Who'da thought coal could be so interesting?

Written in a very engaging, not-dry manner.

Good ammo if one is opposed to the use of this foul fuel.

Seek clean alternatives.

I moved back to the United States after living for about 8 years in Manchester, England. Even today, you can still identify the effects of coal in Manchester--from the many chimneys around the Northern landscape, to the coal-blackened Victorian warehouses. When I bought a house there, I pulled-up carpets that covered wood floors since 1911, and I myself was covered with coal dust that accumulated over the decades. Finally, in the North of England, you still have a few coal mining villages and towns that have very strong cultures. So I was aware of coal when I lived there, and had become curious.

Freese's book is an excellent and engaging history of the history of coal and its relationship to the history of three nations: The United Kingdom, the United States, and China. She writes exceptionally fluidly, with, at once, broad sweeps and minute details that keep you both interetsed and informed. She also has a lovely dry sense of humor. Her chapter on Manchester, by the way, is excellent.

The book isn't academic (to her credit), but nor is it a vapid popular account. Instead, Freese has written a book that does the nearly impossible in that it is well-researched, historically accurate, engaging almost, but not, to the point of being chatty. I couldn't put it down. What it lacks, by way of an academic angle, is a discussion of what else had been written in the past about the history of coal, as well as a theoretical approach. This is hardly a criticism because that really isn't the intention of this book. In fact, believe the book would have suffered had she taken this approach.

I agree with another reviewer who suggested that Freese didn't know how to end the book--although I did find her discussion of alternatives to coal to be compelling. There are two typos in the book that evaded the copy editor, but otherwise this book is a small masterpiece. You will enjoy it.

Coal doesn't leap to one's mind as a terribly interesting topic, now does it? This book, however, proves fascinating from start to finish. It depicts the commodity's influence on human survival, suffering, and industrial growth in a captivating presentation. Looking at coal's history provides fresh insights into parts of history we're already familiar with. I've literally lost sleep over this book - couldn't put it down!

This is a truly amazing piece of fiction that I absolutely could not put down until I was finished. I read and analyzed this book for one chapter of my master's thesis on Appalachian literature and ecofeminist theory. I found it to contain very powerful messages about the human connection to the earth. The conflicts in the book between the human characters are reflected and echoed in nature. In this book and its sequel, Giardina paints such an accurate picture of how oppression of any sort spreads and touches all corners of life.

Hailing from the coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, when I learned of this title, I quickly ordered a copy and read it within a day and a half. I could not put it down, and, in fact, kept returning to passages because Giardina's prose is brilliant. The characters are so alive that I was actually upset to end the book and lose Carrie Bishop as a friend. Being a writer, I am in awe of Giardina. In fact, off I go to read the other Giardina book I ordered, "The Unquiet Earth." Anyone from coal country, be it NE PA's anthracite field or coal country in other locations, will readily identify with this story for its historical worth. Reading it is like listening to tales as told by our great-grandparents who worked in the damp,dark underground and their families, who toiled above.

And I've read a LOT of books. This is one of the few books I'veread that will have me laughing until my sides ache in one chapter,crying until I can't see the pages in another, and ready to go on aprotest march in the next.

Storming Heaven is an exhaustively researched, historically accurate, and utterly compelling story of the Battle of Blair Mountain, WV in 1921. It's the story of an armed conflict between coal miners and the hired gunhands who represented the coal operators. It's a story of how the United States government turned on its own people, looking away when women and children were murdered in cold blood, sending troops into the valleys and dropping bombs on the mountains.

And if the story itself isn't stirring enough, Giardina writes some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read. The mountains are *alive* in her books.

My copy of Storming Heaven is so dog-eared and highlighted that I'll soon need to replace it. I am astounded that a couple of others have rated this book a 'hard read'. Compared to what? Danielle Steele?

In this third installment of Cercone's series set in 1905 Pittsburgh, and featuring Miles Kachigan, one of Pittsburgh's only honest cops, and Helen Sorby, a Settlement House worker. In this outing, we are taken to the coal mines where strikesare being called to try to improve working conditions. When a body is found deep in a mine shaft of an already-closed mine, County Detective Milo Kachigan is called to investigate the murder. The body, wedged behind some mine machinery, has a stiletto in its back indicating that the murder may have been committed by the Black Hand gang. However, Milo knows that it doesn't make sense that the Black Hand would murder someone in the mine. It is not their modus operandi. As he digs deeper, Kachigan discovers that there may have been blackmail, extortion, and all kinds of nefarious deeds going on. In the meantime, Helen Sorby has been asked to locate the daughter of a coal baron who disappeared at the same time valuable securities were stolen from her father. Is there a connection between Kachigan's case and the missing heiress? Sorby and Kachigan decide to combine forces to solve both mysteries.

Cercone's debut, Steel Ashes, was a wonderful addition to the historical mystery genre. However, she stumbled a bit with the second book, Blood Tracks. But she is right back on track with this outing. Her writing is such that, as the characters descend into the mines, you can almost feel the weight of the earth closing in on you and feel the choking coal dust permeating your clothing and seeping into your lungs. In a neat role reversal, Kachigan wants to marry Sorby, but Sorby (who has been married before) refuses, but wants to sleep with Kachigan who is offended by the offer and refuses. There is more humor, albeit subtle, in this book as well. This is a real page turner and the reader will be hard pressed to set the book aside. Cercone deserves a large following for this series.

Another wonderful book by Cercone. Although the relationship of Helen and Milo has taken a decided turn the mystery takes center stage.

I can't wait for another chapter in this 'love' story and only hope that more are to come!

Again, Ms. Cercone writes a captivating tale of murder and intrigue in the Pennsylvania coal mines. I had a hard time putting down the book once the action begins. True it's a grim book and some may be put off by the darkness of the times. But it's a pleasure to see Milo and Helen care for each other, even though sometimes you have to read between the lines. It would be nice to see their relationship develop more, it conter-acts the grimmness. Read the entire series, it's worth it.

I grew up in Pennsylvania, in the coal country. When a friend told me about Black Days, I thought I would give it a try. I'm glad I did. I have heard and read much of the way of life in 20th century Appalachia, but never had it tied together in a single book. If you are curious about life in the beginning of the last century; about the workings of the coal industry or simply want an insight into "How things used to be in West Virginia" try Black Days. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Black Days, Black Dust is a very human story of an African- American man who battles the dangers of working in a series of coal mines over a period of many years. At times endearing and at times disturbing, this memoir frames an important time and place in American culture. The book is definitely affecting, and the accounts of the dangers working in the mines are brought to life succinctly.

One of the joys of life is the opportunity to have a conversation with someone whose life experiences are vastly different from our own. My curiosity about the real-world work life of an underground coal miner, ... plus a chance web search, led me to Black Days, Black Dust. What a gem!

In reading this book it almost seemed like I was having a 'personal conversation' while sitting on the miner's front porch. It is a true account of 40 years of working underground in the coal fields. Very interesting account of every day life in a coal town (both above and below ground). It is a world apart from today's high-rise city office worker, ...yet curiously in other ways, there are many similarities!

Easy to read & very informative.

Some mystery series lose steam as they go on, but this third installment in the Bubbles Yablonsky series is a page-turner. The zany characters and plot are similar to the popular Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series.

Bubbles starts her latest adventure at a planned rendezvous with hunk Steve Stiletto. Instead, she finds herself deep in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, where politics, intrigue and even murder draw her in --- in her pursuit of a scoop to report. When a missing friend is accused of murder, there is more at stake than her journalism career. This crazy plot has as many surprises as fun characters, including her intrepid teen daughter Jane, her mother with her gun-toting friend, and of course, the mysterious Stiletto. Even some new characters are added to the mix.

While Bubbles enjoys spandex and makeup, she's no airhead. She survives attempts on her life in between giving readers recipes for beauty products, such as homemade glycerin rose soap. This book also enjoys depth from an author who adds subtle political commentary throughout the book, including a group of women who form a semi-militia to stop the mining. An introduction about how the author's grandfather killed himself when he lost his mining job during the Great Depression adds interest and history to the tale.

Many cosy mysteries have heroines solving crime in the midst of everyday suburban life. This series enjoys a unique narrator, quality writing and fun plots that skirt the believable, with a good dose of humor.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

I am a die hard fan of the Stephanie Plum series, but I think
Sarah Strohmeyer's heroine, Bubbles, has Stephanie out classed.
Sarah Strohmeyer is definately an author to watch. All three installments in the Bubbles series (which I read for the first time this weekend) are saucy, upbeat and fun. In an age where so many female heoines (can we say Stephanie?) are smart and good at just about everything they do, Bubbles is real. She could be your next-door-neighbor. She could be you. Ms. Strohmeyer has created a loveable cast of characters. I love these books!

This is the third in the Bubbles series, one of the few series of books that I buy instead of waiting to get them from the library. If you're a fan of authors like Crusie, Evanovich, Heller, Bartholomew, Hayter, etc., you'll love these books. I love this genre--the humorous romantic mystery-and am always on the lookout for new authors to read, and was happy to discover Bubbles a couple of years ago. I totally recommend Bubbles books (Bubbles Unbound, Bubbles in Trouble, and now Bubbles Ablaze) to anyone looking for a fun read.

A fabulous book for two reasons. It chronicles a disaster that is virtually unknown beyond the state of West Virginia. Secondly, it's a great tool for any law student in a Civil Procedure class. Forget about "A Civil Action" or "Erin Brockovich", this book best depicts the struggles of those who suffered, both the victims and the lawyers who fought for the people in the Buffalo Creek region.

My Civil Proceedure Prof. assigned this to us over Christmas Break so we could become familiar with "piercing the corporate veil", which merely refers to the rare legal opportunity to cut through a corporation's legal armour and attack some of the meat and money, i.e. personal assets of the officers. This only happens when there is extreme wrong doing by those suits running the business, and if you want to know what extreme worngdoing is, this is the book that will lay it out for you, pretty as a penny.
I have to admit, I was dreading reading this book, as the holidays were a sweet time to escape the stressful activities of law school. So when "Harold", our WonderBread/uptight, D.C., in the process of divorce, Napoleonic law professor assigned this reading, I was not too thrilled.
But once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down. This is the story that makes good people want to become good lawyers.
The story is about a coal mining disaster, a preventable, mind-reeling, man-made disaster and how a dedicated attorney wades through the litigation process, extracting painful stories from the survivors, and skillfully uses hard work, pit bull clenched determination, the legal system and a little luck to persevere over a greedy, thoughtless, and culpable corporation. I hope those guys fighting Enron read this.
A great read, even if you have no legal aspirations and like a good, meaty story with a real-life happy ending.

Jerry Stern's account of the litigation over the Buffalo Creek dam disaster ought to be read by every wannabe trial lawyer so that he or she will understand the tremendous creativity real lawyering, particularly lawyering down in the pits, requires.

The real practice of law requires vision and courage, which this book amply illustrates. Stern and his team from Arnold and Porter took on the near impossible case, armed only with the real tools of our trade, the words and ideas that form the arguments that shape the law.

And yet this is not just the story of courageous plaintiffs' lawyers, it is about the truly great defense lawyers on the other side, in particular Zane Grey Staker, whose tenacity and command of the language and of his case, gave the A & P lawyers a great and fair fight, and of the United States District Judge, whose role was not only to provide each side with "the cold neutrality of an impartial judge" but who understood that proper case management plays a critical role in achieving substantial justice.

I received this book as a birthday present, and what a gift it truly was! Those Who Favor Fire grabs the reader's attention and holds it until the very end, which comes all too soon! Based in non-fiction, this expertly-woven tale is about a small Pennsylvannia town, the coal fire that rages beneath it, and how its inhabitants deal with their fears. Interesting and well-developed characters, short chapters, and great imagery make it a very fast read. I hope we'll again meet Rachel, Joe and those memorable inhabitants of Belle Haven whom we've come to know so well. Thank you, Lauren, for such a wonderful first novel. I'm looking forward to your next.

I received this book as a birthday present, and a gift it truly was! Those Who Favor Fire is a great read that I wish lasted longer. I hope we will hear again from Rachel, Joe, and the many other memorable inhabitants of this beautifully-told tale. Thank you, Lauren, for a fabulous first novel, and thank you, Mom E, for your thoughtfulness.

I was introduced tho this book by way of a customer where I work who is also a proud friend of Lauren Wolk's. I trust this woman's judgement and was so thrilled when I found it on the shelf and then for Those Who Favor Fire to be mentioned Mademoiselle! It is a fab read and I am having a really hard time putting it down as the characters are so believably real. I am half way finished and do not want it to end but I am so captivated by Rachel and Just Joe that I feel that I must go on. One word to Lauren Wolk, please write more books soon. A new fan eagerly awaits!!!

Reading Coals of Fire was exhilarating entertainment. In fact, the book ended too quickly, not because the plot was incomplete (it was consummately Aristotelian in that regard), but rather because I missed not having the next evening's installment to look forward to.

I was particularly impressed with the authors' skill in the mechanics of deploying dialogue. The dialogue cues in Coals of Fire are entirely natural, so that spoken words blend in unobtrusively, giving the reader the impression that he or she is eavesdropping on actual conversations. This feat is easy to describe but devilishly difficult to accomplish in practice.

This is a fine suspenseful yarn, told by two pros who are very good at what they are doing. The shuffled-deck plot construction, whereby chapter topics leap around with regard to time, place, character, and circumstance, works beautifully. At first it appears that the shifts occur willy-nilly, but it soon becomes evident that the disparate strands are interwoven according to a deliberate narrative design that sustains suspense even as it gradually converges on a shocking conclusion.

Coals of Fire is set among the Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonite community. The result is a tale with all the suspense of a conventional thriller, enriched by the edifying overtones of Holocaust angst and the ambivalencies of a Mennonite society confronting the barbarities of modern secular culture. To reveal the conclusion would spoil the story, but we can note that it culminates the search by a contemporary Nazi-hunter who, having finally cornered an aging agent of the Holocaust, is forced to take his revenge in a way that neither he nor the readers could anticipate.

Strongly recommended for those who like their suspense fiction with a lagniappe of contemplation.

It's a shame that this book has not appeared under the imprint of a major publishing house, since it has genuine merit, but the most important thing is that it's available here. The authors, both with distinguished writing credits, have exercised a great deal of self-control and produced a swift-paced, always-interesting tale that, in addition to revealing crimes old and new, conveys a handsome sense of place--central Pennsylvania not far from John O'Hara country--and contains absolutely superb ethnic dialog. There can be no question about one thing--the authors have the art of listening down pat. They know how human beings sound when they speak--but they also understand how to convey that speech on the page, which is not quite the same thing. Well-paced and neatly-structured, the book qualifies as first-rate entertainment...but there's a bit more to it, as well. The hero of this book is a gifted craftsman--and the authors are gifted craftsmen, as well. I look forward to future novels by these two veterans.

I enjoyed this fast-paced mystery. It begins by pulling the reader into the lives of honest, good people linked to a horrible past. The many short chapters keep the momentum alive as the book dips into character-building flashbacks. The author keeps you guessing at every page and delivers an intense ending that ties together a diverse group of characters.

My favorite aspect of this book was how it made me feel about the characters. Some were clearly good, and some clearly bad. How these characters interacted with more 'conflicted' characters made the book quite interesting to me.

I live 5 miles from Cherry, and we have already had a local author who retold the story several years ago, so I was interested to read the new version of events. The author has obviously done her research well, and attempted to relay the events in a logical sequence, but I felt the text needed more diagrams, possibly a glossary of mining terms. A list of the dead is included, but a list of survivors would be interesting from a local point of view.

"Trapped" is the latest in a recent glut of books about historical disasters. The quality of these books depends largely on the storytelling ability of the author in question. Fortunately, Karen Tintori, who has a familial connection to this particular disaster, is well up to the task. She tells the harrowing tale of the 1909 Cherry (coal) Mine fire in central Illinois that ranks as the nation's third deadliest mine disaster. Over 250 men died in the mine, and the death toll could have been much worse if not for the amazing heroism of some of the rescuers (eight of whom died in circumstances eerily reminiscent of the firefighters who perished on September 11th).

The disaster was the usual result of carelessness, bad luck and arrogant overconfidence. When built, the Cherry Mine was thought to be fireproof, much like the Titanic was thought to be iceberg proof. When the fire started, it wasn't taken seriously at first, indeed, the elevator operators continued to haul up coal for over an hour after the initial flames appeared. By the time the danger became readilly apparent, it was too late for a majority of the miners.

Tintori adopts the correct tone for such a book, letting the words of the survivors speak for themselves whenever possible. Her account of the twenty miners who spent several days trapped below ground and presumed dead before being rescued is particularly compelling, as are the verbatum words from a short journal written by a trapped miner who eventually suffocated. Tintori may not quite have the narrative touch of say, Sebastian Junger or Jon Krakauer, but she is still quite good.

Overall, an excellent historical account of a very unfortunate trajedy.

This is a real page turner. Karen Tintori does a great job of putting her story in context. She gives us a good feel for the mood of the times, and a fine appreciation for the life of a Cherry Hill miner. One fascinating part for me was how a series of small errors cascaded into a full scale catastrophe. Additionally, Tintori was able to interweave many different threads - the trapped miners underground, the miners' families and company officials topside, government troops and university experts arriving on mile a minute trains - into a cohesive and easy to follow tale. Most interesting of all were the steps that one group of miners took to stay alive. Their adventures, and those of their heroic would-be rescuers, give new insights on survival under all-but-impossible odds. This is a very involving story. If you are not afraid of an emotional roller coaster, then hop aboard for a ride!

After the wonderful Storming Heaven I was so excited to read this book, and then so disappointed. The plot is melodramatic, the characterizations cardboard.

I loved The Unquiet Earth... I loved the relationships and determination of the characters.... After I read this book, I wanted to read it again and again.... There is one thing I suggest you do before you read this one... I suggest you read Storming Heaven.... Storming Heaven is about Dillon's mother and father, and about Tony Angelelli's mother.... If you read this one first you can get their background.... But, Unquiet Earth is hands down my favorite book!! I highly recommend reading this book! The way it is written is really good to understand what each person is thinking during each situation.... You should definitely buy this book! I hope this persuaded you to buy this book...

This true story takes place in the area where I grew up; I was familiar with its happening. My father was involved in these events. Although I cannot say I enjoyed the book, ( because it was so realistic and tragic), I found it very ,very well written and so moving I lived with it for weeks. It is written entirely from the miners view, and is therefore one sided, but is nevertheless accurate in content. It is obvious that the author knew these people. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the history of this area. katydid