The Country of Coal

The article reviews and comments on "British Coalminers in the Nineteenth Century: A Social History," by John Benson, "Independent Collier: The Coal Miner as Archetypal Proletarian Reconsidered," edited by Royden Harrison, "Keir Hardie: The Making of a Socialist," by Fred Reid, "By the Sweat of their Brow: Womee Workers at Victorian Coal Mines," by Angela John, "Work Relations in the Coal Industry: The Hand-Loading Era, 1880-1930," by Keith Dix, "The Miner's Freedom: A Study of the Working Life in a Changing Industry," by Carter Goodrich, "Life, Work, and Rebellion in the Coal Fields: The Southern West Virginia Miners, ,1880-1922," by David Corbin, and "Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley," by John Gaventa.