Paul Barrett’s excellent new book, “Law of the Jungle,” has been attacked in Outside magazine as too one-sided. I see it as not quite one-sided enough.
In giving the pollution case against Chevron in Ecuador the full treatment it deserves, Barrett complements my focus on the oil company’s counterattack against the plaintiffs and their lead counsel, Chevron v. Donziger, in the ebook “Crude Awakening.” Barrett and I took differing journeys to reach the conclusion that the Ecuadorean plaintiffs’ team tragically undermined the cause of environmentalism and mocked the rule of law in its continuing quest to recover $9.5 billion against Chevron Corporation. But the all-points skepticism that makes Barrett a great reporter also makes him begrudge Chevron’s right to defend itself.
