This is the first comprehensive history of the anthracite industry and the unique regional culture that grew up with it. It is the story of one of America's first great industries and of the people who made it great--from the miserably paid immigrant mine workers to the powerful coal barons.

First Published in 2003. This volume charts the history of anthracite coal mining industry and developments around the Josiah White rolling mill in Philadelphia, the Lehigh Coal Mining Company created in 1972 in Pennsylvania, Canal and railroad developments, John Leisenring and Sharpe, Leisenring and Co; and Westmoreland from 1794 to 1999.

British Opencast Coal is an illustrated history of coal mining by surface methods from 1942 to 1985. Written by Keith Haddock, a leading authority on the subject, this book details the origins of the industry and documents the types of earthmoving machines employed during the first 40 years. The book highlights the importance of surface coal mining operations and site restoration and their necessity for the British economy.Meticulously researched, the facts, figures and data covered are taken from Keith's extensive collection of magazine articles, newspaper cuttings and manufacturers' machine brochures and specifications. They are also drawn from publications by the National Coal Board Opencast Executive and Keith's own research conducted on numerous site visits. The sites included represent a cross section of geologically different locations in England, Scotland and Wales, and those employing the most interesting variety of earthmoving machines, such as Maesgwyn in South Wales, Newman Spinney in Derbyshire, Radar North in Northumberland and Ox-Bow in Yorkshire.The book's 364 historical photographs, many taken for the National Coal Board or British Coal Opencast, provide a nostalgic look at obsolete earthmoving and heavy construction equipment, and form an excellent historical resource for the student, researcher or enthusiast.

No one personified the age of industry more than the miners. The Shadow of the Mine tells the story of King Coal in its heyday – and what happened to mining communities after the last pits closed. The Shadow of the Mine tells the story of King Coal in its heyday, the heroics and betrayals of the Miners’ Strike, and what happened to mining communities after the last pits closed. No one personified the age of industry more than the miners. Coal was central to the British economy, powering its factories and railways. It carried political weight, too. In the eighties the miners risked everything in a year-long strike against Thatcher’s shutdowns. Their defeat doomed a way of life. The lingering sense of abandonment in former mining communities would be difficult to overstate. Yet recent electoral politics has revolved around the coalfield constituencies in Labour’s Red Wall. Huw Beynon and Ray Hudson draw on decades of research to chronicle these momentous changes through the words of the people who lived through them. This edition includes a new postscript on why Thatcher’s war on the miners wasn’t good for green politics. ‘Excellent’ NEW STATESMAN ‘Brilliant’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT ‘Enlightening’ GUARDIAN

Forget Frosty the Snowman or Ruldolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The next great holiday hero is a small, flammable chunk of barbecue fodder. He's impeccably dressed, he's terribly grumpy, and he's looking for a holiday miracle. It's unmistakably Snicket - here's the opening line: This holiday season is a time for stoytelling, and whether you are hearing the story of a candelabra staying lit for more than a week, or a baby born in a barn without proper medical supervision, these stories often feature miracles.

Bitty is a canary whose courage more than makes up for his diminutive size. Of course, as a miner bird who detects deadly gas leaks in a West Virginia coal mine during the Depression, he is used to facing danger. Tired of perilous working conditions, he escapes and hops a coal train to the state capital to seek help in improving the plights of miners and their canaries. In the tradition of E.B. White, George Selden, and Beverly Cleary's Ralph S. Mouse, Madelyn Rosenberg has written a singular novel full of unforgettable characters.