Amazon Watch is pleased to announce the recent release of the book Crude Reflections/Cruda Realidad: Oil, Ruin and Resistance in the Amazon Rainforest by Lou Dematteis and Kayana Szymczak. The book, which features a foreword by Trudie Styler and Sting, chronicles the human and environmental impact of oil drilling in the Ecuadorian Amazon by Chevron (formerly Texaco).
In the affected region, the size of Rhode Island, more than 30,000 campesinos and five indigenous communities have been affected by the pollution. Community leaders and doctors already report elevated rates of cancer, miscarriages, skin and respiratory diseases as well as birth defects; thousands of deaths from cancer are predicted.
Using images and testimonies of victims, Crude Reflections powerfully documents the physical and emotional reality of those affected by this toxic contamination, while also portraying the uplifting campaign for justice including the landmark class action lawsuit now in final stages of adjudication in Ecuador.
Amazon Watch has helped fund the publication of this book and the related photo exhibit, which so far, has traveled to several locations in the Bay Area and Ecuador. Our team also assisted in the English translation of the testimonies and contributed logistical support to the photographers.
To view the photos in Crude Reflections, visit www.chevrontoxico.com and click on “View the Photo Exhibit”.
The book is available for purchase in hardcover ($40) and paperback ($24.95) formats at Amazon Watch. Request your copy today by email to amazon@amazonwatch.org or call 415-487-9600.
City Lights Publishers
Format Hardcover
ISBN-10 0872864723
ISBN-13 9780872864726
Publication Date June 2008
List Price $40.00
Format Paperback
ISBN-10 0872864715
ISBN-13 9780872864719
Publication Date June 2008
List Price $24.95
