Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities - Softcover

Shirley Stewart Burns

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933202173 ISBN 13: 9781933202174

Publisher: West Virginia University Press, 2007

Synopsis

Coal is West Virginia’s bread and butter. For more than a century, West Virginia has answered the energy call of the nation—and the world—by mining and exporting its coal. In 2004, West Virginia’s coal industry provided almost forty thousand jobs directly related to coal, and it contributed $3.5 billion to the state’s gross annual product. And in the same year, West Virginia led the nation in coal exports, shipping over 50 million tons of coal to twenty-three countries. Coal has made millionaires of some and paupers of many. For generations of honest, hard-working West Virginians, coal has put food on tables, built homes, and sent students to college. But coal has also maimed, debilitated, and killed.

Bringing Down the Mountains provides insight into how mountaintop removal has affected the people and the land of southern West Virginia. It examines the mechanization of the mining industry and the power relationships between coal interests, politicians, and the average citizen. Shirley Stewart Burns holds a BS in news-editorial journalism, a master’s degree in social work, and a PhD in history with an Appalachian focus, from West Virginia University. A native of Wyoming County in the southern West Virginia coalfields and the daughter of an underground coal miner, she has a passionate interest in the communities, environment, and histories of the southern West Virginia coalfields. She lives in Charleston, West Virginia.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

“Everyone in America should read this important book. Shirley Stewart Burns understands this complex issue intimately and eloquently explains it from all the various angles, exposing the horrors of mountaintop removal and the way it is not only destroying the heart of a place and its people, but also affecting everyone. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to educate themselves on this disturbing, irresponsible, and disrespectful form of Big Business gone awry.” —Silas House, author of "Clay’s Quilt" and The "Coal Tattoo" “Written with passion and a sense of urgency, Bringing Down the Mountains is one of the most important resources available on the causes and consequences of mountaintop removal. It is historically grounded and well-documented but also remarkably current and accessible. It is always informative and alternately infuriating and inspiring as the author recounts the incestuous power relationships between the coal industry and local and national politicians and the courage and determination of local people fighting to save their land and heritage. This should be required reading in every high school civics classroom in West Virginia and for all who care about the future of the Appalachian coalfields.” —Stephen Fisher, editor, "Fighting Back in Appalachia: Traditions of Resistance and Change" "Bringing Down the Mountains" is one of the finest books yet regarding mountaintop removal mining and the destruction of the Appalachian culture and environment. Shirley Stewart Burns has written the most comprehensive account of the struggle that has been taking place in the coalfields of southern West Virginia and the long-term ecological and social consequences of mountaintop removal mining. It is a thoroughly researched and eloquent book that brings alive the true voices and great dignity of a courageous people.” —Jack Spadaro, Former Superintendent of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy "Bringing Down the Mountains" is a clear and impassioned account of the devastation being visited upon the mountains of southern West Virginia by the coal industry. Read it and weep.” —Denise Giardina

About the Author:

Shirley Stewart Burns holds a BS in news-editorial journalism, a master’s degree in social work, and a PhD in history with an Appalachian focus.  A native of Wyoming County in the southern West Virginia coalfields and the daughter of an underground coal miner, she has a passionate interest in the communities, environment, and histories of the southern West Virginia coalfields. She lives in Charleston, West Virginia. She co-edited Coal Country: Rise Up Against Mountaintop Removal Mining with Mary-Lynn Evans and Silas House.

About this edition

• Publisher: West Virginia University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1933202173
• ISBN 13: 9781933202174
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 248