Présentation de l'éditeur It was hailed as a miracle. A cheap, effective solution to India's food shortages, the American pesticide, Sevin, promised the world. And Union Carbide's state-of-the-art factory would provide jobs for the thousands of refugees who came from far and wide to the vibrant, teeming city of Bhopal, dreaming of a better life. But at five past midnight on the night of 3 December 1984, a terrible explosion poured noxious fumes into Bhopal's crowded slums. The apocalypse had begun. With pace and compassion, Lapierre and Moro bring this disaster and its victims to centre stage: the young Padmini who is to be married that night; the advent of Union Carbide and its mission to rescue the Third World; a Scottish nun who risks her life to save lost children; and a poetry lover who unleashes the tragedy. They weave together these and many other stories to tell this epic of love and heroism, catastrophe and consequence. Vivid and compelling, FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL is an unforgettable tale of courage amid disaster. Revue de presse 'Dominique Lapierre and his co-author Javier Moro (in a fluent translation from the French by Kathryn Spink) write without hyperbole but with a compassion which is all the stronger for being understated. FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL is peopled by heroes and villains, whose lives are woven into the fabric of a book which switches frequently and tellingly from a technical but gripping analysis of a mega-disaster to a vivid and informed portrait of day-to-day life in the bustees. In the best traditions of what has become an almost defunct form of journalism, the evidence is meticulously sifted and assembled in a narrative which is detached but profoundly disturbing' Jonathan Dimbleby, THE TIMES'A vivid account...told without heavy-handed moralising ... This is a book artfully designed to grip the emotions. It does that job well, but it should also provoke sober thought about corporate responsibility in a global community' TELEGRAPH'FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL delivers its horrific account with a frank and brave intimacy ... scrupulously researched, engagingly accessible and a commendable pinpointing of the lives that surround and succeed an international news story' AMAZON.CO.UK'Lapierre and Moro's narrative of the Bhopal disaster divides its focus between the life of the company and that of the community, in particular the slum-dwellers of the Orya shanty, for whose culture and traditions the authors have genuine understanding and respect. It is a compelling story and is compellingly told in an accessible, popular style' IRISH TIMES'I read this book twice. The first time quickly, because I had to know what happened. The second time slowly, because I wanted to savour the writing. Lapierre has taken a disaster of unimaginable magnitude and turned it into a sensitive, hopeful and inspiring tale. He is a superb storyteller who allows events to unfold gradually, through the eyes of the characters involved, against a vividly described background' JONATHAN SELF'This is investigative journalism at its best, beautifully told and researched with a vengeance. We can all learn from this book' - Sebastian Junger, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of FIRE and A PERFECT STORM 'The true majesty of survival' PROFESSOR DAVID BELLAMY'An impassioned howl of outrage at the negligence that led to the most horrific industrial accident of modern times. This is an important and long overdue book.' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE'As a long-term environmentalist, I thought I already knew everything about the Bhopal disaster and its aftermath. In fact, I knew next to nothing - of the people, the city, the company, the causes, the continuing tragedy - as this extraordinary book has revealed. FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL is a deeply moving account of the world's worst industrial disaster - and is as relevant to us today as it was nearly twenty years ago.' JONATHON PORRITT'You have in your hands one of the key storie
