Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The staggering story of an unlikely band of mothers in the 1970s who discovered Hooker Chemical's deadly secret of Love Canal-exposing one of America's most devastating toxic waste disasters and sparking the modern environmental movement as we know it today. Lois Gibbs, Luella Kenny, and other mothers loved their neighborhood on the east side of Niagara Falls. It had an elementary school, a playground, and rows of affordable homes. But in the spring of 1977, pungent odors began to seep into these little houses, and it didn't take long for worried mothers to identify the curious scent. It was the sickly sweet smell of chemicals. In this propulsive work of narrative storytelling, NYT journalist Keith O'Brien uncovers how Gibbs and Kenny exposed the poisonous secrets buried in their neighborhood. The school and playground had been built atop an old canal-Love Canal, it was called-that Hooker Chemical, the city's largest employer, had quietly filled with twenty thousand tons of toxic waste in the 1940s and 1950s. This waste was now leaching to the surface, causing a public health crisis the likes of which America had never seen before and sparking new and specific fears. Luella Kenny believed the chemicals were making her son sick. O'Brien braids together previously unknown stories of Hooker Chemical's deeds; the local newspaperman, scientist, and congressional staffer who tried to help; the city and state officials who didn't; and the heroic women who stood up to corporate and governmental indifference to save their families and their children. They would take their fight all the way to the top, winning support from the EPA, the White House, and even President Jimmy Carter. By the time it was over, they would capture America's imagination. Sweeping and electrifying, Paradise Falls brings to life a defining story from our past, laying bare the dauntless efforts of a few women who-years before Erin Brockovich took up the mantle- fought to rescue their community and their lives from the effects of corporate pollution and laid foundation for the modern environmental movement as we know it today.

Reviews

CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE NOMINEE

Propulsive . . . A mighty work of historical journalism . . . Paradise Falls is a glorious quotidian thriller about people forced to find and use their inner strength. After all these years, they are fortunate to have a chronicler as focused and thoughtful as OBrien. He brings their courage back to life.
The Boston Globe

With stunning clarity . . . [OBrien chronicles] the human tragedy of Love Canal. . . By the time I read of Jon Allens death, even though I knew the outcome, I cried. . . As the disaster unfolds, there are horrific discoveries, medical mysteries and plenty of screaming neighbors . . . so gripping it could almost be a thriller.
Erika Engelhaupt, Science News

"Paced like a thriller, its a remarkable story of perseverance against impossible odds."
Chicago Review of Books

A stunning, sad, and instructive story . . . [revealing how] Love Canal transformed environmental policy in the United States.
Psychology Today

At once heart-wrenching and uplifting, infuriating and inspiring, Paradise Falls is an exhaustively researched and compelling excavation of the past that remains eerily relevant in this moment. OBrien deftly knits together a tightly-paced, relatable, and definitive narrative of a watershed moment in the annals of environmental justiceand its profoundly felt absence.
Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author of We Gather Together, The Last Castle, and The Girls of Atomic City

Nearly two decades before environmental activist Erin Brockovich made headlines in California, a group of mothers on the other side of the country launched an epic battle to save their neighborhood in the shadow of Niagara Falls. Exhaustively reported and expertly told, Paradise Falls is the definitive, captivating account of the women who, against all odds, exposed the deadly secret of Love Canal. Keith OBriens latest is narrative nonfiction at its finest.
Abbott Kahler, bestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden Park

How does an environmental disaster become an inspiring tale of homemakers turned heroes Start with Keith OBrien, a gifted writer who expertly blends emotion and gumshoe reporting to tell the story of ordinary people who fought to save their families. Paradise Falls is a master work of narrative nonfiction.
Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Fall and Rise and 13 Hours

This bookabout an historical event, an environmental catastrophereads like a thriller, even if you know the contours of that event and its outcome. In luminous prose, OBrien brings people to life on the page. Youll end up caring about them, and admiring them, for their courage and persistence.
Jonathan Harr, author of the #1 national bestseller A Civil Action

Meticulously researched . . . gripping . . . This authoritative book deserves a wide audience and should provoke reflection on just how much we have progressed in the 45 years since the Love Canal disaster.
Library Journal, starred review

Riveting . . . the text blisters with details . . .Paradise Fallsis a narrative resplendent with ordinary people who stood up against overwhelming odds. OBrien has accomplished an outstanding work of investigative journalism.
Booklist, starred review

Deeply reported, masterly . . . a story [O'Brien] brings to life for a new generation.[Paradise Falls]is a marker we can use to measure how far weve come . . . in terms of environmental responsibility, and how far we still have to go.
Publishers Weekly

Deeply researched . . . In this work of investigative reporting, OBrien narrates a tale of corporate malfeasance and inaction, governmental response (or lack thereof), and, above all, inspiring citizen activism in the face of harrowing circumstances . . . A thorough retelling of an environmental tragedy and a renewed call for corporate accountability.
Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

KEITH O'BRIEN has written for The New York Times, Politico, and The Boston Globe. A longtime contributor to National Public Radio, he has appeared on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and This American Life, among other programs. He lives in New Hampshire. Follow him on Twitter @KeithOB.