Clark's The Poisoned City recounts the story of Flint's poisoned water through the people who caused it, suffered from it, and exposed it. It is a chronicle of one town, made precarious by the neglect of infrastructure and the erosion of democratic decision making.
In this meticulously annotated, brutally honest (she names names), and compassionately narrated account of a disgraceful American crisis, The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy takes us from point A to point Z, showing and telling and explaining all that happened through the words of those who lived it.... a cautionary tale for every town and city across the land. Clark’s admonishments of 'the toxic legacy of segregation, secession, redlining, and rebranding' that disproportionately victimized low-income and minority groups and of the government officials who repeatedly said, 'Trust us' should be taken quite seriously, as well as her assertion that '[a]gencies charged with protecting public health and natural resources deserve to be well-funded, pro-active, and oriented solely toward serving the public interest.'
The Poisoned City is [dry] but a comprehensive chronicle of the crisis—with an eye for the institutional corruption and indifference that enabled it ... [an] important book... useful—as history and as blueprint ... Opportunities to use these blueprints will never stop presenting themselves.
The Poisoned City, by journalist Anna Clark, is gripping and packed with meticulously sourced reportage ... Clark’s rich account intersperses policy and environmental science with vivid portraits of Flint and its citizens, ramping up the tension as the horror unfolds ... [Clark's book] is a must-read—not only for those interested in environmental science and policymaking, but for anyone who believes that access to clean drinking water is a basic human right.
