Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities
"Bringing Down the Mountainsis a clear and impassioned  account of the devastation being visited upon the mountains of southern  West Virginia by the coal industry. Read it and weep."Denise Giardina, authorStorming HeavenandThe Unquiet Earth"Shirley Stewart Burns. . .reminds us that the effects of certain  economic practices might still be described in such old-fashioned terms  as 'devastation' and 'destruction.'"Tycho de Boer,The Journal of Southern History"[Burns] exercises considerable skill in detailing the expansion of mountaintop removal (MTR) and its growing opposition."Chad Montrie, authorMaking a Living: Work and Environment in the United States"Burns offers a cautionary tale of the future... The crisis Burns  defines has implications for all of us and for our children. This book  deserves a wide audience."John H. Barnhill,Technology and Culture"Bringing Down the Mountainsis one of the finest books yet  regarding mountaintop removal mining and the destruction of the  Appalachian culture and environment. Shirley Stewart Burns has written  the most comprehensive account of the struggle that has been taking  place in the coalfields of southern West Virginia and the long-term  ecological and social consequences of mountaintop removal mining. It is a  thoroughly researched and eloquent book that brings alive the true  voices and great dignity of a courageous people."Jack Spadaro, former Superintendent of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy"Everyone in America should read this important book. Shirley Stewart  Burns understands this complex issue intimately, and she eloquently  explains it from all the various angles, exposing the horrors of  mountaintop removal and the way it is not only destroying the heart of a  place and its people, but also affecting everyone. This is the perfect  book for anyone who wants to educate themselves on this disturbing,  irresponsible, and disrespectful form of Big Business gone awry."Silas House, authorClay's QuiltandThe Coal Tattoo"Written with passion and a sense of urgency,Bringing Down the Mountainsis one of the most important resources available on the causes and  consequences of mountaintop removal. It is historically grounded and  well-documented but also remarkably current and accessible. It is always  informative and alternately infuriating and inspiring as the author  recounts the incestuous power relationships between the coal industry  and local and national politicians, and the courage and determination of  local people fighting to save their land and heritage. This should be  required reading in every high school civics classroom in West Virginia  and for all who care about the future of the Appalachian coalfields."Stephen Fisher, editorFighting Back in Appalachia: Traditions of Resistance and Change"Bringing Down the Mountainsprovides a powerful, fact-filled  analysis of controversial mountaintop removal coal mining in the context  of more than a century of social, economic and environmental injustice  experience by coalfield communities. Shirley Burns shines a bright light  on King Coal and its handmaidens who have exploited the vast mineral  wealth of the region, reaping huge profits while coal mining communities  continue to experience poverty, high unemployment, and economic  distress."Patrick McGinley, West Virginia University College of Law"The common ground on mountaintop removal is as narrow as the  Appalachian hollows being filled in by MTR. Those on both sides of this  deep divide, however, will learn something from this highly readable  study which analyzes the issue within its political, economic,  environmental, and human context. Written from the community  perspective, it gives voice to the powerless who are most dramatically  affected by this destructive practice."Ronald L. Lewis, West Virginia University"Bringing Down the Mountainsnot only tells the story of  coalfield residents’ fight against mountaintop removal, but it puts this  tale into the important historical context of the continuing fight  between West Virginians and outside coal interests over the use - and  sometimes abuse - of the state’s natural resources. Shirley Stewart  Burns reminds readers that West Virginia’s history is a long series of  fights over who benefits and who is damaged by coal extraction, how the  riches created by the coal-based economy are divided, and over who  decides the outcome of these vial issues."Ken Wards Jr.,The Charleston Gazette"Bringing Down the Mountainsexamines one of the most  significant challenges facing the Appalachian region: mountaintop  removal coal mining (MTR). Shirley Burns’s timely and comprehensive  study provides the important analyses of the impact of MTR on the  environment, people, and communities of southern West Virginia,  including economic costs and benefits. While the analyses of community  and environmental impacts represent the core of the book, chapters on  the United Mine Worker’s role in promoting MTR; the history of legal  challenges by citizens; and the relationship between the coal lobby,  West Virginia’s political leaders, and campaign finances are also  indispensable sources of insight and information for scholars,  activists, and students. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves  the Appalachian Mountains or is concerned about the American  environment."Dwight B. Billings, University of Kentucy"Too often, critics of mountaintop removal mining in southern West  Virginia are thought of as outsiders. Shirley Stewart Burns is a native  of the West Virginia coalfields, from a mining family, and inBringing Down the Mountainsshe speaks with passion and detailed knowledge. She knows these hills;  she knows these people. To this she adds a depth of historical research  and the persistence of a journalist. She tells stories that should  indeed make us weep, for our mountains and for our own appetites that  drive this quest for cheap energy, at any cost. This is truly a case in  which history can and should change the future we are currently making."Gregory A. Good, West Virginia University"This book is a wake-up call not only for southern West Virginians, but for anyone who uses electricity generated from coal.Bringing Down the Mountainsis a must-have for students and scholars of energy policy, the  environment, economics, politics, organized labor, and Appalachian  studies."Katie Fallon, Virginia Tech"Bringing Down the Mountainsis an invaluable study of  mountaintop removal, the most devastating coal mining practice in the  United States. Burns brings together history, politics, economics,  sociology, ecology, biology, and interviews with coalfield residents  with an efficacy and efficiency I’ve seen in no other book about the  subject. Comprehensive and thoroughly documented, Bringing Down the  Mountains is a work we’ve needed for a decade and a must-have for anyone  concerned about the future of the Appalachian region."Ann Pancake, authorStrange as This Weather Has Been"Bringing Down the Mountainsjoins a growing list of books  that bring new approaches in environmental and socioeconomic analysis to  Appalachia's history and struggles."Aviva Chomsky,LABOR"Bringing Down the Mountainsis without a doubt the first  book you should read if you want to learn more about Mountaintop  Removal, how it came to be, what it does to the earth, and what is being  done to try and stop, or at least slow down, this very destructive  process."Merrill E. Pratt,Life in Small Bites