Coal River

I wish I could say that the book shocked me, unfortunately, as a West Virginia resident, it did not. It pleases me that the plight of West Virginia's mountains, streams and people now gets a bit of national exposure. Perhaps this will turn the tide back.

Shnayerson does a masterful job of documenting King Coal's stranglehold on the geography, economy and politics of West Virginia as well as the stunning unwillingness of agencies with oversight over the coal industry to simply do their jobs.

It's a sobering read, but well worthwhile.

A story of mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia and some resulting legal cases against a corrupt mining company. I really wanted to like this more than I did, but it was very dry and did not focus as heavily on the residents and activists of WV as the subtitle led me to believe. However, it does tell a very important story of politics and environmental injustice that is still relevant today. If you want to hear more about the activist-side of mountaintop mining, I suggest watching the movie 'The Last Mountain'