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Rating:  -
I'm a law student who read the book for a Civil Procedure class. The book was a little longer than it needed to be perhaps, but it included a lot of great personalities and a compelling litigation story. Not courtroom drama, but the entire drama surrounding a huge suit from start to finish. It's an especially great look at a lot of the rules behind trials (that's why we read it for class) and yet still accessible for someone with no background in law. This author is quite good; one of my favorite books is also by him, The Lost Painting.
Rating:  -
Jonathan Harr has written a classic true story which if you were a person who reads novels would embrace it as a great novel. However, it was not fiction and it really did happen. Jan Schelichmann was the lawyer who made it happen. His relentless attack on W. R. Grace and their army of lawyers are a thing of legend.
What happened in Woburn Massachusetts in the late 1960's and into the 1970's was the contamination of the water supply. Hence the people in that town suffered from the cancers caused by the enterprises such as W. R. Grace and these people wanted justice. In conclusion these companies were indeed guilty. This action did indeed effect the people of Woburn MA..
However the very essence of the story is that Schelichmann expended every dollar and energy to defend the people who were wronged in their sufferings and deaths. These people came to represent the collateral damage of what big business did to a small town. In the end Schelichmann finally won. But at what price. In the end everything that represents a proper ending did happen. However at what cost? This was a well written book that does deserve its Five Stars.
Rating: -
'A Civil Action' is the story of a monster legal battle that spanned the 1980s; the fact that it is a true story makes the book all the more compelling. Harr ties together questions of the integrity of the judicial system, attorney ethics, and environmental responsibility with seamless prose. It's truly a pleasure, if not addictive, to read (I devoured it in a day and a half, despite its large page count), and though it lags a little around the middle with the long descriptions of litigation and procedure, I, having always loved courtroom thrillers like 'Witness for the Prosecution' and 'Twelve Angry Men', found those parts enjoyable as well.
'A Civil Action' is both depressing and inspiring: while I found myself echoing Jan Schlichtmann's desire to strangle Judge Skinner, the book actually made me enthusiastic for carrying out the civic duty of serving as a juror -- or even going to law school myself! -- and helping justice be served better than it was for the people of Woburn.
Rating: -
I had to read this book for an environmental law class. I wasn't thrilled being forced to read it but I have to admit, it was an easy read and easy to understand book. The case was gripping and frustrating for those involved in the real-life story. I had to make a timeline of events that took place throughout the book for class and I was able to do that with the information the author provided. I still have not watched the movie but I learned a great deal about this case by reading this book. Anyone interested in environmental pollution or environmental law or just the lives of ordinary people impacted by chemical pollution in their own homes would enjoy reading this book. It was a surprising "must read" and one I would have missed had it not been an assignment for school. Glad I didn't miss out!
Leilani
Rating: -
A Civil Action 502 pgs.
by Jonathan Harr
Review by SpeekNDaTruuf
What happens when two of the nation's largest companies are brought to court? All hell breaks loose... and it is into the depths of hell that we traverse in Jonathan Harr's nonfictional court drama A Civil Action.
1960s. The age of youth, the age of revolution, and, yes, the age of cover-ups and
conspiracies. In the small town of Woburn, Massachussettes, two companies, W.R. Grace, a chemical plant, and the J. J. Riley Tannery, a division of Beatrice Foods, are polluting the town's water supplies, commonly referred to as Wells G and H. As a result, a leukemia cluster develops, taking with it the lives of several small children and middle-aged adults.
1980s. The age of selfishness, the age of self interests. Jan Schlichtmann, a prosecutor at the top of his game, along with his cohorts, have decided to represent the plaintiffs in the Woburn environmental crisis. But they soon find out how greed, how hopes of fortune and fame, can cause those at the top to fall.
There were several aspects of this novel that I loved. One, for instance, was the number of significant characters. Usually, a book has a hero, and it focuses on that one person throughout the entire novel. A Civil Action, however, does not. Yes, it has a main character, but to me, the other characters' interaction with the main character allows readers the ability to actually like the protagonist. I found myself often rooting for Jan Schlichtmann. And I wasn't just rooting for him because he was the "hero." Although he has the title, we see him slipping into what I like to call "nervous breakdown" mode during this novel, and it's not often that we see a main character as fleshed out as Jan. We see his highs, his lows... we hear about his hopes and dreams, and we watch them as they crumble around him. From what I have gathered, he is a good man, albeit only a character in a novel that I have just read.
Another aspect that I loved about A Civil Action was Harr's inclusion of the average reader into the world of legal procedures. Now, as a fan of TNT's Law & Order, I like to think that I am up-to-date on the matter of criminal procedures. But Harr showed me just how much I had to learn (and subsequently, how much more I need to learn). Readers are rewarded with insight into both the prosecutorial and defense procedures, and even though I was rooting for Schlichtmann, I couldn't help but somewhat admire Facher (one of the defense attorneys for Beatrice Foods). I will not lie, though; I hated Judge Skinner!
Of course there's more, but I might end up giving away half of the novel by detailing everything that I liked in this book. So, that being written, I have decided to reward Harr with FOUR STARS for A Civil Action. But don't let my review speak for the novel. Here's what others thought:
#1 National Bestseller
Winner -- National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
Cleveland Plain Dealer: "The legal thriller of the decade."
Here's something else you may want to check out:
"A Civil Action", the movie, starring John Travolta, is now out on DVD. It came on one of the premium stations tonight, and I watched it for the first time. Although it wasn't as detailed as the book (most movies never are), it was actually worth watching. It was good to put faces to the characters I've read about. I think you should check it out also. It didn't get my 4 stars, but it did receive 3 from the "t.v. people."
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