Product Description

Upton Sinclair is best known for writing The Jungle -- a novel that exposes the practices of the meat packing industry that lead to governmental investigations and changed food laws in America.

King Coal is based on the 1914 and 1915 coal strikes and follows Hal Warner, a rich man who wanted a look into commoners' lives. What he found there was abhorrent -- thus begins the tale of unionization and the advocacy workers' rights. Unionization, however, is easier spoken of than it is accomplished. It was a dangerous task -- for the leaders of the coal mines were hardened men, men who would not stop at petty threats and minor violence.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #131773 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Library Journal
King Coal (1917) is to the mining world what Sinclair's The Jungle is to the meat-packing industry. Through protagonist Hal Warner, Sinclair reveals the abuses faced by immigrant mine workers.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Hal stood looking at the cheering crowd. He had time to note some of the faces upturned to him. Pitiful, toil-worn faces they were, each making its separate appeal, telling its individual story of deprivation and defeat. Once more they were transfigured, shining with that wonderful new light which he had seen for the first time the previous evening. It had been crushed for a moment, but it flamed up again; it would never die in the hearts of men--once they had learned the power it gave. Nothing Hal had yet seen moved him so much as this new birth of enthusiasm. A beautiful, a terrible thing it was!

Download Description
Hal stood looking at the cheering crowd. He had time to note some of the faces upturned to him. Pitiful, toil-worn faces they were, each making its separate appeal, telling its individual story of deprivation and defeat. Once more they were transfigured, shining with that wonderful new light which he had seen for the first time the previous evening. It had been crushed for a moment, but it flamed up again; it would never die in the hearts of men--once they had learned the power it gave. Nothing Hal had yet seen moved him so much as this new birth of enthusiasm. A beautiful, a terrible thing it was!

Customer Reviews

How He Spent His Vacation
Hal Warner is a college man who visits the coal camps of Colorado to learn what they are really like. He finds out how a traveler can be arrested and robbed of his money and watch. When he makes a friend he learns about the fear that oppresses workers in a company town. A complainer can be fired and blacklisted in the whole state. Death and crippling injuries are too common, the mine bosses ignore the state laws. Education in public schools offers a view of a wider world. Otherwise the people in these camps are like medieval serfs without their many holidays and benefits. Sinclair shows his bias against drinking, as if that was the cause of the worker's poverty instead of the result. The company preacher in the company church spoke against demon rum, but not the poverty and oppression they endured. Over-work caused "industrial drinking".

Miners were cheated on the amount of coal they produced. There was a caste system based on nationality. [Divide et impera?] The company supervisors tried to prostitute young women. Any accident is blamed on the victim. Hal gets a better job by paying off the boss. Hard physical labor dulled the mind and wearied the body. Workers were encouraged to spy on each other. An organizer for the United Mine-Workers shows up and explains why the workers need a union: to enforce the state laws that are ignored by the company bosses. In Book II Sinclair tells of the care needed to organize so the miners can get an honest weight for their coal. There had been a big strike once. The local government and state militia acted for the mine owners. Strike leaders were put in jail without being charged. Others were railroaded and left in a desert without food or water. Judges were forbidden to act! The strike was broken.

Hal learns how the votes are counted by the coal company: their man always wins! The miners decide on what to do, and how to handle the expected violence (rely on moral force). The company concocts a reason to put Hal in jail. The marshal tells Hal how the courts and jury are rigged to railroad him to prison, perfectly legal. But Hal has a surprise for the marshal. A mine explosion occurs. Sinclair describes the effects it has below and above ground. These accidents result when the company disregards the safety laws. The mine company is slow to rescue the men; there is a profit motive there (as in Cherry Illinois)! Hal is then railroaded out of town.

This fast-paced story tells about the political system that is corrupted by big corporations. Hal acts as a knight who passes many tests and difficulties to save the imperiled miners. Can people depend on the "old-school tie" to make everything right? Sinclair's writing skills have improved since "The Jungle" of 1906. This book describes life in a company town a century ago. Have things changed since" Will this past return? Sinclair is no longer totally in favor of alcohol prohibition. The examples in states showed this did not prevent the oppression that resulted in poverty.

The 'Postscript' explains this story is based on the facts observed in unorganized mining camps around the time of the great coal strike of 1913-1914. The characters are based on real persons, every incident is typical. The Colorado strike was well documented. A report by the Colorado Supreme Court told about the political repression used to control voting.

Reminiscent of a teen hero pulp novel
This is not a great book. The story is simple, the characters are clichéd, and the message hits the reader with the subtlety of a caveman's club. It is reminiscent of a teen hero pulp novel; a socialist "Red Planet" perhaps. Based on that assessment this book probably deserves two stars. On the other hand, Sinclair did do an effective job of researching and documenting the labor injustices of that era. Also, his writing style is remains remarkably fluid, even if it is not a showcase for the beauty of the English language. I enjoyed this book and learned something from it, even if it is not Sinclair's highest art.