On the Bhopal Union Carbide Plant disaster, 1984.

A gripping, kaleidoscopic account of a horrific industrial disaster that shook the world, from wold-renowned humanitarian and internationally bestselling author Dominique Lapierre. It was December 3, 1984. In the ancient city of Bhopal, a cloud of toxic gas escaped from an American pesticide plant, killing and injuring thousands of people. When the noxious clouds cleared, the worst industrial disaster in history had taken place. Now, Dominique Lapierre brings the hundreds of characters, conflicts, and adventures together in an unforgettable tale of love and hope. Readers will meet the poetry-loving factory worker who unleashes the apocalypse, the young Indian bride who was to be married that terrible night, and the doctors who died that night saving others.

BASED ON HUNDREDS OF INTERVIEWS AND THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS, REFLECTS THE PASSIONATE DRAMA OF THIS TRAGIC INCIDENT. IT IS A TALE, TOLD IN DETAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME, OF TERROR AND TORMENT, GUILT AND INNOCENCE. IT IS THE ENTIRE BHOPAL STORY TO DATE-THE BACKGROUND, THE HOUR-BY-HOUR EVENTS, THE DIFFICULT DECISIONS, AND THE BITTER AFTERMATH. KURZMAN WAS GIVEN UNIQUE ACCESS TO UNION CARBIDE COMPANY DOCUMENTS AND PERSONNEL AND TO INDIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN HIS RESEARCH. HE REVEALS THE AGONIES ENDURED BY THE GAS VICTIMS.

On the Bhopal tragedy due to leakage of methyl isocyanate gas, 1984.

This book would have been completed earlier but for events that disrupted millions of lives across India, including those of journalists : the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, by a Hindu mob on 6 December 1992 and the communal riots that followed across the country. In January 1993, the selective massacres of Muslims at Bombay and the devastating revenge bomb blasts there two months later led to extensive travelling and reporting for the New York Times. In addition, there was 'normal reporting' : the Punjab, environmental, economic and political issues such as the billion dollar scam.

In December 1984, a massive explosion and discharge of poisonous gas from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, killed over 2,500 people. Hundreds more have since died and many thousands were injured. Cassels (law, U. of Victoria, B.C.) traces the origins of the Bhopal tragedy and examines the legal aftermath and global implications. Cassels concludes, with the Supreme Court of India, that in a time of exploding technology, we cannot be satisfied entirely with the "uncertain promises of law." Cassels suggests a number of fundamental reforms that must be forged if future Bhopals are to be prevented. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR