The Monsanto Papers: Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption, and One Man's Search for Justice

by Carey Gillam

Overview

Lee Johnson was a man with simple dreams. All he wanted was a steady job and a nice home for his wife and children, something better than the hard life he knew growing up. He never imagined that he would become the face of a David-and-Goliath showdown against one of the world’s most powerful corporate giants. But a workplace accident left Lee doused in a toxic chemical and facing a deadly cancer that turned his life upside down. In 2018, the world watched as Lee was thrust to the forefront of one the most dramatic legal battles in recent history.
 
The Monsanto Papers is the inside story of Lee Johnson’s landmark lawsuit against Monsanto. For Lee, the case was a race against the clock, with doctors predicting he wouldn’t survive long enough to take the witness stand. For the eclectic band of young, ambitious lawyers representing him, it was a matter of professional pride and personal risk, with millions of dollars and hard-earned reputations on the line. For the public at large, the lawsuit presented a question of corporate accountability. With enough money and influence, could a company endanger its customers, hide evidence, manipulate regulators, and get away with it all—for decades?
 
Readers will be astounded by the depth of corruption uncovered, captivated by the shocking twists, and moved by Lee’s quiet determination to see justice served. With gripping narrative force that reads like fiction, The Monsanto Papers takes readers behind the scenes of a grueling legal battle, pulling back the curtain on the frailties of the American court system and the lengths to which lawyers will go to fight corporate wrongdoing.    
 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642830569
Publisher:	Island Press
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	993,903
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Investigative journalist Carey Gillam has spent more than 25 years reporting on corporate America, including 17 years working for Reuters international news agency. Her 2017 book about pesticide dangers, Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science, won the 2018 Rachel Carson Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists and has become a part of the curriculum in several university environmental health programs. Gillam is currently Research Director for the non-profit consumer group U.S. Right to Know.
 

Table of Contents

Introduction: Creve Coeur
Chapter 1. Getting Dirty
Chapter 2. Railroad Avenue
Chapter 3. Making a Case
Chapter 4. Joining Forces
Chapter 5. Going after Goliath
Chapter 6. In the Interests of Justice
Chapter 7. Corporate Secrets
Chapter 8. A Risky Plan
Chapter 9. Just Past Midnight
Chapter 10. Lizard Man
Chapter 11. A Question of Science
Chapter 12. San Francisco Showdown 
Chapter 13. The Cavalry 
Chapter 14. Staying Alive
Chapter 15. The Trial Begins
Chapter 16. For the Defense
Chapter 17. An Unusual Case
Chapter 18. Fighting until the Last Breath
Chapter 19. The Last Word
Chapter 20. Verdict
Epilogue: A Leaf That Doesn’t Die

A Note on Sources
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

"A great read, a page turner. I was totally engrossed by the deception, distortions, and lack of decency of the company."

Linda S. Birnbaum

"A blockbuster, right up there with page-turning thrillers by John Grisham....[I] cannot recommend it highly enough...fabulously written—an important book."

Food Politics - Marion Nestle

"A powerful book that sheds light on Monsanto and others who have been untouchable for so long!"

John Boyd Jr.

"The Monsanto Papers blends science and human tragedy with courtroom drama in the style of John Grisham. It is a story of corporate malfeasance on a grand scale - a chilling revelation of the chemical industry’s greed, arrogance, and reckless disregard for human life and the health of our planet. It is a must read."

Philip J. Landrigan

Gillam narrates an of-the-moment reckoning with a major corporation whose products have been marketed as safe since the 1970s. As an examination of both corporate malfeasance and legal maneuvering in torts cases, Gillam's book personifies the need for consumer protections and safety.”

Booklist

"A fast-paced, engaging account of how Monsanto and Bayer’s fortunes changed dramatically in such a short span of time...a gripping read that provides an easy-to-follow explanation of how this litigation unfolded, how the jurors reached their verdict and why Bayer appears to be, in effect, throwing up a white flag now.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Monsanto Papers is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the dangers of glyphosate to human health and the corrupt system of corporate and political influence that enabled Monsanto to sell its toxic weed killer for decades….fascinating cast… gripping tale, and Gillam, a master storyteller and investigative reporter, brings them to life in vivid detail.” 

Sierra

"Carey Gillam’s new book offers an up-close look at Lee Johnson’s landmark legal victory against the agrochemical giant everyone loves to hate."

Modern Farmer

"A powerful story, well told, and a remarkable work of investigative journalism. Carey Gillam has written a compelling book from beginning to end, about one of the most important legal battles of our time."

Lukas Reiter

The Monsanto Papers is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the dangers of glyphosate to human health and the corrupt system of corporate and political influence that enabled Monsanto to sell its toxic weed killer for decades….fascinating cast… gripping tale, and Gillam, a master storyteller and investigative reporter, brings them to life in vivid detail.” 

Sierra

2020-11-26
The story of a cancer victim’s search for justice against the multinational chemical conglomerate.

In this follow-up to Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science (2017), which won the Rachel Carson Book Award, investigative journalist Gillam once again takes on Monsanto for its continuing distribution of Roundup, an herbicide whose active ingredient had been classified, in independent testing, as a carcinogen. The narrative follows Lee Johnson, a groundskeeper whose non–Hodgkin lymphoma was linked to his exposure to the herbicide. Gillam writes convincingly about Monsanto’s shameful misdeeds. Examining the nature of mass tort cases and medical malpractice, the gathering of depositions and internal corporate records, jury selection and the trial, the author provides consistent insight into the legal process as well as the moves and countermoves of the lawyers involved. The corporation’s deceptive intent is galling enough, but more shocking is the “cozy relationship between Monsanto and the EPA laid out so clearly in the employees’ own words.” In a careful, sometimes overly detailed text, the author builds a convincing case that Monsanto was more interested in protecting the reputation of its cash cow than heeding scientific evidence of its dangerous properties. Gillam is especially good at rendering the complex dynamics of the legal personalities, which adds a further humanizing dimension to Johnson’s story. For their part, writes the author, Monsanto’s lawyers acted with “arrogance,” “hubris,” and a “lack of professional courtesy,” all in an effort to “wear down the will of the plaintiffs’ legal team.” Monsanto’s assurances about the safety of its product gradually unraveled before the court, and the proceedings revealed secret strategies to alter their scientific records and a corrupt regulatory process that turned oversight into a laughable collusion.

An authoritative takedown of a corporation that evidently cares little for public health.

Kirkus Reviews