Bloodletting in Appalachia: The Story of West Virginia's Four Major Mine Wars and Other Thrilling Incidents of Its Coal Fields [Paperback]

Howard Burton Lee (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Mcclain Printing Co (June 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870120417
• ISBN-13: 978-0870120411
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books ever about the W.Va. mine wars, August 12, 2006

By 

Bradley A. Crouser (Charleston, WV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bloodletting in Appalachia: The Story of West Virginia's Four Major Mine Wars and Other Thrilling Incidents of Its Coal Fields (Paperback)

This book is a classic and a must-read for anyone interested in union history in America. The author is fair, too, which is a rarity in this genre: he tells of the union atrocities, as well as the ones committed by the companies and their goons. He's more interested in telling facts than pursuing a particular agenda. It was a time of evil and mean-spiritedness by both sides, which he reveals better than most. It explains the roots of the "us-against-them" culture in which the West Virginia economy has floundered for 80 years.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appalachians Are Not Lazy Hicks, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bloodletting in Appalachia: The Story of West Virginia's Four Major Mine Wars and Other Thrilling Incidents of Its Coal Fields (Paperback)

In plain, unvarnished style, Lee relates the history of greed and evil by the outside capital interests who came into West Virginia to rape and pillage. The miners wouldn't stand for it, and war broke out.

The president had to declare martial law - twice.

While Lee doesn't exactly have a beautiful, rolling style, he tells it like it was; he was there.

If you want to know about the true character of the Appalachian people, read this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent acount of West Virginia's Coal Mine Wars, November 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bloodletting in Appalachia: The Story of West Virginia's Four Major Mine Wars and Other Thrilling Incidents of Its Coal Fields (Paperback)

This is the most unbiased telling of the struggles in West Virginia between the coal operators and the union. Mr. Lee offers an impartial insider's view of the birth (and or death) of the real West Virginia.