I liked Griswold's courage to tell her story but I don't agree with the decisions she made: a) as a single mom, she bought land in a dying industrial pillage town to raise her family b) she gave permission to industrialists (and that is a very broad term but specifically, to people who make factories, send trucks, dig holes, drain resources, create and spread pollution, and indirectly are the cause of so many health issues in surrounding areas) to 'cultivate' her land. c) If you give such land to such industrialists (in this case, gas production from underground shale rocks) then you should not be living in such an environment, or the state laws should prohibit people from residing in such land, accepting owners right to lease it out. d) And why your kids are getting sick should be no mystery to you - it should have been expected right from the beginning. (of course the company is going to lie. Even if no one has seen Erin Brockovich, the world is full of swindlers and why she trusted a big corporation to tell the truth is silly).

The part that will stick and the part that is important is the criminally negligent behavior of governmental agencies (whether it is common bureaucracy, EPA, etc.) - and I think this book is an important reminder of how big business (whether oil and gas or pharma or gun manufacturers and defense contractors) are allowed to have their way, even legally, till a reasonable judge puts a stop to it in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

No thanks to the reckless mom.

But am grateful for the ARC.

I don't even know where to start. It is shocking to me that this kind of systematic failure by Government to protect its own citizens is taking place in America. This is the kind of thing that happens in third world countries, not here in our own backyard.

While I fully realize 'Amity and Prosperity' certainly has an agenda, the blatant disregard by government agencies, local government and corporations coupled with the general lack of public outcry should make everyone angry. I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that Range Resources basically got off scott free. There is documented evidence of their failure to protect the people of the community as well as their obvious disregard for rules and regulations.

I felt that Griswold laid out the facts rather clearly. Everyone should read this. This is not just a cautionary tale, these practices are still taking place. It not of matter of "it could happen to you" so much as a matter of when. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

AMITY AND PROSPERITY by Eliza Griswold is a non-fiction work that deals with the technology of fracturing to obtain natural gas. It does so primarily by charting the impact over eight years on families from Washington County in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Their recently settled legal fight raises disturbing points and the author is clearly biased as she details the efforts to protect small towns' authority to regulate this industry and to help protect citizens' environmental rights. For more background, here is a link to a recent opinion piece called "The Resource Curse of Appalachia" which Griswold wrote in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/09/opinion/sunday/appalachia-environment-resource-curse.html

AMITY AND PROSPERITY received starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal – it is a thought-provoking account written by an award-winning author for those interested in social justice and environmental issues.

A beautifully written and well researched look into the life of a woman who, much like the story of Erin Brockovich, rose up to demand better for her family, her town and her country. I cannot recommend it highly enough!