R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on 1/1/2013 + 1458 more book reviews

A fascinating and interesting read! I read a fiction book some time ago called Flanagan's Run in which one of the protagonists was from the coal mining area in the Appalachians. Lament originates in Pennsylvania where the Irish coal miners decide to organize in the hope of improving mining conditions for the miners. Miners worked in poor, poor conditions. They lived in mere shacks with dirt floors, no insulation and if they were lucky a window. In winter the cold sifted through every crack and opening. They were forced to scrounge coal from the slag heaps to heat these hovels. They had to buy from the company stores where prices were twenty percent above that of other stores and if they did not they lost their jobs. Wages were determined arbitrarily and miners were let go for minor offenses. When a miner was killed or injured there was no help for his family. Unfortunately, the organized Irish, known as the Molly Maguires, became as ruthless as management. This is their story and the story of an Irishman who infiltrated the organization to bring it down. Good, good read.

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