents one of the most important court cases against some of the country's most notorious polluters, revealing along the way the inherent pitfalls of single industry economies."<br /> <b>--<i>The Daily Yonder</i></b> </p><p> "Kris Maher's new book, <i>Desperate</i>, documents the long legal case [between Mingo County residents and Massey Energy] in all its heartbreaking and hopeful detail, exploring the longer history of and ravages to the and and its people along the way, telling a story that is cinematic in its scope and feeling."<br /> <b>--<i>Porchlight</i>, Roundup </b> </p><p> "[Desperate is] both a case study in exploitation of the little guy and a playbook for confronting it. A rigorous accounting of a remarkably hard-fought battle for clean water."<br /> <b>--<i>Kirkus</i></b> </p><p> "A comprehensive account of the seven-year legal battle waged by residents of southern West Virginia against the state's largest coal company... details of Thompson's financial and marriage troubles make his battle to secure a \)35 million settlement for his clients seem all the more heroic. Readers will be appalled at how hard these communities had to fight for a modicum of justice.”
–Publisher’s Weekly

“Wall Street Journal reporter Maher unearths the secrets of this community and the determination of lawyer Kevin Thompson as he attempts to uncover one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters in West Virginia’s history … Maher’s sharp, detailed prose reads like fiction … [a] gripping account.”
–Booklist

“Kris Maher’s real-life legal thriller about an Appalachian community’s fight for the right to clean drinking water will grip you from start to finish. It’s an astonishing tale that pits a tenacious, environmental lawyer against one America’s most infamous coal companies. Maher uncovers a trail of corporate greed and corruption on a monumental scale.”
–Eric Eyre, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Death In Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic

“Desperate is an exhilarating chronicle of what it takes to build a better world. Kris Maher’s brilliant reporting is the fuel behind this propulsive story of brass-tacks Appalachian justice, closely following a troubling case that forces us to face the hardest questions of public health and power. Its call for long-haul environmental accountability will resonate in every community that has been at the mercy of those who never seem to stop taking.”
–Anna Clark, author of The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy

“Kris Maher has written a deft, illuminating and often riveting account of a modern-day David and Goliath legal battle, expertly revealing the devastating consequences of regulatory disregard and corporate greed behind our energy policies. Timely as ever, Desperate gives us reasons to believe in the still small possibility of justice–and the unsung heroes fighting to defend our right to a glass of clean drinking water.”
–Jeff Biggers, author of Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland

Kris Maher has been a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal since 2005, writing about environmental issues, coal mining, labor, regional economics, and other topics. He has reported on the Flint water crisis, PFAS drinking water contamination, and Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. He covered the trials of Jerry Sandusky, Bill Cosby, and Don Blankenship and has also written features for the Journal’s front-page “A-hed” column on topics ranging from extreme pogo athletes to the coldest town in the US. He lives in Pittsburgh with his son and daughter.

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