Soul Full of Coal Dust: A Fight for Breath and Justice in Appalachia

Black lung disease has been recognized as a national disgrace, but big coal companies have flouted the law and exposed miners to deadly amounts of coal dust. Chris Hamby's book "Soul Full of Coal Dust" tells the heroic stories of miners who have fought for compensation and medical costs, and how they challenged Big Coal and won. The book is a legal and medical thriller that traces how a powerless band of laborers challenged one of the world's most powerful forces and won.

Format: Hardback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 10 September 2020
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Decades have elapsed since black lung disease was recognized as a national disgrace, prompting Congress to take legislative action. However, the situation has remained largely unchanged since then. Large coal companies, aided by their allies in the legal and medical professions, have persistently violated the law, exposing miners to lethal levels of coal dust while systematically denying benefits to those who suffer and die as a result of their jobs. Indeed, these men and their families, often lacking access to education, legal resources, and other employment opportunities, have long been engaged in a relentless struggle to secure even modest compensation and medical expenses from the nation's largest mining interests, all in the fight against a disease that could have been eradicated years ago.

Tracing the heroic stories of these individuals back to the very beginning, Chris Hamby, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who has extensively covered this issue, presents us with a profoundly troubling yet ultimately triumphant work that promises to have a similar impact on Black Lung as Beth Macy's book did on the opioid epidemic. Soul Full of Coal Dust unfolds as a legal and medical thriller, taking readers from corporate offices and mine shafts to hospital beds and rural clinics. It brilliantly chronicles how a powerless band of laborers, alongside a small group of lawyers and doctors, often working from their homes or in rural clinics and tiny offices, challenged one of the world's most powerful forces, Big Coal, and ultimately won.

Full of the rich and complex atmosphere of Appalachia, Soul Full of Coal Dust is a necessary and timely book about injustice and resistance. It sheds light on the struggles faced by miners and their families, who have been marginalized and overlooked by the system. Hamby's storytelling is powerful and evocative, bringing the reader into the lives of those who have toiled in the mines of West Virginia. The book also provides a valuable insight into the legal and medical complexities surrounding black lung disease, highlighting the challenges faced by those seeking compensation and treatment.

Overall, Soul Full of Coal Dust is a compelling and important read that should be widely discussed and debated. It serves as a reminder of the ongoing fight for justice and equality, and the power of individuals to challenge the status quo and bring about change.

Weight: 722g
Dimension: 162 x 243 x 43 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780316299473