Customer Reviews

The Hawk's Nest Incident: America's Worst Industrial Disaster

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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.

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.

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.