I bought this book for my grandfather in January of 2000. He immigrated to America with my grandmother and father from Lago, Calabria, Italy and worked as a miner and mine rescue worker in Pennsylvania during the days of H.C. Frick.

He turned 91 in December of 1999, but he vividly remembered his days in those mines until his death in April of 2000, when black lung finally weakened his heart, causing him to pass. Reading this book was one of the final acts of his long, admirable and often difficult life, and he assured me that this book portrays conditions inside the mines and in the company towns very accurately. The book tells the tales of the coal barons, but it is much more. It recalls the coal mining region's contribution to the building of the United States and is a testament to the immigrant spirit of those who made it possible.

This is an historically correct accounting of the beehive coke industry of Fayette and Westmoreland Counties of Pennsylvania (Connellsville Coke Region), which dominated the region from the end of the Civil War until the end of World War Two and was largely responsible for the growth of the Pittsburgh steel industry. Ms. Sheppard tells the story of the Coal Barons and their miners, mostly European immigrants, without taking sides in an issue which continues to this day. Financial manipulations and the growth of the unions are described in great detail. Her account of the rise and fall of Uniontown, Pa. coal baron J.V. Thompson is particularly intriguing, as is the story of Henry Clay Frick, one of America's premier industrialists. A must-read for any student of Pennsylvania mining or industrial history.

This is a griping historic novel. It brings forth emotions while being grounded in hard facts. Readers walk away with expanded knowledge of the events and issues facing miners of past years while reading expertly constructed storylines.
This book brings vivid images of life as a Scranton coal miner a century ago. The insensitivity of mine bosses is shown, as they were upset at mining accidents not for the sake of those injured yet because of production delays. Further lack of feeling is shown when mine owners would pay for the removal of dead mules in mines, yet families would have to pay to bring the bodies of their dead relatives from mines.
We learn a main reason why mine owners were insentivies was that it was railroad companies that owned most of the mines. Laws passed allowed rail companies to control the transportaiton of coal. Railrod companies gobbled up owning coal mines and refused to transport coal of competitors. The owners of railroads were generally not sympathetic to the plight of miners.
Miners suffered and they reacted. 61,000 miners died nationwide at work from 1838 through 1914. Growing labor unreast was met with company-sponsored attackers that put down unrest and killed some miners. Mine union members were barred from employment. Vigilantes struck back. Mine executives and public officials were killed. Miners marched, and Sheriffs and deputized Sheriffs opened fire shooting and killing miners.
Scranton a century ago was a city with much tension, struggles, and death. This novel brings that Scranton of yesteryear alive. This book about working underground is a rare gem.

Wow, I loved it. What a story. My grandfathers worked in mines. It gave me a great insight to their struggles. The stories they told me in my child hood were explained in detail. I am not much of a book reader, but I could not put this book down. Gripping. All persons who work for a living should read this book. See what these people did to pave the way for all of us. Be thankful and don't let their stuggles go for not in this era of corperate greed. A must read for all union members.

"Coal Town, the Life and Times of Dawson, New Mexico"
Toby Smith
ISBN 0-941270-82-3

My wife and I discovered Dawson on a vacation to northern New Mexico. A picture on a historical marker showed a once relatively large town that had had many houses and facilities. We were both struck by there being a cemetery with no surviving town. Later, when, during a web search, I came across Toby Smith's book about Dawson. I ordered it.

With a relatively obscure subject, this is a book not likely to be widely read, and that is a shame. Because the book that Toby Smith has written is a remarkable one. Through extensive interviewing, he has reconstructed the vanished homes and buildings of Dawson, re-populated them with departed generations of citizens, and breathed life back into what was once a dynamic coal mining community.

There are photos in the book that depict, among other things, the bodies of miners in caskets after a 1923 mining explosion, the proud 1937 football team that shared the state championship, and a 1941 photo of a smiling GI on furlough with his brother and sisters. Apart from the pictures, Mr. Smith tells stories about and gives impressions of many of the townsfolk. What Edgar Lee Masters did for the people in the fictional Spoon River cemetery, Smith has done for the former inhabitants of Dawson.

Our vacation walk through the Dawson cemetery revealed that many of the coalminers were from other countries. One section contains graves of over two hundred men, mostly Italians, who were killed in a disastrous mine explosion in 1913. Other nationalities represented in Dawson were Yugoslavs, Japanese, Finns, French, Swedes, and Mexicans.

The Phelps Dodge Company that owned the mines and the entire town, in many regards, engaged in enlightened management. For example, it had an anti-discrimination policy for employees of all nationalities and races, including blacks. After the 1913 tragedy, Smith writes that the company "did not look at the tragedy in terms of lost earnings." To its credit, each widow was given $1000, each miner's child $200, and the family of each bachelor $500, large amounts for that time. On the other hand, the company remained a staunch holdout for years in recognizing the miners' union.

In 1950, with coal demand having steadily declined from the heyday of the coal-burning, steam engine, Phelps Dodge closed Dawson's last mine. As it owned all the buildings and houses, the town was simply shut down. Everyone left, and the buildings and equipment were sold off. Dawson, unlike other defunct mining towns, though, for over fifty years has refused to die. A visitor to the cemetery can see that it is still kept up, and every other year, former residents gather on the town site to have a picnic and to reminisce.

There is something about the universal human struggle in this story of Dawson, and Toby Smith has written a fine book about it.

One of the pleasures I was able to provide for my father, shortly before his death at 89, was the gift of this book. Toby Smith has done a wonderful job of resurrecting and bringing back to life the "ghosts" of this coal mining camp, known now only for its cemetary. My parents and I read the book together, reliving our personal memories of the people and the environment which not only shaped our lives but was forever etched on our consiousness. There was so much he could have written about Dawson but his excellent culling and synthesizing of the countless interviews brings to life the essence of the "company town" and the lives of the resident. He was able to show that in this community of immigrants, ethnicity meant sharing your cusine and your culture rather than an emphasis on differences, a phenomena no doubt influnced by the impact of thedangerous unpredictable occupation of mining coal that united us all. My second reading left me with the impression of "a story well told", one which could be enjoyed not only by former "Dawsonians" and current New Mexicans but by anyone who enjoys a glimpse of what life was like in those times in a place where "everyone knew your name". Those whose lives have been disrupted by the closing of plant or industry might also enjoy it. Mr. Smith should do a sequel focusing on my generation and their view of how growing up in Dawson influenced their live.

This is a superior piece of scholarship that is readable, educational, and troubling. The author grew up in the coalfields of West Virginia, son and grandson of coal miners, he worked in the mines long enough to earn college tuition. Now, he looks back on the impact of coal mining on Appalachia, specifically on West Virginia.

His research is excellent; the book is well-organized; most important, the book is readable.

His thesis is simple: Coal companies moved into Appalachia in the 19th century and established themselves in positions of total control of the economy, which led them to total control of politics and people's lives. The author describes this process and the impact on the people, culture, society, and politics of Appalachia -- now the same fate awaits the rest of us.

It is this last part of his thesis that is frightening? At the beginning of the 21st century, we are moving rapidly into a "globalized economy" in which fewer and fewer corporations are in control of more and more of our daily lives. The author uses the last two chapters of his book to compare the control that the coal companies had over Appalachia to the control that corporations are now gaining over the rest of us. He warns us that the fate of Appalachia -- raped by unbridled corporate greed -- likely awaits the rest of us if we do not restrain global corporate power.

A breathtaking and moving account of those who risked their lives for the industrial revolution and were "thanked" with continual exploitation by the industrialists they served. Unforgettable!

The main character of this novel, Margaret MacNeil, is an absolutely stunning character. Currie makes it very clear throughout this novel the importance of family to Margaret. Although,living in the Reserve Mines, where you have no choice but to make a living as a miner, presents a difficult environment for Margaret to cope with. The end of this novel, although quite disturbing, is very compelling. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Sheldon Currie.

This excellent, vividly written novel became the movie "Margaret's Museum" (with Helena Bonham Carter). Its twisty plot is both a complete surprise, and somehow inevitable. I fell in love with the blunt, vulnerable Margaret, who tells the story. I'd recommend this book to anybody.

This really was THE WAY IT WAS...everyone in town remembers Ms. Gilfallen, and quite a few of the people in the book are still alive....I remember that my dad told me that she tried to talk to him in the mine (she actually got a job in the coal mine back when such a thing was not considered acceptable); however, he could not converse with Ms. Gilfallen because he could not speak english beyond a few phrases....this book was written right after the WVA/PA mine war, and the communists were trying to take over the mines, scabs were beaten and sometimes murdered (scabs were miners hired to replace the striking miners)..she even describes a funeral in our old Greek Catholic Church...she called that chapter THE CHURCH WITH THE BATHROOM WINDOWS....when you read this book, you will have a tendency to say "no way could this have happened"...but it did, exactly as depicted in this book....this is a true story....strangely, she called Cedar Grove by is proper name but tried to disguise Avella by calling it Avelonia...which, of course, fooled no one...read the book, its a time machine!

I never knew how close the United States came to becoming a communist country before I read this book. Everyone comes alive with the conversational text. And the descriptions of the wretched living conditions transported me to a different time and place. I couldn't put the book down. It's better than any novel because it's all true. It's like reading a private diary.

Kingdom of Coal is a very well done telling of the history of anthracite coal. The book tells the story from the days when stone coal was first discovered in the wilderness of Eastern PA, through its development as a major energy source, and into the labor struggle. Closely associated is the development of canals, known as the anthracite canals to bring the coal to market and later the development of railroads. Still later the railroads, known as the anthracite railroads owned most of the mines.

The book also covers the close association between coal and the iron industry. Anthracite was first used by blacksmiths. It soon replaced charcoal in blast furnaces to reduce iron ore to iron. Iron rails for the railroads, previously imported from England, were an early product.

Missing in the book is the story of the gaslight industry. Processes for the manufacture of gas from coal were invented in 1815. Nearly every city of any size had a gas plant to supply gaslights. This was an early user of coal--originally imported from Europe. The industry continued until World War II when transcontinental pipelines brought natural gas to the distribution systems originally built for manufactured gas.

This is the definitive history of the birth, rise and fall of the anthracite coal industry in three northeastern Pennsylvania fields: Schulykill, Lackawana and Wyoming. Written in narrative form with copious references, it details the everyday trials and tribulations of the immigrants who worked the fields and the coal companies who exploited them. This is must reading for anyone wanting an insight into the lives of their ancestors who immigrated and worked these fields between 1800 and 1970,

Great book I have been a coal miner since 18 years old and the book is accurate about working and living in coal country thanks Arble for the book.

This is an outstanding book, not only because it's a true picture of a coal miner's life, but because Arble is a terrific writer. You actually get into his family and into the wet, dark shafts where cave-ins happen almost every day. He brings Appalachia to life like no other book I've every read.

Well, I have to start by saying that Mr. Pack was my grade school art teacher, my high school English teacher and one of my best friend's dad. All that aside, it is a gosh darn good book. Clyde is a skilled writer and his imagery is wonderful. The book gives a good picture of the period in Eastern Kentucky (based on what I've heard about that time from others) without being campy or stark. Ready for the pop quiz now, Mr. Pack.

Clyde Roy Pack's tale of days gone by shows life in a coal camp through the eyes of a young boy. This book sheds light on the positive effects of the people around him. It is very well written and entertaining. Muddy Branch will be impossible to read without laughing out loud a few times.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book, despite the setting of age level, was to my liking. Gloria Skurzynski is a wonderful author. This book talks about the the differences between the working class and the upper class of the 1900's. It also talks about love, poverty, and regret. I implore you, especially if you are between the ages of 12 and 14, to buy this book. You will be amazed by the messages it conveys.

Rockbuster has just been included on the Tayshas list for recommended books for Texas high school students. Teaching himself guitar while working in the pitch-black of the mines gives Tommy a chance to get out of the hell underground--the hell that the new labor unions of the early 1900s is trying to relieve. Tommy's uncle dies for the unions, but Tommy sees their flaws clearly and must decide how his loyalties lie to his family, his girlfriend, and himself. The author has a done a superb job with history, growing up, shouldering guilt and responsibilities, falling in love, and living in the 1900s.