The Price of Justice

A True Story of Greed and Corruption

By: Laurence Leamer

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

This nonfiction legal thriller traces the 14-year struggle of two lawyers to bring the most powerful coal baron in American history to justice.

Don Blankenship, head of Massey Energy since the early 1990s, ran an industry that provides nearly half of America’s electric power. But wealth and influence weren’t enough for Blankenship and his company, as they set about destroying corporate and personal rivals, challenging the Constitution, purchasing the West Virginia judiciary, and willfully disregarding safety standards in the company’s mines - mines in which scores died unnecessarily.

As Blankenship hobnobbed with a West Virginia Supreme Court justice in France, his company polluted the drinking water of hundreds of citizens; he himself fostered baroque vendettas against anyone who dared challenge his sovereignty over coal country. Just about the only thing that stood in the way of Blankenship’s tyranny over a state and an industry was a pair of odd-couple attorneys, Dave Fawcett and Bruce Stanley, who undertook a legal quest to bring justice to this corner of America. From the backwoods courtrooms of West Virginia they pursued their case all the way to the US Supreme Court and to a dramatic decision declaring that the wealthy and powerful are not entitled to purchase their own brand of law.

The Price of Justice is a story of corporate corruption so far-reaching and devastating it could have been written a hundred years ago by Ida Tarbell or Lincoln Steffens. And as Laurence Leamer demonstrates in this captivating tale, because it’s true, it’s scarier than fiction.

©2013 Laurence Leamer (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Laurence Leamer does a superb job of condensing this 15-year legal brawl into a highly readable and entertaining narrative. Greed, arrogance, injustice, corruption - it has it all, and, sadly, it’s all true. Fortunately, it also has some heroes. This is a book I wish I had written." (John Grisham, number-one New York Times best-selling author)

"Laurence Leamer has produced a masterful legal thriller that will stun readers at every page. He tells a riveting story of intrigue, corrupt politics, and the corrosive effects of power if left unchecked. But the real story is about a pair of vigilant lawyers who ensure that in America’s democracy - even in its back-country courthouses - justice can’t be sold to the highest bidder. Leamer’s new book is a tour de force; it will stand up against the best legal dramas of our time." (Ken Gormley, New York Times best-selling author)

" The Price of Justice is the nail-biting, harrowing story of two courageous trial lawyers facing down corporate greed, Wall Street law firms, powerful politicians, and corrupt judges in the hardscrabble and dangerous coal fields of West Virginia to protect the safety of miners and the health of our nation. I have nothing but admiration for these lawyers and this modern-day David and Goliath tale." (Morris Dees, founder and chief trial counsel, Southern Poverty Law Center)

A good story

This was a good four star book and story. The character development was good and the story line was average to good. I would recommend this book but without enthusiasm.

Glad someone was interested enough to write the book.

As a resident of West Virginia, we just here the brief snippets of information on main stream media.

WTH! illuminating, gripping and maddening- I loved it.

Everything you want in a book, and left out of our legal system.

This book should be a riveting fictional portrayal of a history overcome. Instead it’s a recent chronicle on unchecked power. Any US citizen will cringe at the unethical reality presented in this book.

We can all do better.

Fantastic story about our legal system

Would you consider the audio edition of The Price of Justice to be better than the print version?

Yes because I listen while I drive

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved the 2 main attorneys, such commitment

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Good but one sided

Good book about corporate wrong doing but obviously one sided...our side is good and noble, while the other side is evil, corrupt scum of the earth.