THE KINGDOM OF COAL: Work, Enterprise, and Ethnic Communities in the Mine Fields

by Donald L. & Richard E. Sharpless Miller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1985

A meticulously researched history of anthracite coal mining in northeastern Pennsylvania. The section of Pennsylvania bounded by the Susquehanna, Lehigh, and Delaware Rivers and by the Appalachian Mountains contains three-quarters of all the earth's hard-coal deposits. With this level of natural resources, it was inevitable that the area would become the feeding ground of American industry in the second half of the 19th century. Coal was king in northeastern Pennsylvania and the authors set out to survey the kingdom. This was an area that at its peak employed 180,000 men in producing one hundred million tons of coal annually. (Today, production is only six million tons, employing a work force of barely 3,000 people.) Life was precarious for these miners. One gory detail to emerge is that over 102,000 people have been killed in mining accidents since 1900. Miller and Sharpless describe the entire history, from the early days when the canals and the railroads created major cities in Reading and Scranton, to the waves of immigrants--first from Ireland, then from the Slavic countries--who provided the manpower for tapping the underground lodes, to the terrible abuses that led to the Great Strike of 1902 and the emergence of such charismatic union leaders as John L. Lewis. Mining left a permanent scar on the area. As one miner put it, ""At least if there's a war, they won't bomb us. The planes will look down and think we've already been bombed."" In sum, the first comprehensive history of the industry and the culture that it spawned. A worthy effort.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1985

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1985

Categories: NONFICTION