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On April 5, 2010, an explosion ripped through Massey Energy's Upper
Big Branch mine, killing twenty-nine coal miners. This tragedy was
the deadliest mine disaster in the United States in forty years-a
disaster that never should have happened. These deaths were rooted
in the cynical corporate culture of Massey and its notorious former
CEO Don Blankenship, and were part of an endless cycle of poverty,
exploitation, and environmental abuse that has dominated the
Appalachian coal fields since coal was first discovered there. And
the cycle continues unabated as coal companies bury the most
insidious dangers deep underground, all in search of higher
profits, and hide the true costs from regulators, unions, and
investors alike. But the disaster at Upper Big Branch goes beyond
the coal fields of West Virginia. It casts a global shadow, calling
into bitter question why coal miners in the United States are
sacrificed to erect cities on the other side of the world, why the
coal wars have been allowed to rage, polarizing the country, and
how the world's voracious appetite for energy is satisfied at such
horrendous cost. With Thunder On The Mountain, Peter A. Galuszka
pieces together the true story of greed and negligence behind the
tragedy at the Upper Big Branch mine. In doing so he has created a
devastating portrait of an entire industry that exposes the
coal-black motivations that led to the death of twenty-nine miners
and fuel the ongoing war for the world's energy future. This new
paper edition contains a foreword by Denise Giardina that provides
an update on Massey Energy and Donald Blankenship, chairman and CEO
of Massey Energy Company during the UBB disaster, and recounts her
own experiences with Massey Energy and the United Mine Workers
Association in the 1980s. This edition also includes a notes
section and a bibliography.
Silas House is a beloved and celebrated Kentucky author, music
journalist, and activist who has focused nearly all his work on
Appalachia and its culture. His groundbreaking writings across
genres have captured and catalogued Appalachian life while defying
the harmful stereotypes which have labeled the region throughout
American history. House's characters are diverse and complex in
their racial and social backgrounds, their financial status, their
religiosity, their sexuality, and other manners. Such characters
represent the complex moral issues entangled throughout the history
of this region, otherwise known as the "shimmering knot" before
him. In Silas House and the "Shimmering Knot" Before Him, Shurbutt
and the seven contributors will weave together a comprehensive
analysis on House's work focused on Appalachia and demonstrate the
different methods he has used to overcome the standard portrayals
of Appalachian families and culture. Though nationally recognized,
this collection will be the first instance of critical essays on
House's work. The authors will explore and explain House's complex,
often odic approach to his works of fiction and non-fiction.
Contributors will interpret House's use of music, lyricism, and
metaphor in his works and demonstrate the ever-present theme of
breaking the adverse and often untrue stereotypes of Appalachians.
The essays will focus on House's characters in his novels which are
described by the dominate culture as "others." The collection
reveals both the broadness of House's writing and the intersections
of the fictional and nonfictional worlds House creates as he
portrays the "shimmering knot before him," a vision of the
complexity of the moral issues that thread throughout his writing
and make the award-winning author one of the most comprehensive and
engaging voices in Appalachian and American literature today. Silas
House and the "Shimmering Knot" Before Him will provide insightful
examinations of House's works and promote a deeper understanding
and more accurate portrayal of the complexity of Appalachian people
and places.
Annadel, West Virginia, was a small town rich in coal, farms, and
close-knit families, all destroyed when the coal company came in.
It stole everything it hadn't bothered to buy -- land deeds,
private homes, and ultimately, the souls of its men and
women.
Four people tell this powerful, deeply moving tale: Activist Mayor
C.J. Marcum. Fierce, loveless union man Rondal Lloyd. Gutsy nurse
Carrie Bishop, who loved Rondal. And lonely, Sicilian immigrant
Rose Angelelli, who lost four sons to the deadly mines.
They all bear witness to nearly forgotten events of history,
culminating in the final, tragic Battle of Blair Mountain -- when
the United States Army greeted 10,000 unemployed pro-union miners
with airplanes, bombs, and poison gas. It was the first crucial
battle of a war that has yet to be won.
"Brilliant, diamond-hard fiction, heartwrenching, tough and
tender." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
Returning home to West Virginia after her beloved Uncle John's
death, Lydde finds that he has left her an odd legacy: a note with
instructions that lead her to a remote mountain cave. When she
falls into a crevasse, she finds she has followed her uncle farther
than she thought-to Norchester, England, in 1657. Times are dark:
the ruling Puritans have beheaded the king and prohibited song,
dance, and even Christmas. Though she passes as a boy with her
short hair and pants, local official Noah Fallam is still
suspicious of her strange clothing and outspokenness. Luckily, she
soon finds her uncle, and another man: the Raven, a bandit who
provides for the poor through smuggling and robbery. The unlikely
couple fall in love, and Lydde must decide where-and when-she
belongs. This captivating story brings us close to Denise
Giardina's signature concerns of faith and the way we treat the
earth.
Enigmatic, intelligent, and fiercely independent, Emily Bronte
refuses to bow to the conventions of her day. She is distrustful of
marriage, prefers freedom above all else, and walks alone at night
on the moors above the isolated rural village of Haworth. But Emily
s life is turned upside down by the arrival of an idealistic
clergyman named William Weightman. A heart-wrenching love story,
Emily s Ghost plumbs the depths of faith, longing, and romantic
solitude."
Set against the sweeping backdrop of medieval England, Good King Harry brilliantly brings to life one of the most fascinating, conflicted monarchs in history: Henry V. Evoking the sights and sounds of fifteenth-century London, acclaimed author Denise Giardina artfully illuminates the double-edged sword of power--and the momentous events that unfold in the making of a king. . . .
A contemplative soul imbued with a compassion and mental agility beyond his years, young Harry, Prince of Wales--the future King Henry V--is marked early as the object of his father's scorn. For in the eyes of Lord Bolingbroke, his son is but a weak link in the House of Lancaster with a dangerous loyalty to the rebellious Welsh that must be broken.
As Harry reaches maturity, the battle within his heart grows fierce. Torn between the sensitivities of his soul and the uncompromising king he must become, Harry embarks on an odyssey rife with political agendas, sexual intrigue, and military combat--ultimately transforming into the accomplished monarch a volatile England so urgently demands.
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