An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas [Hardcover]

Diane Wilson (Author)

List Price:	CDN$ 34.50
Price:	CDN$ 6.45 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details
You Save:	CDN$ 28.05 (81%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Tuesday, May 29? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout.

Formats	Amazon Price		New from	Used from
Hardcover	CDN $6.45		--	--
Paperback	CDN $16.68		--	--

Product Details

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing (Sep 6 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1931498881
ISBN-13: 978-1931498883
Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 16.3 x 2.9 cm
Shipping Weight: 703 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #802,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #47 in Books > Engineering > Chemical > Plant Design
- #48 in Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Chemical > Plant Design

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

With the discovery that her "piddlin' little county on the Gulf Coast" led the nation in toxic emissions, shrimper Wilson, a mother of five, found herself embarking on a voyage of discovery and activism that would strain her marriage and stretch her horizons. A David up against big-time chemical Goliaths, Wilson is a gifted storyteller, rendering dialogue and pacing plot turns as a novelist might. Anonymous informants, uncomfortable whistleblowers, unanticipated opposition from civic powers and seductive offers of cash bribes pepper this first-person account of Wilson's attempts to save her hometown. Although there are moments when the trail of meetings, memos and petitions seems drawn out, the tell-everything approach reveals how a woman awed to discover "they can lie on TV news! And it is all right!" can learn to master the media. Wilson's hunger-striking, boat-sinking and pole-climbing—combined with the help of a pro bono lawyer and a Greenpeace activist—ultimately wring a "zero tolerance" agreement out of Formosa Plastics and Dow/Union Carbide. Wilson's book is longer than it needs to be, but her Texas twang is catchy, and often spellbinding, as she goes about her mission, sometimes with a child "by one hand and a handful of documents in the other." (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In the battle to halt the monstrous pollution destroying Texas' Lavaca Bay, it seemed impossible that one little lady could take on a multibillion-dollar international chemical company and win--but win Wilson did. A minimally educated shrimp-boat captain and mother of five, Wilson suffered great personal tragedy, including death threats and divorce, in her frustrating and demoralizing crusade against Formosa Plastic's proposed $1.3 billion expansion of its PVC manufacturing facility in Calhoun County, Texas, already deemed the most toxic district in the country. Armed with nothing more than her deep-seated love for the bay outside her door and an unwavering sense of justice, Wilson almost single-handedly set out to reveal the environmental destruction, worker intimidation, legal machinations, and political manipulation that epitomized Formosa's ruthless business practices. With unbridled passion, Wilson renders her "Diane-versus-Goliath" confrontation in honest and unadorned prose, liberally and gracefully lacing it with passages of heartbreaking lyricism and provocative wisdom that reveal the depth of her commitment. Few people in this world deserve to be called heroes; Wilson assuredly is one of them. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Share your experience with this product with others

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.6 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Suprising Gem of a Book, Aug 12 2005

By Sarah Williams - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas (Hardcover)

I opened ths book unenthusiastically, expecting an excess of legal details, numbers, dates, and names which would confuse me. While what I had heard about Diane Wilson certainly sounded like a great story- that of a small-town woman who turns into a national activism- I was doubtful that the book would really draw me in.

Boy was I mistaken! Wilson's writing is colloquial, almost chit-chatty. While sometimes this tone can produce poor writing, in Wilson's case it simply draws us into her personality, sharing details completely relavant to her transformation from a shrimp-farmer to an anti-corporation environmental activist.

This book inspires interest not only in Wilson's personal story, but in the broader context of industrial pollution, corporate whistle-blowers, and how activism can really make a difference.

Wilson had me rooting for her side from page one of this book, and her writing had me enthralled by the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone, even if you are not interested at first glance.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably great new writer!, Aug 8 2005

By Ramona Knutsen "Mona Knutsen" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas (Hardcover)

I started reading this book anticipating that I would have a hard time staying interested. I have to say that I was more than pleasantly surprised by the way the pages flew by and how easy it was to become engrossed in every single page, in fact it went by too quick and I was very disappointed to finish it so quickly. I am an avid reader and have never read anything like Wilson's book before, it was extremely funny and caught myself laughing out loud more than once or twice!

Diane has an uncanny talent as a storyteller. This is so much more than what I expected, I would highly encourage anyone to read it, it's engrossing, incredibly written and one of the best books I've read this year.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Page Turner!!, Aug 8 2005

By Pauline T. - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas (Hardcover)

I must admitt, I expected this true story to be a little over my head with all the talk of permits, politics and pollutants, but Diane Wilson can really pull you in. The book immidiatly caught my attention and wouldn't let my put it down. Living on the Gulf Coast, I did not realize the stronghold that one company can have over a community. Diane has really brought to life the here strugle for clean bays in Texas. A must read for all, especially if you are in a community with chemical plants and refineries.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 25 reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars