“This is a compelling human-interest tale on par with Erin Brockovich and Jonathan Harr’s A Civil Action.” — Booklist
“In this brisk account… Campbell… and Allen revisit their efforts in the 1990s to uncover the damage done to Wisconsin’s waterways by the region’s paper producers. This is an insightful look into how regulatory agencies and news media can act in concert to grapple with corrupt corporate power.” — Publisher’s Weekly
“Allen and Campbell’s book is a nicely written, engaging account of the largest PCB cleanup in history…The story of how Allen and his colleagues constructed a trustee council of partners to push through the NRDA is interesting and dramatic.” — Issues in Science and Technology
“A well-written insiders account and accurate portrayal of the history of the site. I was the project manager for EPA from 1997 to 2016 – it rings true!” — Jim Hahnenberg, EPA, Remedial Project Manager
“Paper Valley: The Fight for the Fox River Cleanup is, I believe, the most important book written about Green Bay and the Fox River Valley in the last 50 years.” — Robert Woessner, Former Editor, Green Bay Press-Gazette
We won!!!
New podcast about Paper Valley!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meyer-fun-facts/id1667368497?i=1000656381411
Paper Valley is a finalist in the Midwest Book Awards!
https://mipa.org/midwest-book-awards/2024-finalists/
Paper Valley is a semi-finalist in the Society of Midland Authors 2024 awards competition!
https://midlandauthors.org/2024/03/sma-announces-semifinalists-in-2024-awards-competition/
Paper Valley is a Forward Reviews 2023 finalist!
https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/finalists/2023/ecology-and-environment/
Beltmag.com excerpt from Paper Valley.
https://beltmag.com/the-paper-companies/
Between the Covers, Isthmus News, Madison, WI, Dec 14, 2023.
https://isthmus.com/arts/books/wisconsin-books-between-the-covers-in-2023/
Issues in Science & Technology, Fall 2023.
https://issues.org/paper-valley-allen-campbell-review/
UW-Madison, Forest and Wildlife Ecology class, Guest Lecture, December 4, 2023.
Literacy Day Door County, Sturgeon Bay, WI, November 4, 2023.
Door County Public Library, October 30, 2023.
League of Women Voters of Michigan, Environmental Network, September 21, 2023.
Wisconsin River Alliance, DePere, WI, September, 9, 2023.
WBBM Radio, Chicago, IL, September 5, 2023.
Schuler Books, Okemos, MI, August 31, 2023.
E.D. Locke Public Library, McFarland, WI, August 9, 2023.
Sun Prairie Public Library, Sun Prairie, WI, August 8, 2023.
WLS Radio, Chicago, IL, August 2, 2023 (at 7:53 am, click on “Working to Keep Our Rivers Beautiful”).
Mystery To Me Bookstore, Madison, WI, July 20, 2023 (recorded book event)
Barnes & Noble, West Towne Mall, Madison, WI, July 19, 2023.
WMTV NBC 15, Madison, WI, July 19, 2023.
Cap Times, Madison, WI, July 14, 2023.
WHBY Radio, Appleton, WI, July 12, 2023.
WDET Radio, Detroit, MI, July 6, 2023.
Wisconsin Public Radio, July 5, 2023.
WFRV TV Newsmaker Sunday, Green Bay, WI, June 25, 2023.
Purevant Living Newsletter, DePere, WI, June 24, 2023.
Spectrum News, Milwaukee, WI, June 23, 2023.
Person & Planet Podcast, Deere, WI, June 23, 2023.
Insight On Business, Appleton, WI, June 20, 2023.
Green Bay Press-Gazette, June 16, 2023.
WTAQ Radio, Green Bay, WI. June 15, 2023.
Brown County Public Library, June 14, 2023.
Fox 11 News, Green Bay, WI. June 14, 2023 (also covered by Channels 2 and 5 News, in Green Bay, WI, and Green Bay Press-Gazette).
Green Bay Press-Gazette. June 13, 2023.
The Mining Journal, Marquette, MI, June 9, 2023.
Wisconsin Public Radio, The Morning Show, May 19, 2023.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, May, 9, 2023.
(Also picked up by Green Bay Press-Gazette, Appleton Post-Crescent, Oshkosh Northwestern, Fond du Lac Reporter, Sheboygan Press, Wausau Daily Herald, Herald Times Reporter of Manitowoc, Daily Tribune of Wisconsin Rapids, Steven’s Point Journal, and Marshfield News Herald)
Peter White Public Library, Marquette, MI, May, 8, 2023.
Wisconsin State Journal, May 7, 2023.
(Also picked up by Lacrosse Tribune, Kenosha News, Racine Journal Times, Chippewa Herald, Lake Geneva News, Baraboo News Republic, Beaver Dam Daily Citizen, Columbus Journal, Juneau County Star-Times, Portage Daily Register, Reedsburg Times-Press, Sauk Prairie Eagle, and Wisconsin Dells Events)
WORT Radio, Madison, WI, May 5, 2023.
Grosse Pointe Public Library, Grosse Pointe, MI, April 29, 2023.
WDET Radio, Detroit, April 28, 2023.
The Book Store, Appleton, WI, April 28, 2023.
Boswell Books, Milwaukee, WI, April 27, 2023.
Milwaukee Public Radio, April 26, 2023.
Lyon’s Fine Books, Neenah, WI, April 26, 2023.
Lion’s Mouth Bookstore, Green Bay, WI, April 25, 2023.
UW-Green Bay, Class, Guest Lecture, April 25, 2023.
Coffin Library, UW-Green Bay, April 24, 2023.
Publisher’s Weekly, April 2023.
Booklist, Philip Zozzaro, April 1, 2023.
“The Fox River, running from Wisconsin to Illinois, became contaminated by runoff from the paper mills operating adjacent to it. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were the chief culprit, resting in the sediment at the bottom of the river and posing a threat to fish and other wildlife as well as to people who fished the river for food. Working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, coauthor Allen battled state and federal officials to get the Fox River designated as a superfund site to be cleaned of pollutant; coauthor Campbell duly followed the bureaucratic wrangling as a reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Together, they write a gripping narrative, their dual perspectives detailing a fuller picture of the destruction wrought by chemical pollution of the Fox River and offering a story equally about the law and the environmental impact of industry. This is a compelling human-interest tale on par with Erin Brockovich and Jonathan Harr’s A Civil Action.”
Dave Dempsey (Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps), April 2023.
“In a classic tale of the collision between environmental science and environmental politics, this account shows the good guys can win — and so can our environment. Much-needed hope for clean water and air abounds in this book.”
William Rapai (Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes), April 2023.
“Paper Valley provides a first-person account of a significant environmental win, not just for the people and wildlife of northeastern Wisconsin but for everyone and everything who loves or lives around our Great Lakes. Susan Campbell and David Allen II provide a compelling account of events, laying out their efforts to stop paper companies from dumping cancer-causing PCBs into a Lake Michigan tributary. This book is a road map for those who are seeking environmental justice, yet it reads like a whodunit as Allen and Campbell describe how they faced physical threats and put their careers in jeopardy to do the right thing. I am in awe of their courage and tenacity.”
Great Lakes Echo, MSU, March 6, 2023.
Paper Valley, P. David Allen II and Susan Campbell 