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612-822-4611
Black Gold: The Rise, Reign, and Fall of American Coal

Black Gold: The Rise, Reign, and Fall of American Coal

Hardcover

Environmental StudiesGeneral United States History

Publisher Price: $28.95

ISBN10: 0520391780
ISBN13: 9780520391789
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: Sep 23 2025
Pages: 312
Weight: 1.25
Height: 1.10 Width: 5.90 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Coal's central role in America's history and its ongoing threats in the climate crisis.

For decades coal has been crucial to America's culture, society, and environment, an essential ingredient in driving out winter's cold, cooking meals, and lighting the dark. In the coalfields and beyond, Bob Wyss describes how this magical elixir sparked the Industrial Revolution, powered railroads, and built urban skylines, while providing home comforts for families.

Coal's history and heritage are fundamental to understanding its legacy of threats to America's well-being. As industry developed so did clashes between powerful tycoons, coal miners, and innocent families. Exploitation and avarice led to victimization, deadly violence, and ultimately the American labor movement. More recently coal has endangered American lives and safety, brought on by two centuries of carbon combustion, and here the threat remains unresolved. This is coal's most enduring legacy, and Black Gold is pivotal in helping us understand how we got to this point.

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General United States History