Tragic Indifference : One Man's Battle with the Auto Industry over the Dangers of SUVs
Author: Adam Penenberg
List Price: $25.95
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ISBN: 0060090588
Publisher: HarperBusiness (11 November, 2003)
Sales Rank: 51,076
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Great overview of a disturbing scandal
Anyone who has been intrigued and disgusted by the corporate scandals of the past few years will love this book. Though it reads like a novel, it's based on hard facts and a ton of research, including interviews with all the people inside the scandal. What most set this book apart for me was the human part of the story. It follows Donna Bailey, a woman who was rendered quadriplegic by a Ford rollover. Most of the books out there tell you the facts, but this one gives it a heart. Donna's story is so tragic, it makes you hate the corporations even more. Not only did she fight back when she was on the brink of death, she refused to settle for anything less than a personal apology from Ford and a settlement that would cover her medical bills and more for the rest of her life. Her lawyer was amazing as well, paying for her expenses out of his pocket while the case was going through court. The book makes some of the characters so heroic as to seem a little one-sided, but it's a small price to pay for such a comprehensive study of the Ford/Firestone scandal all in one place. I couldn't put this book down, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Best non-fiction account since A Civil Action
I found Tragic Indifference to be a gripping and eye-opening account of corporate greed let loose by the deregulation of America's automotive industry. Author Penenberg, a rare example of the near extinct breed of the "investigative journalist" paints a harrowing picture of the utter lack of safety in the design of Ford's SUVs, and the company's shocking disregard for human life. Every person driving an SUV needs to read this book for their own safety and that of their families. I agree wholeheartedly with the review in "Mother Jones": "This gripping account of the Ford-Firestone debacle has all the elements of a Hollywood legal thriller - so it's no surprise that a film adaptation starring Michael Douglas is already in the works. The Victim, Donna Baily, is a single mother who became a quadriplegic after an SUV crash. Her lawyer, Tab Turner, is an affable cruisader, part Abicis Finch part Ralph Nader. Ford and Firestone meanwhile, implausibly deny any responsibilty until the bitter end. The little guy wins, of course, Bailey get $27 million in legal settlements and forces Ford lawyers to visit her at her hospital bed and apologize..."
Carmen Kordas, New York City, USA
Rating: 3 out of 5
Passionate telling of the Explorer rollover issue
It is heart rending to read about the lives torn apart in these horrible accidents. Mr. Penenberg writes effectively and persuasively about the pain, loss, and struggle of those injured and also the pain and struggle of their loved ones. However, his emotional style, while effective in producing sympathetic emotions, in the end undermines the case he is trying to make. Not that the case is necessarily wrong. It is just that he does not really prove it beyond an emotional conviction. He does not use his journalistic detachment to let both sides speak and let the preponderance of the evidence fall where it may. He wants to convince us that Ford is wrong (and I am not saying they are or aren't) and that the lawyers are good. A couple of examples about the lawyers: Early in the book he introduces Tab Turner has having a private jet, but not a flashy one - the author calls it a Plymouth with wings. A few pages later he reveals it to be a Cessna Citation. This is a very nice jet and Turner is a very very rich man who for all his protestations of not caring about fees gathers them by the truckload. And it isn't until the second half of the book that we are shown the fighting over fees and the skullduggery in getting the client to unwittingly sign a new contingency fee arrangement without her healthy caregivers around. It is sickening.
But we all love our own lawyers when they help and protect us (as we should), and we think the other guy's lawyers are scum (unless they lose). That is the way it goes. And friends eventually become targets of suits in the name of justice. Again, it is hard to take, but it happens.
I believe that the book would have been stronger if he would have actually presented both sides of this issue fairly and completely. While the emotions of the case would then be a bit more confused, the reader would be better equipped to make a fair and clearer judgment about the case rather than the one the author wants you to make.
We all despise corporate decisions that expose people to death and injury to save a few dollars or because of carelessness and callous disregard. But we also despise attorneys making huge fees from tragically injured clients and stepping on endless numbers of people, justice, and truth to claim those fees. It isn't that this is a bad book. Rather, it could have been stronger by being more objective. Almost certainly, Ford and Firestone would not have been very forthcoming for interviews. However, when I was reading I kept hoping for more complete information about the accidents from multiple perspectives. The book is worth reading if you are interested in this story, but I could have used less direction from the author on how I was supposed to feel and more information about the facts - not just the defense lawyers' arguments.
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