Convicts Coal and Banner Mine [Paperback]

Robert D. Ward (Author), William Warren Rogers Sr (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: University Alabama Press; 1 edition (June 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817312137
• ISBN-13: 978-0817312138
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,209,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, May 7, 2010

By 

Maxtone Witherball - See all my reviews

This review is from: Convicts Coal and Banner Mine (Paperback)

As the authors forthrightly admit in their introduction, this book does not "provide an in-depth study of Alabama's convict lease system," or "a detailed account of coal mining, corporate practices, or political machinations . . . ." Its explanation of even the rudiments of coal mining in particular is perfunctory at best. At 125 pages, a number of which are taken up with large, poorly reproduced photographs, this may not be surprising.

What Convicts, Coal, and the Banner Mine Tragedy is, essentially, is a detailed timeline of the responses to the 1911 catastrophe at the Banner, especially those of the press, the government, and Pratt Consolidated Coal Company (the owner of the mine). It also includes thorough legislative histories of two measures: One, a mine-safety law enacted in the wake of the carnage at the Banner, and the other, a failed bill to abolish convict leasing. Various explanations as to the cause of the Banner explosion are also discussed, as are their relative merits and the amount of traction each gained.

If you're interested in what it was like to mine coal as a convict for PCCC or TCI or any of the other large mine owners in Alabama, this really isn't the book for you. On the other hand, if you're interested in the political aftermath of this particular disaster, you may very well get something out of it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Banner Mine, May 16, 2009

By 

P. Cochran (Mobile, AL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been doing some family research and was told that my great uncle was killed in the Banner mine and that he may have been the cause of the mine explosion. Sure enough he was mentioned several times as the possible cause!! I never knew that mining could be so political. Very interesting book.