Death Underground: The Centralia And West Frankfort Mine Disasters - Couverture souple

Hartley, Robert E.; Kenney, David

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0809327066 ISBN 13 : 9780809327065

Editeur : Southern Illinois University Press, 2006

Synopsis

Death Underground: The Centralia and West Frankfort Mine Disasters examines two of the most devastating coal mine disasters in United States history since 1928. In two southern Illinois towns only forty miles apart, explosions killed 111 men at the Centralia No. 5 mine in 1947 and 119 men at the New Orient No. 2 mine in West Frankfort in 1951. Robert E. Hartley and David Kenney explain the causes of the accidents, identify who was to blame, and detail the emotional impact the disasters had on the survivors, their families, and their communities.

Politics at the highest level of Illinois government played a critical role in the conditions that led to the accidents. Hartley and Kenney address how safety was compromised when inspection reports were widely ignored by state mining officials and mine company supervisors. Highlighted is the role of Driscoll Scanlan, a state inspector at Centralia, who warned of an impending disaster but whose political enemies shifted the blame to him, ruining his career. Hartley and Kenney also detail the New Orient No. 2 mine explosion, the attempts at rescue, and the resulting political spin circulated by labor, management, and the state bureaucracy. They outline the investigation, the subsequent hearings, and the efforts in Congress to legislate greater mine safety.

Hartley and Kenney include interviews with the survivors, a summary of the investigative records, and an analysis of the causes of both mine accidents. They place responsibility for the disasters on individual mine owners, labor unions, and state officials, providing new interpretations not previously presented in the literature. Augmented by twenty-nine illustrations, the volume also covers the history, culture, and ethnic pluralism of coal mining in Illinois and the United States.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Robert E. Hartley is the author or coauthor of nine books, including Battleground 1948: Truman, Stevenson, Douglas, and the Most Surprising Election in Illinois History and Paul Simon: The Political Journey of an Illinois Original. He was a journalist for Lindsay-Schaub Newspapers in Illinois from 1962 to 1979 and served as executive editor of the Toledo Blade and as publisher of the Journal-American in Bellevue, Washington.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Southern Illinois University Press
• Date d'édition: 2006
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0809327066
• ISBN 13: 9780809327065
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 250
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible