The book Killing for Coal is a nonfiction work by Colorado historian Thomas Andrews. It bills itself as the story of America’s deadliest labor war. Killing for Coal qualifies as environmental history and seeks to explain the causes of the 1914 Ludlow Massacre. The Ludlow Massacre will feature in an upcoming novel of mine, so I read it through.
Ludlow was the mining colony in Colorado destroyed by the Colorado National Guard in 1914. On April 20, the Guard opened fire on a tent colony of striking miners with machine guns after murdering Lou Tikas, the leader of the miners. In the carnage that followed, a number of people died, most notoriously the wives and children of several miners. The Guard then set the camp on fire. Some sources indicate that guardsmen also incinerated some of the dead to make the body count seem lower.
What’s Good About Killing for Coal
The depth of the research was quality. I learned a lot about coal mining in Colorado in the two generations leading up to Ludlow. Andrews took great care to describe the lives of miners. He also laid out how the mining companies of Colorado tried to control their workers. Many things, from the layout of mining towns to the way miners got paid, existed solely to control people. The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company was the most Machiavellian, perhaps, but it wasn’t alone.
Along the way, readers also learn how central coal was to the economy of the day. America in the late 1800s and early 1900s absolutely depended on coal. Hundreds of thousands of Americans mined as their primary profession. Many of those were coal miners. Thus, a story about coal miners and their labor battles isn’t as peripheral as it might seam, I mean, seem.
What Wasn’t So Good
The book had only one flaw, but it was significant. The book wasn’t really about what the title billed it to be about—the Ludlow Massacre. Killing for Coal was an excellent history of coal mining in Colorado. But Ludlow itself occupies only about fifteen percent of the book. The other eighty-five percent explains everything that set up the Ludlow Massacre.
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I bought the book because I wanted to know about Ludlow, and it claimed to be about Ludlow. So, even though the research was good, the writing was fine, and the history an important one, I felt betrayed because I wanted to read about Ludlow. I spent 2+ days reading this book when I could’ve gotten what I wanted in two hours.
Who Should Read Killing for Coal
Specialists of Colorado history or coal mining will like the book a lot. However, I doubt too many people of that description are regular readers of my blog. So, if you aren’t a Colorado history enthusiast, is it worth looking at? Maybe. If you enjoy environmental history, this is a good example of how to do it well. Likewise if labor history is your thing. However, keep in mind that if you want to read about the Ludlow Massacre itself, you’ll need to either skip most of the book or invest your money in something cheaper.
To check out my other recent reviews, please read:
After the Fog, by Kathleen Shoop
Etched in Starlight, by Rosie Chapel
Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
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