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Howard Kohn is a former senior editor of Rolling Stone.

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Not Bad, But Try Rashke’s Version First

After watching the 1983 movie "Silkwood" (starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher), I became interested in the true events on which the movie is based. I was only able to find two books on the subject - Richard Rashke's "The Killing of Karen Silkwood" and Howard Kohn's "Who Killed Karen Silkwood?". As I read Rashke's account first, it became the benchmark by which I judged Kohn's book. "The Killing of Karen Silkwood" was a more exciting and well-written version of the Silkwood story; while "Who Killed Karen Silkwood?" did offer some additional curious details, I'd recommend that those interested in the story read Rashke's book first.

Karen Silkwood worked in Kerr-McGee's plutonium factory in Crescent, Oklahoma, in the early 1970s. As the plant was poorly managed and safety violations were rampant, Silkwood became involved with her local union in hopes of improving the situation. She was quickly recruited as a spy for the 5-283, attempting to gather evidence that her superiors at K-M were knowingly selling defective fuel rods. During this time she was contaminated with plutonium on a number of occasions, under suspicious circumstances. The night she was to hand over her documents to a reporter from the New York Times, she died in a car crash. Though the case was handed over to the FBI, it never received an adequate investigation. Only when Silkwood's estate sued civilly was a thorough inquest conducted.

Using many of the same sources as Rashke, Kohn makes a compelling case for the following (though a slightly less compelling case, mind you):

Silkwood was deliberately contaminated with plutonium by someone at Kerr-McGee, perhaps on several occasions. Had she lived, Silkwood had a good likelihood of developing cancer because of the significant exposure she experienced.

Silkwood was most likely carrying important documents the night she was murdered; among other things, she had proof that 42.5 pounds of plutonium was missing from K-M's Cimarron plant, which is enough to make three or four nuclear bombs.

Security at the Cimarron plant was dangerously lax, as were safety measures. Workers received little education in regards to nuclear energy or the safety risks that accompany it, and consequently employees did not take the threat of contamination seriously.

Union members' (and particularly Karen Silkwood's) rights were repeatedly violated by K-M officials, who continually interfered in union activities and even began to spy on Silkwood.

Additionally, a number of private and government agencies seem to have been involved both with these crimes and their cover-up, including FBI, the CIA, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Justice Department, and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), along with a shadowy network of Iranians, Russians, and Israelis.

Even though these claims may seem unbelievable, the story's based on thousands of pages of court documents, including depositions, sworn statements, internal memos, and federal records. However, Kohn's reference section is sorely lacking; he briefly outlines his sources at the beginning of the book but never specifies which sections are based on which materials. In contrast, Rashke provides a summary for each chapter, detailing from where the information was gathered; this makes for a much more trustworthy account. Since most of Kohn's facts were identical to Rashke's, I took them at face value, as I believed the bulk of Rashke's statements and inferences.

Clearly, the Silkwood story is as mysterious and exhilarating as any fictional spy novel. Yet, for some reason Kohn feels the need to resort to flowery, melodramatic language in his storytelling - a completely unnecessary strategy that only takes away from the story.

For instance, consider the following passage:

"She had on a touch of perfume; Danny was aware of it as an unusual supplement. He kissed her, a real kiss. For the next several hours they lay in bed, loving, whispering about themselves..." (p.339).

Sounds like something out of a Danielle Steele novel, right?!

The above excerpt also illustrates another serious flaw with "Who Killed Karen Silkwood?". There are so many players in the Silkwood story that, at times, it's hard to keep tabs on everyone. Rashke focuses on the lawyers for the Silkwood family and the investigators that they hired; in contrast, Kohn fixates on the Silkwood lawyers and the NOW members who initiated the lawsuit and did most of the fundraising. Its seems somewhat commonsensical that the detectives' experiences would prove most interesting, so Kohn's decision to concentrate on the those most peripherally involved with the case is puzzling - and it makes for a less captivating story.

On the positive side, Kohn offers more background information on Karen Silkwood than does Rashke. I found it helpful to learn more about Silkwood's early life so that I could better place her experiences at K-M in context. Though the information is generally disjointed and doesn't come together to form an integrated whole, it's interesting nonetheless. Kohn also provides biographical information on the other participants in the case, but again, it's generally anecdotal and incidental to the story.

I'd advise those interested in Karen Silkwood to read Rashke's "The Killing of Karen Silkwood" first, as it's definitely the superior version. For those who are still craving more information, Kohn's "Who Killed Karen Silkwood?" is a decent supplement; although much of the information and conclusions are the same, it also offers some intriguing tidbits that were either overlooked or omitted by Rashke.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2003/11/08/who-killed-karen-silkwood-by-howard-kohn/
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smiteme | Dec 4, 2006 |

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