Synopses & Reviews
It Began in New Orleans with the lung-cancer death of a small-time lawyer. It began in Kentucky when a $9-an-hour law clerk stole three boxes of incriminating company documents. It began in Mississippi as an outraged country lawyer discovered the costs of cancer care. And it began in Washington as a pediatrician-turned-agency head decided to end tobacco's 90-year immunity from regulation. Suddenly, an untouchable industry was under siege. And in the vanguard of the attack: a consortium of the nation's toughest liability lawyers led by the best friend of that small-time New Orleans attorney. Three years and 33 million documents later, Big Tobacco had been cornered. Though the $369 billion they have offered to buy peace has been attacked as "too little, too late", it represents a capitulation of monumental proportions.
"Cornered" is the first full account of this unprecedented battle. Dramatic, funny, enraging, it offers the ultimate proof that you can fight city hall.
About the Author
Peter Pringle has followed this battle since 1994 when the plaintiffs lawyers joined to file the world's largest class action suit. A respected journalist who has worked for the London Sunday Times, the Observer, and the Independent, he now lives in New York City.