Rachel Shigekane is senior program officer at the Human Rights Center and lecturer in peace and conflict studies at UC Berkeley.

When UNOCAL/TOTAL entrusted the security for the Burmese stretch of their Thai oil pipeline to the country's military, they set the stage for flagrant human rights abuses. But when fifteen villagers from the Karen tribe won a lawsuit in California against the corporations, they set a worldwide precedent. Spanning five years of investigation in starkly disparate terrains (from devastated villages in Burma to plush boardrooms in Paris and Thailand), Total Denial is a heartening David and Goliath story. With Ka Hsaw Wa, a fugitive activist, as her guide through the jungles of Burma (and through the violent history of the military dictatorship), Kaneva seeks out the stories of displaced villagers. They recount horrific stories of murder, rape, and slave labor, while the UNOCAL shareholders and lawyers glibly deny all responsibility. But as the evidence mounts, the human cost of rising stock prices becomes apparent, and the nexus of big business and exploitive tactics becomes undeniable.