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In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Don’t miss out—purchases support your local bookstore!
Shop nowParadise Falls
The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe
Narrator
Eileen Stevens
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Length
13 hours 5 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“This was a truly horrifying story of the impact of chemical dumping on a community. O'Brien tells a highly compelling and incredibly researched account of the east side of Niagara Falls where illegal dumping lead to a slew of medical issues amidst families of the area. It was truly terrifying that a company could so carelessly dispose of dangerous chemicals and that an entire community can be decimated medically and financially and then have to fight to get recognition of the impact of the dumping. The audiobook was a highly engrossing listen, and I recommend to any fans of investigative nonfiction!”
— Kimi • Buttonwood Books and Toys
Summary
From the New York Times best-selling journalist, the staggering, hidden story of an unlikely band of mothers who discovered the deadly secret of Love Canal, and exposed one of America’s most devastating environmental disasters.
Lois Gibbs, Luella Kenny, and other mothers loved their neighborhood on the east side of Niagara Falls. It had an elementary school, a playground, and rows of affordable homes. In the spring of 1977, pungent odors began to seep into these little houses, and it didn’t take long for worried mothers to identify the curious scent. It was the sickly-sweet smell of chemicals.
In this propulsive work of narrative reportage, Keith O’Brien uncovers how Lois Gibbs and Luella Kenny exposed the poisonous secrets buried in their neighborhood. The school and playground had been built atop an old canal—the Love Canal, it was called. The city’s largest employer, Hooker Chemical, had quietly filled this canal with 20,000 tons of toxic waste in the 1940s and 1950s. This waste was now leaching to the surface, causing a public health crisis the likes of which America had never seen before—and sparking new and specific fears. Luella Kenny believed the chemicals were making her son sick.
O’Brien braids together the previously unknown stories of Hooker Chemical’s deeds; the local newspaperman, scientist, and congressional staffer who tried to help; the city and state officials who didn’t; and the heroic women who stood up to corporate and governmental indifference to save their families and their children. They would take their fight all the way to the top, winning support from the E.P.A. and the White House, even President Jimmy Carter himself, and by the time it was over, they would capture the American imagination. Sweeping and electrifying, Paradise Falls brings to life a defining story from our past, laying bare how the dauntless efforts of a few women helped to spark the modern environmental movement as we know it today.
Cover images: Courtesy of the University Archives, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
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Reviews
CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE NOMINEE“Propulsive . . . A mighty work of historical journalism . . . Paradise Falls is a glorious quotidian thriller about people forced to find and use their inner strength. After all these years, they are fortunate to have a chronicler as focused and thoughtful as O’Brien. He brings their courage back to life.”
—The Boston Globe
“With stunning clarity . . . [O’Brien chronicles] the human tragedy of Love Canal. . . By the time I read of Jon Allen’s death, even though I knew the outcome, I cried. . . As the disaster unfolds, there are horrific discoveries, medical mysteries and plenty of screaming neighbors . . . so gripping it could almost be a thriller.”
—Erika Engelhaupt, Science News
"Paced like a thriller, it’s a remarkable story of perseverance against impossible odds."
—Chicago Review of Books
“A stunning, sad, and instructive story . . . [revealing how] Love Canal transformed environmental policy in the United States.”
—Psychology Today
“At once heart-wrenching and uplifting, infuriating and inspiring, Paradise Falls is an exhaustively researched and compelling excavation of the past that remains eerily relevant in this moment. O’Brien deftly knits together a tightly-paced, relatable, and definitive narrative of a watershed moment in the annals of environmental justice…and its profoundly felt absence.”
—Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author of We Gather Together, The Last Castle, and The Girls of Atomic City
“Nearly two decades before environmental activist Erin Brockovich made headlines in California, a group of mothers on the other side of the country launched an epic battle to save their neighborhood in the shadow of Niagara Falls. Exhaustively reported and expertly told, Paradise Falls is the definitive, captivating account of the women who, against all odds, exposed the deadly secret of Love Canal. Keith O’Brien’s latest is narrative nonfiction at its finest.”
—Abbott Kahler, bestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden Park
“How does an environmental disaster become an inspiring tale of homemakers turned heroes? Start with Keith O’Brien, a gifted writer who expertly blends emotion and gumshoe reporting to tell the story of ordinary people who fought to save their families. Paradise Falls is a master work of narrative nonfiction.”
—Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Fall and Rise and 13 Hours
“This book—about an historical event, an environmental catastrophe—reads like a thriller, even if you know the contours of that event and its outcome. In luminous prose, O’Brien brings people to life on the page. You’ll end up caring about them, and admiring them, for their courage and persistence.”
—Jonathan Harr, author of the #1 national bestseller A Civil Action
“Meticulously researched . . . gripping . . . This authoritative book deserves a wide audience and should provoke reflection on just how much we have progressed in the 45 years since the Love Canal disaster.”
—Library Journal, starred review
“Riveting . . . the text blisters with details . . . Paradise Falls is a narrative resplendent with ordinary people who stood up against overwhelming odds. O’Brien has accomplished an outstanding work of investigative journalism.”
—Booklist, starred review
“Deeply reported, masterly . . . a story [O'Brien] brings to life for a new generation. [Paradise Falls] is a marker we can use to measure how far we’ve come . . . in terms of environmental responsibility, and how far we still have to go.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Deeply researched . . . In this work of investigative reporting, O’Brien narrates a tale of corporate malfeasance and inaction, governmental response (or lack thereof), and, above all, inspiring citizen activism in the face of harrowing circumstances . . . A thorough retelling of an environmental tragedy and a renewed call for corporate accountability.”
—Kirkus Reviews Expand reviews