For decades coal has been crucial to America's culture, society, and
environment, an essential ingredient in driving out winter's cold,
cooking meals, and lighting the dark. In the coalfields and beyond, Bob
Wyss describes how this magical elixir sparked the Industrial
Revolution, powered railroads, and built urban skylines, while providing
home comforts for families.
Coal's history and heritage are fundamental to understanding its
legacy of threats to America's well-being. As industry developed so did
clashes between powerful tycoons, coal miners, and innocent families.
Exploitation and avarice led to victimization, deadly violence, and
ultimately the American labor movement. More recently coal has
endangered American lives and safety, brought on by two centuries of
carbon combustion, and here the threat remains unresolved. This is
coal's most enduring legacy, and
Black Gold is pivotal in helping us understand how we got to this point.