Book Review - Law of the Jungle by Paul M. Barrett

Law of the Jungle: The $19 Billion Legal Battle Over Oil in the Rain Forest and the Lawyer Who'd Stop at Nothing to Win

Paul M. Barrett
File Size: 2311 KB
Print Length: 306 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 077043634X
Publisher: Crown (September 23, 2014)
Sold by: Random House LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00JCSCXG0

BOOK DESCRIPTION: Steven Donziger, a self-styled social activist and Harvard educated lawyer, signed on to a budding class action lawsuit against multinational Texaco (which later merged with Chevron to become the third-largest corporation in America). The suit sought reparations for the Ecuadorian peasants and tribes people whose lives were affected by decades of oil production near their villages and fields.  During twenty years of legal hostilities in federal courts in Manhattan and remote provincial tribunals in the Ecuadorian jungle, Donziger and Chevron’s lawyers followed fierce no-holds-barred rules. Donziger, a larger-than-life, loud-mouthed showman, proved himself a master orchestrator of the media, Hollywood, and public opinion. He cajoled and coerced Ecuadorian judges on the theory that his noble ends justified any means of persuasion. And in the end, he won an unlikely victory, a $19 billion judgment against Chevon--the biggest environmental damages award in history. But the company refused to surrender or compromise. Instead, Chevron targeted Donziger personally, and its counter-attack revealed damning evidence of his politicking and manipulation of evidence. Suddenly the verdict, and decades of Donziger’s single-minded pursuit of the case, began to unravel.

Readers of my blog know that I am not fond of the big oil companies and their lack of interest in protecting the environment, so it will be no surprise why I accepted this book to read and review. It chronicles an interesting  and convoluted legal course of action to try to get reparations for the Ecuadorian people adversely affected by drilling.

In one chapter Barrett describes Donziger as "a rumpled Don Quixote, recommitted to his quest, flailing his longs arms,"  and that is a very apt description. Donziger went after the oil company with idealism on his side much like Quixote went after the windmills, and like Quixote he was sometimes laughed at.

For me, this was an interesting look at the whole saga of the battle between Donziger and Texaco. At times I found the cast of characters overwhelming, and my interest would lag, but then it would pick back up, especially the more I got a sense of Donziger's personality. 

The story is well-documented, and I learned a number of things about the oil industry from this behind-the-scenes look. For instance, I did not know about the Chevron/Texaco merger. I wondered what happened to Texaco, but just thought it had quietly folded it's tent. The insights into legal matters was a learning experience, too. I am not a legal expert by any stretch of the imagination, but the book seemed to have a balanced approach to both sides of the issue. Donziger may have been on the side of right as he flailed at his windmills, but in the end the legal system can't be circumvented. Sometimes I think us idealists forget that basic fact.

I'm sure this book will be of special interest to lawyers, but I also recommend it to environmentalists and other folks who care about the negative effects of oil production. It is well-written and one can't help but get caught up in the saga and wonder what is going to happen next. There are a multitude of  complications and surprises that made me forget for a moment I wasn't reading a piece of fiction.

PAUL will be my Wednesday's Guest this week, so I do hope you will come back and see what he has to offer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul M. Barrett is an assistant managing editor and senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek.  He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun, American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion, and The Good Black:  A True Story of Race in America.  He lives and works in New York City.

Say "no" to the TransCanada XL Pipeline

Those of you who have been following my blog for some time know that I am against the TransCanada XL Pipeline that is scheduled to open soon. Many of us in Texas fought to keep the pipeline from coming through, but alas, the pipes are already in, just waiting for the green light from Washington to open them up. A decision on the rest of the pipeline is expected soon, and I don't know if it is too late to stop it - just like it was too late to stop the pipe being laid here - but I hate the fact that Big Oil has the power to make this happen and is so indifferent to the danger the pipeline poses.

In Texas, where the pipeline would end, toxic pollution in the air and water is already dangerous. But introducing tar sands oil to an area already saturated with oil refineries and chemical plants would make a bad situation much, much worse.

Tar sands oil and Keystone XL would increase emissions of benzene, heavy metals, and other carcinogens into the air that residents near the pipeline breathe every day. Not to mention what will happen to the groundwater when there is a leak and all those toxins are released.


Something else I did not know is that the tar-sands mining in Canada also threatens habitats for wildlife, especially wolves in the Boreal Forest. In some areas where mining is already happening, wolves are being killed by people riding in helicopters and hunting the wolves down.


In my heart of hearts, I think President Obama doesn't want to approve the last leg of the pipeline that is supposed to go through the heartland of the U.S., but he is pressured by the power that Big Oil has in Washington. I pray that Obama can do the right thing.

I have also been a long-time fan of Kristen Lamb, a writer who lives in the Dallas area who shares advice and tips and inspiration for writers on Kristen Lamb's Blog. Here is just a bit from her latest offering about the rise and fall of social media and the influence of coffee. One of the things I like most about her blog posts is that they are written with a fine edge of humor, and I have such a good time reading them. Here is just a sampling from her latest offering:

Many of you are old enough to remember the dot.com boom (then bust) of the 1990s. The Internet was growing in popularity. More people were owning PCs and commerce was shifting on-line. The Old Guard yelled “WITCHCRAFT!”, threw holy water and shorted out their keyboards. The New Guard dived in with the enthusiasm of a kid at Chuck E. Cheese hopped up on sugar.

Creativity abounded. What products or services could be offered on-line? How could we improve the on-line experience? How could we make purchasing faster, safer, more appealing?

Early Adopters jumped all over this because that’s what Early Adopters do. Hey, someone had to be the first to eat an oyster, right?

How Coffee Transformed the Publishing Paradigm

Coffee not only fueled the Industrial Revolution, but apparently staying up all night unable to sleep led to the invention of the “computer,” “the Internet,” and later “iTunes.” The shift from “going to a physical store” commerce to more “e-commerce” set the stage for a number of unanticipated revolutions in the arts. If we think about it, when did the mega-bookstore enjoy its Golden Years?

Hint: Right about the time of the movie You’ve Got Mail, clearly marking the brief historical epoch when we actually enjoyed getting e-mails.

I think I'll grab a cup of coffee and go check my mail. Don't forget to grab a copy of Doubletake while it is still free. I am so thrilled that one reader has already taken the time to do a short review. She called the story "Spellbinding." This is the last day for the free offering to celebrate the book's release, so take advantage while you can.