Mass Destruction: The Men and Giant Mines That Wired America and Scarred the Planet
Starred Review. In this wide-ranging history, Montana State University historian LeCain explores open-pit copper mining as one example of the "most destructive and dangerous ideas of the past century." From the Berkeley Pit "lake" outside of Butte, Montana, part of the country's largest Superfund site, to Utah's Bingham Pit copper mine, Lecain documents the legacy of 150 years' copper-fueled electrification: arsenic, cadmium, and other toxins released into the ecosystem along with copper ore. While mining is centuries old, modern open-pit methods have made it lucrative to mine material of even very low concentration, ballooning the number of mines. LeCain draws analogies to weapons of mass destruction as well as other extractive industries (timber, fishing, coal, etc.) and briefly suggests visions for the future: "the New West would do well to reconsider... the technologies and culture of mass destruction." In examining the history of one mining industry, LeCain has funnels a great deal of American history and culture into his narrative, resulting in a work that should catch a broad audience, from Old West history buffs to environmentalists.