[b:Storming Heaven|890210|Storming Heaven|Denise Giardina|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320402113l/890210._SY75_.jpg|875459] is [a:Denise Giardina|173610|Denise Giardina|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1283874016p2/173610.jpg]’s depiction of the events surrounding the Blair Mountain uprising in Logan County, West Virginia, an attempt to unionize the coal industry in the early 1920s, and the largest labor uprising in American history.

I seem to have read an unusual number of books about this time period and the fights of the coal miners to have union representation. [b:The Women of the Copper Country|42201959|The Women of the Copper Country|Mary Doria Russell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563099546l/42201959._SY75_.jpg|65814455] came to mind, as did [b:River of Earth|77589|River of Earth|James Still|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388511299l/77589._SY75_.jpg|74948]. Both of these books set a high bar, and in the end, [b:Storming Heaven|890210|Storming Heaven|Denise Giardina|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320402113l/890210._SY75_.jpg|875459] cleared it.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is very slow and introduces each of the characters in chapters told from their individual points of view. I was seriously thinking this was going to be a 3-star read for me, then I hit Part Two and the story picked up. By Part Three, all the groundwork laid in the first section fell into place and the story began to gel, to move, to mean. I take the time to say all of this, because I encourage you not to judge this book until you have come through the first part--it’s the appetizer and you are going to get a full meal behind it.

The plight of the miners, the greed and disregard of the men who stole their land and turned them into slave labor, the indifference of the government to the rights or welfare of these people, all ring true. The twenties were hard times in Appalachia. I stopped to wonder if there have ever been times that were not hard in Appalachia.

The hardships are offset by the portrayals of life on the farms, in nature, and with the family. The dynamics between the family members and the closeness and love of the people for one another succeed in lending a lighter tone to portions of the novel and help to emphasize how the coming of the coal industry and the company stores changed the lives they swallowed.

I ended this novel both impressed and emotionally involved with the characters. I particularly love the strength and resilience of Carrie Bishop. Aunt Jane would be proud.

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A really interesting and informative book about the coal mines in West Virginia during the 1920s. A great novel for the history of this state's most important resource. ( )

Storming Heaven is a story told through four different characters about working in a coal mine in West Virginia. The story centers around the hardships face by the workers and their families; sickness, being cheated out of pay, and anger at the companies that have taken over their land. A little slow going in some places, but worth reading. ( )

Giardina traces the lives of four intertwined characters in a fictionalized version of the Matewan massacre and the Battle of Blair Mountain. The book starts a little slow as it mostly seems to be short "slice of life" commentaries on life in the coal camps in the early 20th century. The settings are vivid and mostly true-to-life; the dialect was definitely written by one who has heard and spoken the unique Appalachian slang.

While the book was strong, I wonder how different it might have been had one of the characters been a non-union person (perhaps the wife of a mine owner, instead of the not-really-useful-to-the-story immigrant narrator). It was also interesting in that most of the characters never saw themselves as part of a larger cause -- they were just living life (or perhaps avoiding death) one day at a time. The afterword summarizes the lives and deaths of most of the characters, being written years later during a mineworkers' strike -- showing that this labor battle has not yet played out. ( )

Annadel, West Virginia, was a small town rich in coal,m farms, and close-knit families, all destroyed when the coal companies came in. It stole everything it hadn't bothered to buy-land, deeds, private homes, and , ultimately, the soulds of its men and women.
Four people tell this powerful, deeply moving tale: Activist Mayor C. J. Marcum, fierce, loveless union man Rondal Lloyd, gutsy nurse Carrie Bishop, who loved Rondal. And lonely Sicilian immigrant Rosa Angelelli, who lost four sons to the deadly mines.
THey all bear witness to nearly forgotten events of history, culminating in the final, tragic Battle of Blair Mountain=when the United States Army greeted 10,000 unemployed pro-union miners with airplanes, bombs, and poison gas. It was the first crucial battle of a war that has yet to be won. ( )