The Hawk's Nest Incident: America's Worst Industrial Disaster [Hardcover]

Martin Cherniack (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the early 1930s, the Union Carbide company dug a water tunnel along a river in West Virginia to generate power for a chemical plant. After extensive research, including interviews with survivors and relatives, Cherniack concludes that over 700 workers died from acute silicosis, a disease little known at the time. From his account we learn more about what happened to the mostly black, mostly migrant laborers, digging a three-mile silicon-laden tunnel, than contemporary accounts were able to provide. We learn of the futility of those long-ago law suits and congressional hearings and of the power of a large corporation (Union Carbide). And we learn of the sad state, back then, of environmental concerns. A highly readable, balanced account; recommended. Daniel LaRossa, Connetquot P.L., Bohemia, N.Y.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Yale Univ Pr (November 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300035225
• ISBN-13: 978-0300035223
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,018,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book provides the facts on a "forgotten" tragedey., April 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hawk's Nest Incident: America`s Worst Industrial Disaster (Paperback)

As a safety and health practioner whose strongest ultra specific technical competency is in the area of respiratory protection, I was searching for this book for several weeks. I wanted to know the particulars of how several hundred workers could die within a few months - on a jobsite - and no one go to jail for such actions. I was also seeking this book for inclusion in evidence on several matters soon being brought before this country's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The book is the perfect length, as I completed it in about five evenings. Its style is very readable and offers its reader the perfect blend of research rolled into a documentary format. Because I have devoted countless hours at the National Library of Medicine, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, etc. I fully appreciate the hundreds - if not thousands - of hours Dr. Cherniak devoted to research. How many boxes in musty court record archives did he examine ? Read the book's bibliography and you will have some degree of understanding of his enormous effort. Better yet, track down the original (primary) sources and read these as well. The book provides an excellent analysis of the United States corporation involved in the project. For this reason alone, it is well worth reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly and Fascinating, October 24, 2010

By 

W. R. Huber (West End, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hawk's Nest Incident: America's Worst Industrial Disaster (Hardcover)

Until visiting Hawk's Nest State Park, I had never heard of the Hawk's Nest Tunnel or the disaster accompanying its construction. Because we had seen the area, and indeed played golf on the site of one of the work camps, I found the book fascinating. But unless you are a student of industrial relations or complex construction projects, you might find the book slow-going. The author presents an objective review of the facts and draws conclusions about how many men died as a result of the construction. It seems remarkable that some 50+ years after the tunnel was dug, and after a US congressional investigation, such basic information as how many died was open to such widely varying estimates. If you have visited or will visit Hawk's Nest, by all means read the book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible insight into how companies handle problems, January 30, 2008

By 

D. Olsen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hawk's Nest Incident: America`s Worst Industrial Disaster (Paperback)

This book started me on a long research project which ultimately lead to my MA thesis. Companies so frequently avoid dealing with employee safety and medical problems that there is a discernible pattern. Cherniak's dedication to fact-finding is inspirational. The story is spell-binding and frightening. While the Hawk's Nest issue dates back 70 years, the situation exists today - companies still disregard the needs of employees and government proteciton agencies still avoid meaningful action.