In February 1972, in the rural mining area of West Virginia, a huge coal-waste pile (which was being used as a dam) broke apart, flowed downstream like a Tsunami and wiped out all the mining towns along the Buffalo Creek Hollow.

When I began this book, it felt to me like I was sitting with the author as he told the story of how he took on the conglomerate Pittson Coal. The writing was not so great, there were parts where I felt it dragged. However, the story itself examines the psychological aspect of what occurred and stayed with the survivors of this disaster . This was the first case of what we now know as PTSD to come before the courts. This part of the story intrigued me.

More of a Legal story than a survivor story, but still worth the time I spent learning about it. ( )

Very moving. This displays the whole litigation process very well. From answers to the long drawn out discovery process, people playing the blame game, etc we see the whole case play out. Reading the Buffalo Creek stories made me tearful.

Now, the overall reading experience isn’t entertaining, but I consider it like a court transcript. The author can be a little much at times. Like, sir, we don’t really care about you finding your purpose from these cases. Save that for an autobiography. Minor pet peeve: the use of “blacks” bugged me. Can you say black people? Are you dividing your sock drawer or talking about human beings?

Anywho, I see why my teacher assigned this book. This can be summed up into “beating the Act of God.”

Classic book about a legal case. Frightful descriptions of the mining disaster. Pops up regularly on pre-1L recommended reading lists, and deservedly so. ( )

In February, 1972, the dams on Buffalo Creek burst, flooding the valley below. Over 100 people were killed instantly, not to mention the 1000+ that were physically wounded and the thousands more that lost everything they owned, incurring emotional and psychological damage along the way.

The local coal mining company called it an “act of God,” blaming the collapse on heavy rains and, basically, bad luck. They offered some meager settlements for the survivors, most (if not all) of whom were connected in some way with the coal mines. These were poor people, mainly uneducated, and suddenly homeless. In previous such disasters, the people often agreed to the terms offered by the company, preferring an attempt to return to normalcy over a long, ugly fight with a powerful organization. This time, however, with the death toll so high and so little left to lose, they decided to fight.

Gerald Stern was the lead attorney in the lawsuit that the citizens of Buffalo Creek brought against the Pittston Company, and this book is his story of how they took on a corporate giant and, against all the odds, won. Filled with legal details and procedural notes, it still manages to be an engrossing account- a page-turner, even. The stories of the disaster, as told by the survivors, made my stomach clench. I complain about corporate America all the time, but the magnitude of the wanton disregard shown by this company is even to make anyone furious.

For anyone at all interested in our legal system, or corporate responsibility, or even the history of labor, this is a must-read book. Don’t be fazed by the legal aspect- I may have a stated interest in the field but I have very little background knowledge and I had no trouble understanding it. It can be very depressing, even knowing the outcome, though. Every few pages I would remember that this was all true, and that people had lived through this disaster a mere thirty years ago, and I would be stunned all over again. Very powerful. Although I will probably still have to work in corporate law for a while, in order to pay off my school loans, it’s books like this that made me want to enter the legal arena, and cases like this that make me want to practice the law. ( )