Where the Rubber Meets the Road: The Bridgestone/Firestone Conspiracy of Death & Destruction A True Story

by Joseph Louis Lisoni, Gail Landtbom Lisoni

An Open Message to Bridgestone Corporation
Absent government or judicial intervention, if Bridgestone/Firestone Corporation does not abandon its use of substandard component parts and does not take immediate remedial measures in its tire manufacturing process, and does not terminate its unlawful business practices or cease its human rights violations at its rubber plantation in Liberia, Africa, the end result will be a multi-national corporation with manufacturing plants all over the world, populated by thousands of employees who make millions of tires, that nobody wants to buy!
Lisoni & Lisoni February 1, 2019

Genres: Nonfiction

274 pages, Hardcover

Published February 12, 2019

About the author

Joseph Lisoni -Junipero Serra High School, Saint Mary's College of California, University of California Hastings College of the Law (Partner - Lisoni & Lisoni) Gail Landtbom Lisoni- Saint Rose Academy, Dominican College, University of West Los Angeles Law School(Partner- Lisoni & Lisoni )

Reviews

[Linzy]

This book is part trial history and part scrapbook from the principal attorneys involved in an extensive campaign to recall a line of tires from Bridgestone/Firestone that were defective due to cuts in process and material.

The attorneys amply prove (at least to this nonlawyer) that there was an active cost-cutting campaign by Bridgestone to help reduce the massive debt incurred during the Firestone acquisition. To reach the cost-cutting goals set, the company used subpar components and changed the manufacturing process in a way that rendered millions of tires produced under these conditions likely to suffer tread separation unexpectedly. The tires were proven to be a factor in a number of individual cases, but the courts and the agency meant to keep the public safe in situations like this ignored the evidence and disallowed a class action suit and a proper investigation by the NHTSA (such investigations being the reason the NHTSA exists).

The efforts on the part of the law firm who traced this conspiracy back from a rollover accident in Las Vegas to the source were herculean, to hear them tell it. Bridgestone used their ample legal resources to put as many roadblocks in the way of the small firm as possible, including provisions in the cases they settled that the attorneys not get paid. Bridgestone was repeatedly awarded judgments that seemed to fly in the face of presented evidence. The firm repeatedly appealed to the NHTSA with mounds of evidence to reopen the investigation into Bridgestone as these basic failures were the subject of another recall in a different line of Bridgestone tires. In the end, their campaign to remove the tires from the road was blocked by the company and legal avenues and was only successful because of the public outreach program they started. Their efforts at consumer education were what was ultimately responsible for the victory for the American public, not consumer protection institutions.

It is presented that the NHTSA lacked funding to actually do an investigation and their justification for not reopening the investigation was lack of resources. Whatever the reason, it's amply presented there that the NHTSA failed the American public. Obviously, the Bridgestone/Firestone recall is just one example of the systems that Americans rely on to protect us often fail us when confronted by companies with a lot of cash and lawyers, but it serves as a reminder that government regulations and regulatory agencies exist for a reason and need to have teeth to do their jobs. But unfortunately, it's also an example of how our government is not immune to corruption.

So, that was the good part of the book, but I can't rate it much higher because this book is, in my opinion, not ready for publication. In an unnecessary anecdote about Joe Lisoni's brief political career, the name of Joe's opponent, John Rousselot, is spelled 3 different ways. Similarly, when referencing the head of Bridgestone Masatoshi Ono's name is spelled in a couple of different ways. Names are hard because they don't show up in spellcheck, but less excusable are the multiple typing errors, incorrect homonym choice, and misuse of capital letters and quotation marks that make this book as difficult to read as a Facebook post from my mom. Occasionally, the narration switches from first to third person which I find completely jarring. Paragraphs change topics randomly and whole sections of writing seem to be copied and pasted directly into other sections of the book. The result is a temporally disjointed collection of press releases, court filings and rulings, and exposition that gives the reader a strong sense of deja vu.

It's rather unfortunate, because this true story has all the makings of a good legal movie with its high stakes conspiracy, globetrotting, underdog story, but the Lisoni's are not John Grisham.

[Michelle Arredondo]

Very interesting read. Where the Rubber Meets the Road: The Bridgestone/Firestone Conspiracy of Death & Destruction a True Story is an informative, eye opening, consequential account of what goes on and what goes wrong in the world of big bad well known corporations and the lives affected due to greed, money, lies, cover-ups, scandals, and powerful people. Joe and Gail Lisoni take on that power and fight tooth and nail to expose the corruption.

It's a fantastic read. It's such an eye opener that it gave me shivers to think.......

Thanks to the good people of goodreads and to Mill City Press for my free copy of this book won via giveaway. I received. I read. I reviewed this book honestly and voluntarily.

[Amy]

In this eye-opening, true account, Where The Rubber Meets The Road is the inside story, exposing a large corporation’s coverup of greed, corruption, and conspiracy and the two lawyers, against insurmountable odds, who exposed the truth and won. Passionate, gripping and informative, this is a story that needs to be heard. Upholding the practice of professionalism, integrity and upholding the US Constitution, Lisoni & Lisoni broke through the proverbial stereotypes of taking on corporate giants, proving to the world that it is possible for two single people to take on an empire.

Joe and Gail Lisoni, set out against one of the largest tire manufactures in the world, with one true purpose- the conviction of saving lives. While facing astronomical obstacles, their tenacity and quest for the truth pushed forth, and finally shined through. Their story explores corporate deception, criminal conspiracy and unethical business practices at the highest degree. Within the first few chapters, readers will be thrown into the amazing story and the lengthy steps that Joe and Gail Lisoni took to prepare them for the largest case of their careers, while also demanding that the defective tires be removed from every roadway in the US, and Western Europe; all while their sacrifice was never rewarded in any type of monetary gain. This is not just a book about the information on a faulty product, but the results of true reliance, within the pursuit of truth and justice. Where the Rubber Meets the Road, is a perfect example of conspiracy, heartache and triumph and the long, dangerous road it took to get there.

[Mike]

I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

My dad and I have both read this and we are both glad we did. I will say I do not remember this and it is good to see someone remind the world of what happened.

I do think this book needs an editor. It is almost there. I'm still glad I read it, but it takes work. When my dad says the same thing about a book it stands out.

3 stars is not bad. I think people should consider this just because it should not be forgotten. Just be willing to put time and work in reading the book.

Thank you again for the giveaway. It was nice to have a book to share with my dad, and the discussion was good.

[KarnagesMistress]

I concur in other reviewers' beliefs that this book both needs and is deserving of a good editor. In its current format, it can be a slog. (Thank goodness it isn't any longer!) Really, it can be quite repetitive, and has obviously been written by attorneys. That said, they won me over. This book finally convinced me that there really were problems with Bridgstone/Firestone tires around the turn of the century. Given the right treatment, you could probably turn this into a movie. Just, not as it is, now. This book will also satisfy the 2020 Watauga County Public Library Reading Challenge categories: A Book with Alliteration in the Title; A Book by an Author Who Is New to You; A Non-Fiction Book. I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Felicia]

As an attorney I was really interested in reading this account of the Bridgestone/Firestone tire recalls. I think the book did a good job explaining the case, facts, and evidence. The Lisoni’s were able to present the information in an easy to understand way that doesn’t require any background in the law. I liked how they outlined the players at the end as I referenced that several times while reading the book.

There were some parts that were a bit jumbled and hard to follow. Some of the chapters repeated a lot of the same information - rehashing the large tire recall of 490,000, restating the same articles/quotes, etc. I think it could have been organized a bit better and would have made for an easier read and follow of the timeline of what occurred from when they started working on the case to present.

Overall, I would recommend this book as it was interesting and also really informative regarding tire/vehicle defects and the corruption of larger companies and federal agencies.