Growing Up in Coal Country

Great book - my grandfather was a coal miner in Hazleton Pa - explains a lot about what he went through - a tough life for sure - but they were grateful for what they had. This book is a wonderful read.

What a great resource. Concise simple terms. Easy read. Informative , interesting. Shows a whole different side of the coal mining industry including mine hierarchy. It was a fast read, but not fast enough before I could finish it my 88 year old mother who grew up in a mining town swiped it ! Excellent for school libraries,explaining family history understanding the past, measuring progress and enforcing worker's rights for which these did not have and latter people fought to obtain. This is real American blood sweat and tears history that helped to build this country.

While trying to better understand my ancestors' lives, I have purchased several short books showing workers in Pennsylvania's anthracite colliaries of a century or more ago. This one is my favorite. It has a very good balance of text and appropriate related photos. It clearly describes the tasks of the various laborers inside the mines and breakers, and life in the mining areas. It includes personnal anecdotes from the workers that help give it life and humor. I found it easy and enjoyable to read, and I learned a lot.

I wanted to read about this as my grandparents immigrated to the coal country in central Illinois.

Accurate description of a time long past in the Wyoming Valley, PA.

Writing and photos are 5 star quality. Whether a reader is or was a resident of the Scranton area and region or is new to the history, the book provides the real story of coal mining, the dangers of the work, and the living conditions of miners' families in a compact easy to read format. Once started it is difficult to put the book down until you finish reading it.

I initially bought this book because my grandmother grew up in that time and place (Pennsylvania, circa 1910). This book offers an incredible glimpse into the lives of the men and boys (and mules) who worked in the coal mines. This book provided a riveting and sobering look at that period in history, and helped me envision the world my grandmother grew up in. Once I started looking at it, I couldn't put it down. It is an informative and moving account and I recommend it highly.

I am a West Virginia History teacher and always looking for material to add to my lessons about the state. Coal is an important and vital industry in this state and I want my students to understand that through the use of various media. Although Bartoletti's book is about Western Pennsylvania coal towns, many in West Virginia were identical in those times. She gives very vivid details of the various types of jobs one could find in the coal mines of the early19th century, and what the lives of the miners and their families were like. Based on her relative's life in the mines, she brings all the hardships faced and the sacrifices made by those who chose to work in a dangerous job known as coal mining to light. I plan to have my students listen to the audio tape and make comparisons and contrasts between the Western Pennsylvania coal industry and West Virginia coal industry .

its a great book about coal mining in the usa and the hardships of that era life must have been very hard then