This book needs to go through another round of editing to remove all the author asides. I made it 40% of the way before I DNF because the author snarks "does a bear shit in the woods?". I have read many a book about corruption but the point of journalism is to tell the story fairly and ethically without inserting yourself into the narrative. What happened was tragic but the reader needs to be shown that through narrative not told that through snide comments from the author . I want to know more about this story but this book is unreadable as it stands currently

Chariton is an excellent journalist who is telling an important story, and this book reflect years of on-the-ground reporting on a complex situation. The Flint water cover-up is confusing and bureaucratic, but he keeps it focused on what's important: the health of Flint residents. There is a lot of repetition of previously stated facts, which is helpful for remembering all the pieces but sometimes overdone. I also think Chariton's inexperience in writing book-length narratives really shows in certain places.

Whenever people say "Oh we should fix this terrible thing happening around our homes" other people say "The people can just move." As if moving doesn't cost money. As if they wouldn't have to leave the homes and people behind that they love. It isn't that simple. And we all pay taxes so we can have clean water and roads and other essential infrastructure.
When we learned about the Flint Water Crisis I think a lot of us assumed it would be fixed quickly. No one wants to poison and kill their own city/state, but we were wrong. We were so wrong.
I just really appreciate this book. I was a little put off by the language some of the men used, especially the thing about the baby after they kick the babysitters out of the room, but it was the perfect metaphor for what was being done to the water supply. I just forget that men talk that way.
I am proud of the author for investigating and reporting on all of this.