{"id":144494,"date":"2024-11-04T14:06:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T20:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=144494"},"modified":"2024-11-04T14:06:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T20:06:33","slug":"tennessee-author-to-discuss-kingston-coal-ash-disaster-on-thacker-mountain-radio-november-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/tennessee-author-to-discuss-kingston-coal-ash-disaster-on-thacker-mountain-radio-november-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Author to Discuss Kingston Coal Ash Disaster on Thacker Mountain Radio November 7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On November 7, Tennessee<\/strong> author Jared Sullivan<\/strong> will visit Oxford<\/strong> to discuss his new book about one of the biggest environmental disasters in United States history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valley So Low: One Lawyer\u2019s Fight for Justice in the Wake of America\u2019s Great Coal Catastrophe<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0tells the dramatic story of the 2008 Kingston coal ash spill and the ensuing legal battle between the disaster\u2019s cleanup workers and the Tennessee Valley Authority<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valley so Low<\/em> is a legal thriller set within an environmental and public health fiasco (think Erin Brockovich <\/strong>and Jonathan Harr<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0A Civil Action<\/strong><\/em>). For over 50 years, a power plant in the small town of Kingston<\/strong>, Tennessee burned 14 tons of coal a day, gradually creating a mountain of ashen waste 60 feet high and covering 84 acres, all contained only by an earthen embankment. In 2008, that embankment broke,\u00a0unleashing a billion gallons of coal sludge that covered 300 acres, damaged nearly 30 homes, and led to a cleanup effort that would cost over $1 billion\u2014and the lives of 50 cleanup workers who inhaled the toxins from the coal sludge.\u00a0Hundreds more workers fell ill after exposure to the waste. The workers and their families turned to Jim Scott<\/strong>, a local personal-injury lawyer who agreed to represent them in legal battle against the colossal, federally owned power behemoth, the Tennessee Valley Authority.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sullivan spent five years following Jim Scott, the workers, and their families, uncovering documents with damning implications for the TVA<\/strong> and federal government<\/strong> during his reporting. The resulting book is a propulsive courtroom drama about blue-collar workers taking on the C-suite; a self-described \u201chillbilly lawyer\u201d going toe-to-toe with elite corporate defense attorneys; and strong evidence being measured against fat pocketbooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jared Sullivan was previously an editor for\u00a0Men\u2019s Journal<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Field & Stream<\/strong><\/em>. He has written for\u00a0The New Yorker<\/em>,\u00a0Time<\/em>,\u00a0Garden & Gun<\/em><\/strong>, and\u00a0USA Today<\/strong><\/em>, among other publications. He lives outside Nashville, Tennessee, with his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Submitted Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cValley So Low<\/em> is more than a tale of unrepentant corporate evil and incomprehensible environmental destruction. It\u2019s more, even, than a spellbinding courtroom drama. This brilliant, necessary book is a testament to the power of perseverance and a blueprint for challenging industry\u2019s shrugged-off human costs. Valley So Low<\/em> is a ballad, yes, but it\u2019s also an anthem. And a triumph.\u201d \u2014Margaret Renkl, author of The Comfort of Crows<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJared Sullivan\u2019s Valley So Low<\/em> is a gripping legal thriller documenting the power and greed behind this appalling and deadly environmental disaster. Not since Jonathan Harr\u2019s A Civil Action <\/em>has a book so compellingly documented one man\u2019s Herculean efforts to force accountability through the courts.\u201d \u2014Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJared Sullivan brings to mind a young William Langewiesche in his skill at following human stories through the dense fact-field of long, careful reporting on major events.\u201d \u2014John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn unassuming book that proves it is easier to imagine the death of capitalism than it is to imagine the death of our better angels. This is the book we should be reading, the book we should all be trying to write.\u00a0Valley So Low<\/em>\u00a0is a masterpiece.\u201d\u00a0\u2014Nico Walker, author of\u00a0Cherry<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Submitted Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Join Thacker Mountain Radio for a true story of justice-pursued following a power plant catastrophe in Tennessee, a \u2018real-deal\u2019 bluesman John Primer<\/strong>, and original jazz\/soul by Teneia<\/strong>. Admission is FREE.<\/strong>
Doors: 5:30 pm \u2013 Refreshments<\/strong>
Show: 6 pm<\/strong>
The Powerhouse<\/strong> is located 413 S 14th Street (Phone: 662-236-6429)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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