The Unquiet Earth: A Novel

Storming Heaven and The Unquiet Earth are historical novels about the often violent efforts of coal operators to keep miners in West Virginia from forming a union. Ms. Giardina knows this world first hand. She grew up in a coal camp and has produced an epic that is mostly unknown. If you want to know why unemployed miners are an angry crowd, you need to know the many ways they were exploited starting from the destruction of Appalachia's virgin forests by loggers in the 19th century, the phony deeds to property they thought they owned, and the most often violent attempts by coal operators and their hired guns to crush every and all organizing efforts until the United Mine Workers appeared to prevail during the New Deal. But not for long. The coal operators and the Union's next move was to sell off the hospitals they built and end the free medical service provided by funding from the Union and their operator allies. The final round of violence, portrayed by Giardina, took place in the 1950s and 1960s while mechanization reduced the workforce to a shadow of itself. You might want to carefully count how many times miners, black and white, were expletived over by mine operators, their union, and the federal government with its basically worthless "War on Poverty". Giardina tells the whole story in a really compelling read.

This is a story for someone interested in life for coal-mining folks of Appalachia. You get an insight into the hard life they lived with the bonus of a forbidden love, thwarted dreams, and the struggle between the workers and the coal companies as part of the same story. I found it a good read to put yourself in the place of other people and parts of the country plus the doomed union movement's attempt to keep the forces of the strip miners at bay. Worth a read.

Every one who had or has a loved one that does any kind of mining should read this book, You will understand why the union was so important to coal miners, to have endured what they endured is awful, its simply slavery. Todaypeople want to dismiss Unions, but I think we will see the day when they will return greater than ever.

Great history of a difficult and trying time in our history. I have recommended this book many times to fellow West Virginians.

Hurrah! I'm finished ! exhausted , confused , disgusted for time spent turning page after page of this nonsense. Character's not at all likable and silly . And the heroine ! of course was the most remarkable , strong, beautiful woman to ever marry her boss. Everyone else just plain went to seed sitting on their porch talking to the heroine's brilliant remarkable strong little girl who notices flab under the arms . People wear sleeves when Jackie comes a visiting. Of course the sexual tension between our hero and heroine that's built up for years is just awful . I'm no prude but those would of been wise just to have left to imagination . we have the first cousins then daughter and the priest? not sensual just too much information folks . What I learned is how not to write a story.

Stunning novel, real history . I grew up in southern West Virginia in the 60's and 70's. If you read Storming Heaven or The Unquiet Earth before, read it again. In light of last year's water contamination of 300,000 West Virginians, it is a reminder little has changed. We need to hear more from Denise Giardina.

So well done; you could "hear" every speaker's voice, intonation and accent by the way it was written....

Interesting characters and vivid description of Appalachia and coal mining towns.