The lawyer had not wanted the case -- it was too big, complicated and risky. Concerning a cluster of childhood leukemia victims in a small town north of Boston, the city wells had been poisoned by industrial chemicals and the case turned into an epic struggle taking nine years of the lawyer's life. At the heart of the legal system, he was confronted by powerful, well-connected interests who would do anything to win. In the end, the struggle nearly cost the lawyer his sanity. He sacrificed everything -- home, friends, and reputation -- not for money, but for what he believed to be the truth. A Civil Action is considered by many to be the best book ever written on the legal system.