Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917
Product ID: 186330596
The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Revenant --basis for the award-winning motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio--tells the remarkable story of the worst hard-rock mining disaster in American history. The worst hard-rock mining disaster in American history began a half hour before midnight on June 8, 1917, when fire broke out in the North Butte Mining Company's Granite Mountain shaft. Sparked more than two thousand feet below ground, the fire spewed flames, smoke, and poisonous gas through a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Within an hour, more than four hundred men would be locked in a battle to survive. Within three days, one hundred and sixty-four of them would be dead. Fire and Brimstone recounts the remarkable stories of both the men below ground and their families above, focusing on two groups of miners who made the incredible decision to entomb themselves to escape the gas. While the disaster is compelling in its own right, Fire and Brimstone also tells a far broader story striking in its contemporary relevance. Butte, Montana, on the eve of the North Butte disaster, was a volatile jumble of antiwar protest, an abusive corporate master, seething labor unrest, divisive ethnic tension, and radicalism both left and right. It was a powder keg lacking only a spark, and the mine fire would ignite strikes, murder, ethnic and political witch hunts, occupation by federal troops, and ultimately a battle over presidential power. Review: True -- but reads like a memorable novel - I bought this book as a gift for a friend who is a "mining history" buff. What a quality book (hard cover with dust jacket). I happened to read the first few pages and couldn't put it down. Needless to say, I had to read the book before I could give it away. I'll be buying another copy for a different friend (who I know will really appreciate it). It is difficult to say the book was enjoyable, being written about such a gut-wrenching subject. However, the author does a good job of covering the heroic and very human aspects of it. I learned alot about mining, what people do to make a living and their actions in dire circumstances. Since the disaster happened in 1917, reading it was like travelling back in time to 1917. The author paints a full picture, not just of the disaster and people but of the political, economic and environmental conditions surrounding the disaster. Review: Great read - Fantastic story, well researched. The author does a wonderful job telling not only the story of the horrific fire and working conditions faced by the miners but also of the political climate at the time. Well worth a read .
A**R
True -- but reads like a memorable novel
I bought this book as a gift for a friend who is a "mining history" buff. What a quality book (hard cover with dust jacket). I happened to read the first few pages and couldn't put it down. Needless to say, I had to read the book before I could give it away. I'll be buying another copy for a different friend (who I know will really appreciate it). It is difficult to say the book was enjoyable, being written about such a gut-wrenching subject. However, the author does a good job of covering the heroic and very human aspects of it. I learned alot about mining, what people do to make a living and their actions in dire circumstances. Since the disaster happened in 1917, reading it was like travelling back in time to 1917. The author paints a full picture, not just of the disaster and people but of the political, economic and environmental conditions surrounding the disaster.
C**C
Great read
Fantastic story, well researched. The author does a wonderful job telling not only the story of the horrific fire and working conditions faced by the miners but also of the political climate at the time. Well worth a read .
M**N
Small print.
I have only read the first 60 pages they are interesting and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book. The author is excellent and I have enjoyed his books very much.
M**A
Fascinating History
These mines went down a mile deep into the earth and were quite perilous from the outset. Immigrant young men coming from all over Europe worked them round the clock. The story of the accident was vividly documented. It reflected the courage of many miners and was interlaced with Montana political history and the social history of Butte, Montana. I had only seen open-pit copper mines, having lived in Arizona all my life with the largest open-pit copper mine in North America located in Morenci, Arizona. This history of rugged working men, far-reaching opportunists, and a prodigious extraction industry that supplies a major metal for the way we live today opened an important door of appreciation for both labor and capitalists. We need them balanced in equitable and safe relationship.
A**M
Gripping stories bring this disaster to life
The author does a great job conveying the facts and the context of this disaster through the main characters. I was,eager to see where it would all go, even though the ending is already known. Now I want to go visit Butte!
B**X
Awesome read
Superb book by a truly great author about people my grandad would have known in his day working for Marcus Daly as his hack driver. Grandad Mke Ryan loved "Mister Daly" and said he was a kind, caring gentleman who cared about his workers unlike Clark who was the opposite. This book gripped me from the get go and never let me loose. I go to the graveyard where the folks in this story are buried and reflect on their lives and am happy that their story is so well told. It's a tribute to us who worked in this area and lived and died with the old copper collar around our necks. "Heres to the hearts and souls of the men who came with the dust and left with the wind" and died in the dark belows. Tap er light. Now if the author would sign my book before I have to hunt him down in Missoula.
L**R
The picture shown is not a picture of the book sold by Amazon
I bought a paperback copy of this book, Fire and Brimstone, from Amazon. The picture shows a black cover with a gallows or mining frame. When I received the book I was happy to find that the cover of the book I bought was actually a picture of the original hardcover book. The problem is that I had bought, in the meantime, a hardcopy so I want to sell the paperback book; however, I cannot find a paperback cover with the real cover, i.e., same as the hard copy. It's not really a big deal except that it is NOT accurate to portray a book with the wrong cover, and no way to change it except with a wordy explanation about the cover that is difficult to explain unless you are familiar with the original; cover..
D**Y
Thrilling Narrative Delivers Fascinating History
The book masterfully tells the story of the 1917 mining disaster in Butte, Montana and the dramatic rescue efforts as well as the aftermath of the accident. Interwoven through the compelling narrative is the story of the context that gave rise to the disaster - the rise of the Montana copper barons, the political disfunction that resulted from the influence of copper money on politicians, the press, and the emerging union movement of the times, and the few courageous individuals who stood up to those powers, often to their own detriment. It's a well researched, incisive history that reads like a suspense novel. One of my favorite books this year.
R**O
Leute, lest Punke!
Ich kenne bis dato keinen einzigen "hellen" Abschnitt der amerikanischen Geschichte, aber dieses Buch beschreibt einen den Dunkelsten. Kein Roman, sondern bitterste, schier unvorstellbare Wirklichkeit, perfekt dokumentiert. Punke, wie immer, recherchiert und berichtet präzise und schreibt es auch sofort, wenn es um Vermutungen und/oder unbewiesene Angaben handelt. Wheeler sollte für dessen unermüdlichen, kompromisslosen Kampf für Gerechtigkeit und gegen die Korruption ein Denkmal gesetzt und in den Geschichtsunterricht aufgenommen werden.
P**L
Spends too much time on american politics after the event (right up to the 40s and 70s)
Despite a promising start, the final half of the book deals almost exclusively with american senate politics between FDR and Wheeler. I am sure there are better books about mine disasters more concerned with the event itself.
L**E
".. we done the best we could but the cards were against us."
Non, ce n'est pas parce que Michael Punke a écrit "The Revenant" que j'ai commandé ce livre mais bien pour connaitre l'histoire de cette catastrophe minière et toute cette partie est tout à fait passionnante -- héroïsme, abnégation, fatalisme. Deux groupes de mineurs pris au piège s'emmurent volontairement au fond de la mine en attendant les secours ou la baisse des gaz toxiques pour s'échapper. L'auteur nous fait revivre l'atmosphère de la ville minière de Butte dans le Montana au début du 20è siècle et "the richest hill on earth" -- un "melting pot" fascinant -- irlandais, finlandais, serbes, croates, slovènes, autrichiens etc.et les trois "Copper Kings", William Clark, Marcus Daly et "Fritz" Heinze qui se battent pour contrôler cette fortune souterraine. Oui, les syndicats de mineurs ne peuvent rien faire contre leur cupidité, leur duplicité et leur puissance. Je suppose que l'auteur a voulu ajouter une autre dimension à son récit en introduisant plusieurs chapitres sur un homme politique du Montana, Burton K. Wheeler et nous voilà parti dans la période "New Deal". Je trouve que là on est vraiment trop loin du récit de la catastrophe minière et c'est pour ça que je n'ai pas donné cinq étoiles. Ce livre est bien documenté et à la fin l'auteur nous montre les répercussions géopolitiques sur Butte; même Salvador Allende joue un rôle dans le destin de cette ville.
A**R
This is a great book!
Loved this book! I had read the reverent and wanted to read more books from same author, really enjoyed the details and style of writing. I was gripped straight away and would recommend to anyone who enjoys stories of overcoming adversity or about ‘people’ history
B**E
Good read
I was interested in both the events leading up to the disaster and the aftermath and found the book very interesting particularly the politics of big business..
Trustpilot
2 months ago
4 days ago