Fighting for Justice in Coal Country: Uncovering the Opioid Crisis Fueled by Drug Companies in Mud Lick

Gilad Rosenberg: Eric is a rarity among journalists these days- he actually is open to tips and sources wherever they come from, goes into the community and does the rare job of "vetting the source and their information".

The book proves that the DEA, Pharmacy Boards, State legislatures, Politicians, lobbyists, consultants, Congress, DA's, Pharmacists, Distributors, Pharmacies, Law enforcement agencies, Physicians, FDA etc. allowed nearly two million Americans to die needlessly over two decades so that tens of billions can be made each year.

United States on May 26, 2022

Amazon CustomerAmazon Customer: Must have got this from a sale of used books, but charged the price of a book that was virtually new. Not impressed with the book’s condition. Shocking to learn the extent of corruption the writer exposed, with little consequences for the deaths of so many.

Canada on Apr 16, 2022

A. Frederick: The case for investigative reporting and freedom of press is made strongly with this book. Without Eyre’s years of diligent reporting, this story of corporate greed that cost many thousands of lives would not be told and ultimately halted to some degree.

I wish more could have been told about the role of drug companies themselves and the role of their advisors, including McKinsey and Co., to supercharge this epidemic.

I recommend this book for those interested in understanding how the opioid crisis was fueled at the town level and how various entities recklessly and purposely optimized profits in the process.

United States on Apr 24, 2021

Zachariah Spurrier: This book tells both a single heartbreaking personal story that so many folks in Appalachia can recognize and also a larger story of the opioid crisis and who's responsible for it. Death in Mud Lick sews together a newspaper crisis, critical elections, many lawsuits, the secrets of an old coal mining town, eulogies of the long overdosed, and glimpse into the future to write a story, a record that is informative, enraging, and engaging. Must read for anyone interested in the opioid crisis or its complex impact on West Virginia, and the brilliant uncovering of a newspaper determined to deliver the truth.

United States on Dec 29, 2020

Dr. Ervin V. Griffin: I am a former resident of McDowell County and grew up there when coal was king in the county. I found the book very revealing because it demonstrates (to me) how people have taken advantage of the people in my home state for quite sometime. I often wondered what had happened to my home state and county and the opioid epidemic has literally destroyed a place that provided me with a great education and amazing lifelong opportunities. Nonetheless, I had to leave the state to fully exercise the opportunities. My final thoughts are a mixture of sadness because of the way fellow West Virginians have been used by coal barons and now drug companies for profit. I am also struck by the inhumanity some of the politicians continue to demonstrate toward the very people they are suppose to be helping. I enjoyed reading about places that I knew especially War, West Virginia but wish it was in another context. Great story Eric but in the final analysis I am saddened about what has happened to the West Virginia Hills........

United States on Jun 02, 2020

perttu salovaara: Great case, lucidly written. I could not stop once I started, read it in one day (well, finished the next day at 1 am). Exciting to see how far down the road investigative journalism can take you.

United Kingdom on May 11, 2020

Micah J. Hall: This is a real page-turner. You read the prologue and chapter 1 and think "how can this have happened?" and "how can the rest of the book live up to this opening?"

It's an incredible read, an insight into a supposedly first world country that seems to have played host to a third world epidemic and banana republic corruption. The author is to be congratulated on an epic tale - played out against the background of ever straitening finances.

I loved it and could not put it down.

United Kingdom on Apr 29, 2020

Gary Kastal: Well researched, well documented narrative of the whys and wherefores of America’s prescription and non-prescription drug dilemma. If you want to understand why it takes so long for meaningful change to occur at the federal and state levels of government and why resulting implementation of policy and tangible remedies are hodgepodge and uneven then this book is a must read. Politicians, Corporate America, Law Enforcement (DEA) are not your friends and benefactors but rather are fiends only looking for financial gain and power regardless of who suffers and dies in their quest for the almighty dollar and what influence it can buy.

Once again, the poor and downtrodden are taken advantage of with little attention paid to lives shattered and lost. Are only protection are vigilant reporters and newspapers that seek the truth and seek justice, not for some but for everyone.

United States on Apr 11, 2020