After Coal: Stories of Survival in Appalachia and Wales

by Tom Hansell

What happens when fossil fuels run out? How do communities and cultures survive? Central Appalachia and south Wales were built to extract coal, and faced with coal’s decline, both regions have experienced economic depression, labor unrest, and out-migration. After Coal focuses on coalfield residents who chose not to leave, but instead remained in their communities and worked to build a diverse and sustainable economy. It tells the story of four decades of exchange between two mining communities on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and profiles individuals and organizations that are undertaking the critical work of regeneration. The stories in this book are told through interviews and photographs collected during the making of After Coal , a documentary film produced by the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University and directed by Tom Hansell. Considering resonances between Appalachia and Wales in the realms of labor, environment, and movements for social justice, the book approaches the transition from coal as an opportunity for marginalized people around the world to work toward safer and more egalitarian futures.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

Published October 5, 2018

Reviews

[Frank Karioris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading coming up of this coming Saturday January 26, 2019.

The only reason this book has a three instead of a five is because while the author suggests that the book is fine on its own, I think there are a lot of reasons why the book is a companion to both the film that precedes this book, and that the video would really flesh out the book's message in a variety of ways.

The book provides insights into the realities of communities as they engage to work through the decimation of the coal industries in both Wales and Appalachia; doing a good job of focusing on ways that these groups have moved forward. It shines light not just on the important issue of coal, but also how this industry has been ravaged by corporations mis-use, abuse, and abandonment of the communities themselves.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the reading enriches the book in a week.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot.