By Priscilla Long
“An intense and accomplished social history.” —Christopher Hitchens, New York Newsday
Paragon Press, Hardcover, 1989; paperback, 1991, ISBN 1-55778-465-5.
Accolades and Reviews
“A captivating account of one of the most dramatic and influential periods in the industrial history of the U.S. Highly recommended.” —Choice
“The style is brisk and appealing…a wonderfully human story….One of those rare works that asks and answers important questions about who we are as creatures of our invention and as a nation, and how we got to this point.” —Barbara Kingsolver, Women’s Review of Books
“Reads almost like a novel at times.”—Pennsylvania Magazine
“Both scholarly and unusually well-written, the story moves along at a good pace while not compromising the standards of acute historical analysis.”—E. P. Thompson, author of The Making of the English Working Class
“A first-rate work.”—Milton Cantor, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts
“As a piece of historical investigation, it is superbly done. But it is more than a history of the coal industry; it illuminates the development of the American corporate economy in the late 19th and early 20th century, and gives a rare picture of intense class conflict in a country often presumed to lack that. Her account of the Colorado coal strike is not only impeccably accurate but recaptures the drama and excitement of that astonishing event with rare skill.” —Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States.