"In a dark departure from our standard picture of whistleblowers, C. Fred Alford offers a chilling account of the world of people who have come forward to protest organizational malfeasance in government agenices and in the private sector. The conventional story - high-minded individual fights soulless organization, is persecuted, yet triumphs in the end - is seductive and pervasive.

In speaking with whistleblowers and their families, lawyers, and therapists, Alford discovers that the reality of whistleblowing is grim. Few whistleblowers succeed in effecting change; even fewer are regarded as heroes or martyrs."--BOOK JACKET.