Tragic Indifference: One Man's Battle with the Auto Industry Over the Dangers of Suvs

by Adam L. Penenberg

Book Overview

Tragic Indifference is the gut-wrenching account of the biggest product liability case in history: the Ford-Firestone fiasco, where delaminating Firestone tires caused Ford Explorers to lose control... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060090588
• ISBN13: 9780060090586
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: HarperBusiness
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Tragically, a True American Horror Story

After reading the first 13 pages, your blood starts to boil. By the time one finishes this scathing 342 page book the reader wants to throw the book against the wall, or better, against the heads of company executives who deliberately make terrible, killing and maiming products."Tragic Indifference" documents, step by step, tragic, tear-inducing tale of indifference by Ford Motor Company and Firestone tires. Penenberg's book has been purchased for a film, not surprisingly because in a sense, it is a remake of the classic 1991 film "Class Action" which goes over the same grounds -- a car manufacturer indifferent to the death and disability of its riders.The more things changes...Only this is not fiction; every word is true.Here the case is one car company, Ford and one tire company, Firestone, who make an ugly pair as they conspire (for purely economic reasons) to build an unsafe car and tires to match. They refuse to redress their errors because it is cheaper to pay the hidden-to-the-public legal settlements filed by those who have been killed or maimed, or permanently crippled. Out of sight, out of mind. Except it becomes open to the public when a reporter as tenacious as Penenberg, matches his writing talents with his investigative skills.By the time you finish Penenberg's book, you will never purchase a Ford automobile or allow a Firestone tire on your car. You will reconsider the car you drive, and the tires you've purchased no matter the make or model. There is more to this story -- the story of deliberate government indifference with a mindset bent on protecting corporate malfeasance. There are agencies created to protect the consumer, agencies who fail in every instance, to do just that. Penenberg points out how there is no limit to what corporate campaign funds can purchase. And the legislators whose only job is to protect their killing corporate fundraisers.There are the personal injury attorneys. Here, we have a tiny body of lawyers who -- let's use the the worst kind of epithet -- ambulance chasers -- a term which by any measure of humanity should be a badge of honor. Who protects the poor, the unsophisticated from the ravages of a company who deliberately builds unsafe products? Are the poor less worthy, less entitled to justice? Is their pain and disbility less worthy because they are poor? The tort reform legislation always wandering around legislative halls is merely a product of companies who do not want to be detered or held liable for their killing and maiming products. The trial lawyers Penenberg writes about are true American heros, and it is wonderful that we can know them through this book.And there will be the tears the reader will shed when reading that part of the settlement demanded by one woman crippled by the deliberately unsafe Ford car insists as part of her settlement that Ford attorneys come to her hospital bedside and apologize in person.The attorneys, of course, will be able to walk out after they finished. The w

Riveting, and a GREAT read

If you liked "Erin Brockovich" or "A Civil Action" you'll LOVE this book. It moves quickly yet still takes the time to explain how Ford engineers and Firestone managers cut corners to enhance profits. It's amazing now - I see older Explorers on the road and it scares the hell out of me. And as parents buy new vehicles - they give these high-mileage Explorers to their kids to drive, without even realizing how much danger there is. The story is truly inspiring.

Stunning

Another in depth analysis of corporate greed by Penenberg that rips the lid off the death mobiles that Detroit pumps out and puts on America's highways with equally deadly tires. And what for, but the almighty buck. Amazingly, Penenberg makes this confusing trail of corporate cover-up understandable and accessible by providing the very human perspective of one of these death trap's victims and the courageous lawyer who made America pay attention to what was going on out there. I must say a must read for laymen and lawyers alike.

Tragic Indifference

You know a book is good when you find yourself walking down the street while reading and trying to get to the next page... to put it simply this book is a fast, invigorating, informative, and incredibly well crafted piece. To think about all of the information that goes into a subject of this magnitude completely overwhelms me, however Adam Penenberg does a wonderful job at braiding together all of the facts, developments and personal testimony so that anyone can easily absorb this material while becoming attached to the people who have been dramatically affected by this sickening failure in the auto industry. Being that I am from Michigan, home to Ford, I will certainly be handing this book out to all my friends and relatives with a huge red bow and a card that reads "you'll thank me after you've read this book."

Page Turner that Rivals Erin Brokovich and the The Insider

This is the kind of book that reels you in from page 1 and doesn't let you go until the very end. I finished it one weekend! It's so utterly gripping as it takes the reader on an amazing ride from the highway, to the hospital, the boardroom and the courtroom through the vantage point of one of America?s top lawyers, Tab Turner. When government regulators fail to step in and enforce safety regulations on the Ford Bronco II and the ever-popular Ford Explorer, Turner steps in fight the good fight. Tab is portrayed as a brilliant and wise cracking attorney from Arkansas who becomes a one man tour-de-force in taking the auto industry to task. Early on in the book, Penenberg introduces us to Donna Bailey, the single mother and mountain climber, who one day sets out on a hiking trip with her best friend and returns home, months later as a quadriplegic, when her Explorer rolls over, nearly crushing her to death. As the story builds, you feel that for the first time you truly understand how the decisions that large corporations make, impact our everyday lives. The author, obviously an investigative journalist, knows how to weave together the elements of the story including insider memos from Ford and Firestone, whistleblower testimony and even settlement information that would seem to be confidential. You somehow feel that Penenberg is letting you into this secret world, where corporate greed and cover-ups are everyday business, the side of American business that we rarely get to see. Penenberg forces us to open our eyes and literally feel how these decisions, have killed hundreds of American every year, while companies make no attempt to change the way they do business. It was impossible to put this book down.More than anything else, the book reminds you that there are still more than 3 million of these unsafe Ford Explorers on the road today. Now when I?m on the highway, I can?t help but notice just how many of these cars are driving next to me, and somehow I always manage to change lanes. Don?t miss this gripping book, it may actually save your life.