A Civil Action

Rating:
Summary: Real-life Drama Better Than Fiction!
Review: I read this book about two years ago. I started reading it in a bookstore and couldn't put it down. I gave it to a friend and it got passed on at least two more times. I bought it as a gift at least five times. I have yet to get a bad review from any one - and I never received my copy back! If you want to read this and see the movie, go to the movie first.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding! Truth really is better than fiction.
Review: I assign this book to my legal environment class taught in the College of Business at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. The text is a slice of the judicial system brought to the readers through the suffering of famalies who lost children. Whatever your level of legal expertise, you will love this book. The real question here is "who really wins"? Read this book! It is a rich text loaded with food for thought for all America.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant book.
Review: Few authors capture both the emotional drama and factual events involved in a major test of the legal system as Harr does in this superior book. The strength of his research and interviewing is present on every page, and every citizen interested in how our laws-- and the humans who are responsible for their administration--work should read A Civil Action. Harr's characterizations humanize the numerous individuals involved in a major lawsuit, without romanticization. This is a magnificent work of importance to anybody who cares about our judicial system.

Rating:
Summary: good book, could have been better
Review: I did enjoy this book. What an incredible story! I believe the families were given the shaft by the judicial system. Judge Skinner was obviously biased towards Beatrice and didn't have the nerve to be told he was wrong. Schlictman tried to do his best, but his greed and overspending ruined it for him. I can't believe the waste of that law firm in preparing this case. I can't believe that he couldn't start fresh with the $30,000 that was left from his settlement. The book kept my attention, but I could have done without the tedious trial testimony about groundwater, Sample Z, etc.

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Summary: I found this book to be slow, tangential, and dull...
Review: I have difficulty understanding the capaciity of the american public to keep this boring book on the new york time's best seller list for so long. it is poorly laid out, with the first part of the trial taking up several hundered pages, and the second part taking up under fifty. I found the ending of this book to be miserably dissappointing... despite the fact that its a work of non-fiction and is bound to the truth of the story, at least to some extent... perhaps the person who ought be held most responsible for this tedious novel is not Harr, who does write with some distict clarity of prose, but Schlichtmann, who's outcome in the story is... well... booring! oh well... check out john grisham or something... dont waste your time on this one.

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Summary: A (sur)real view of environmental lawyering
Review: A fantastic and (sur)real depiction of environmental lawyering at its best and worst. As an environmental lawyer and author of the antidote to "A Civil Action" -- "The Home Environmental Sourcebook: 50 Environmental Hazards to Avoid When Buying, Selling or Maintaining a Home" (also carried by Amazon.com), this book hits home -- I couldn't put it down. The unanswered question that remains is "how many other neighborhoods around the country have similar issues . . . and how does one know?" Home buyers, sellers, and those just living in their home who utilize "The Home Environmental Sourcebook" can minimize (if not eliminate) the likelihood that their neighborhood will be the subject of a similar book/movie.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I ever read
Review: This was one of the best books I have ever read. It was so detailed, seemingly objective and insightful. A wonderful read. It made me want to sign up for his non-fiction writing course. I was not surprised to see he is friends with Tracey Kidder whose style of writing is somewhat similar.

Rating:
Summary: A very accurate portrayal of life in the law
Review: I'm a lawyer who spent ten years at a plaintiff side law firm doing work much like that which is portrayed in this book (indeed my former firm is mentioned in the book), and I got goose bumps reading it, because it really captures the drama and conflicts inherent in working for people who have been injured by others. When you get right down to it, lawyers are hired guns, and money is their main concern. Indeed it has to be, unless they are rich enough to work for free. But clients aren't always concerned about the money. This book has alot to say to lawyers, as well as laymen.

Rating:
Summary: Flawless and engrossing-
Review: The combination of legal theatrics and human nature kept mr turning the pages as I fell deeper into the legal black hole that Schlichtmann and the rest of his crew found themselves in. A black whole inhabited by big business at its ugliest, lawyers at their slickest and innocent victims at their most sympathetic. The characters are fascinating and the best part is they are real. Harr does a masterful job of catching the subtitlies of each person so they seem to jump off the page and tell their story to you one on one. I wish the Judge had jumped off the page, I would have had an action for him that wasn't so civil. Do yourself a favor- read this book.

Rating:
Summary: SO UTTERLY BORING
Review: I will never again trust the reviews posted by the general public on this web site.