Feels like a dystopic future, except it already happened
5 stars
At various points during this book, I could not believe what I was reading. The West Virginia mine wars were brutal indeed, and the events are shockingly unknown in the modern American public discourse, at least in my social network centered in the American Midwest.
This book is thrilling, and to me evoked an aesthetic similar to the Wild West, despite being about labor struggles in Appalachia. It made me watch the film "Matewan," which I also recommend. While the history recounted is overwhelmingly tragic, it's also inspirational for modern times. The labor organizers and sympathizers of this era overcame incredible odds to achieve unionization.
Imagine if Amazon and Jeff Bezos owned vast swathes of land, spanning entire state counties - including the roads and all other public infrastructure (even more than they already currently do). Then, imagine Amazon setting up their own Amazon police departments, hiring their own sheriffs, …
At various points during this book, I could not believe what I was reading. The West Virginia mine wars were brutal indeed, and the events are shockingly unknown in the modern American public discourse, at least in my social network centered in the American Midwest.
This book is thrilling, and to me evoked an aesthetic similar to the Wild West, despite being about labor struggles in Appalachia. It made me watch the film "Matewan," which I also recommend. While the history recounted is overwhelmingly tragic, it's also inspirational for modern times. The labor organizers and sympathizers of this era overcame incredible odds to achieve unionization.
Imagine if Amazon and Jeff Bezos owned vast swathes of land, spanning entire state counties - including the roads and all other public infrastructure (even more than they already currently do). Then, imagine Amazon setting up their own Amazon police departments, hiring their own sheriffs, etc, all with the express approval of a seemingly legitimate state government. Then imagine Amazon constructing company towns, forcing warehouse laborers to live in squalor and pay for rent, purchase foodstuffs and other essentials in company scrip / "AmazonBucks." In such a scenario, any labor uprising would be immediately crushed with violence - if not infiltrated by spies. This is not too different what happened during the mine wars, and yet there are countless labor victories and for the most part, unions inevitably prevailed.
The book was shocking, thrilling, and somehow gave me hope, despite its primary-source coverage of a series of mostly horrific events. Largely isolated laborers were able to organize and overcome the circumstances of their times to improve their condition despite being vastly outnumbered and under-resourced, and I gained hope and motivation from learning of their ultimate victory.