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.