Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Wastelands by Corban Addison - Available

Wastelands

The True Story of Farm Country on Trial

by Corban Addison
John Grisham
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
"Beautifully written, impeccably researched, and told with the air of suspense that few writers can handle, Wastelands is a story I wish I had written." —From the Foreword by John Grisham
 
The once idyllic coastal plain of North Carolina is home to a close-knit, rural community that for more than a generation has battled the polluting practices of large-scale farming taking place in its own backyard. After years of frustration and futility, an impassioned cadre of local residents, led by a team of intrepid and dedicated lawyers, filed a lawsuit against one of the world’s most powerful companies—and, miraculously, they won.
As vivid and fast-paced as a thriller, Wastelands takes us into the heart of a legal battle over the future of America’s farmland and into the lives of the people who found the courage to fight.
There is Elsie Herring, the most outspoken of the neighbors, who has endured racial slurs and the threat of a restraining order to tell the story of the waste raining down on her rooftop from the hog operation next door. There is Don Webb, a larger-than-life hog farmer turned grassroots crusader, and Rick Dove, a riverkeeper and erstwhile military judge who has pioneered the use of aerial photography to document the scale of the pollution. There is Woodell McGowan, a quiet man whose quest to redeem his family’s ancestral land encourages him to become a better neighbor, and Dr. Steve Wing, a groundbreaking epidemiologist whose work on the health effects of hog waste exposure translates the neighbors’ stories into the argot of science. And there is Tom Butler, an environmental savant and hog industry insider whose whistleblowing testimony electrifies the jury.
Fighting alongside them in the courtroom is Mona Lisa Wallace, who broke the gender barrier in her small southern town and built a storied legal career out of vanquishing corporate giants, and Mike Kaeske, whose trial skills are second to none.
With journalistic rigor and a novelist’s instinct for story, Corban Addison's Wastelands captures the inspiring struggle to bring a modern-day monopoly to its knees, to force a once-invincible corporation to change, and to preserve the rights—and restore the heritage—of a long-suffering community.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 7, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593551134
      • File size: 468647 KB
      • Duration: 16:16:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 18, 2022
      In this exceptional account, Addison (A Harvest of Thorns) reveals how a cadre of dedicated lawyers and long-suffering North Carolina families fought, and won, against Big Pork. In 2013, attorney Mona Wallace took on the case of 26-year-old Brandon Taylor, who died from toxic fumes while working at a Smithfield packing plant in Clinton, N.C. This case, which ended only in a fine for Smithfield, was the prelude to a series of major environmental nuisance cases. Over the decades, Smithfield, a food corporation giant, had brought five million hogs to four North Carolina counties, polluting the air and water with billions of gallons of hog urine and feces. The rural, mostly Black families who lived near the farms complained about the stench to no avail. Then, starting in 2018, Wallace and her colleagues brought five successive cases to court. Addison dramatically details the massive legal legwork involved, the heartbreaking stories of the families, the courtroom battles, and the intimidation tactics and social media smears by Smithfield. In 2020, after losing an appeal, Smithfield agreed to settle for an undisclosed amount and was forced to change its pork production for the betterment of the people and land of North Carolina. As John Grisham notes in his foreword, this David versus Goliath story has a happy ending. This high-stakes legal saga is a must-read. Agent: Daniel Baror, Baror International.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Rob Shapiro doesn't miss a single beat in his performance here. The premise isn't sexy: This is a true story about large-scale hog-farming waste. An overseas corporation owns these livestock farms in North Carolina, where the animals aren't roaming freely. They're packed in tight to maximize profits, producing high volumes of waste. Families living next to the farms are directly impacted; in particular, the smell permeates their entire lives. Listeners will experience a riveting account of citizens rising up to fight this abuse, including a courtroom battle that illustrates the true meaning of environmental justice. Shapiro's effective performance is a case study in empathy and gravitas. Listeners will be outraged by the steps the company takes and moved by the legal fight that ensues. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      The nation's food chain has long been attacked by the homogenization of crops and animal breeds, stemming in large part from the increase in monocropping and mega farms. Addison's (A Harvest of Thorns) impeccably researched book focuses on a North Carolina farming community's fight against Smithfield Farms, one of the largest producers of pork products, and accordingly, one of the largest producers of noxious hog waste. Addison describes the backstory of the land and its people, with primarily Black-owned small farms situated on the borders of Smithfield's polluting mega farms. He then details the court case that the community brought in hopes of ending the massive pollution and adverse practices. John Grisham's forward sets listeners up for the Grisham-like trial scenes that follow, all of which are compellingly narrated by Rob Shapiro. His smooth, sensitive, and well-paced narration allows readers to empathize with the community's fight and gain the historical perspective needed to understand this David vs. Goliath court case. VERDICT This expertly presented audiobook is highly recommended for fans of true crime podcasts, legal thrillers, and those who have an interest in the food supply chain.--Stephanie Charlefour

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check out what's being checked out right now This service is made possible by the local automated network, member libraries, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.