If you want entertaining summer reading that will also give you the lowdown on the biggest corporate caper in the history of the United States, Civil Warriors: The Legal Siege on the Tobacco Industry is your book. Unlike other tomes written about the legal war against tobacco, all of which were produced prematurely while the tale was unfolding, this new work by investigative reporter Dan Zegart offers the whole gory picture, right up to its bitter-sweet finale. And the author does it with real style. Rarely have there been more colorful protagonists, including a gazillionaire half-crazed trial lawyer and a paradoxically angelic self-styled "guerrilla warrior." And you don't want to miss the freaked out whistleblowers and industry greed heads. The movie "The Insider" captured only a small slice of the incredible story told here. It will keep you glued to your beach chair while the kids are off frolicking in the water.

Civil Warriors was a facinating look both inside the legal strategy behind the tobacco lititgation but also the personal lives of some of the major players. Zeigart's behind-the-scenes access was invaluable to shedding light on these cases. But more importantly, it is a good read. It reminds me of the book Civil Action - great information told in a great story.

Civil Warriors reads like a Grisham legal thriller, but it's non-fiction. That makes it much more important than any novelist's fantasies. The lead character may be sympathetic to some, not to others, but there's no question he's an amazing character. However, readers who are fixated on Ron Motley's story, and the greediness of some big-time trial lawyers, miss the other interesting layers of Mr. Zegart's book. The second lead character, for instance, offers a dramatic, not to mention refreshing contrast to Motley. The story of Cliff Douglas is like that of Morris Dees. He takes on big tobacco with little in the way of resources and at huge personal risk, but succeeds in driving them up the wall, and costing them billions, by quietly locating industry whistleblowers and exposing the truth in explosive front page news stories. The tales told of the whistleblowers themselves, including the mysterious "Deep Cough," Victor DeNoble and others are nothing short of amazing. The book grippingly describes their acts of bravery and conscience. I was invigorated and inspired by their stories, and I think others will be too.