Anywhere but Schuylkill by Michael Dunn

 

 

Welcome to a stop on the Coffeepot Blog Tour forMichael Dunn’s Anywhere but Schuylkill. I have a great review for you, so getcomfy and settle in to check out this great book.

 

The Details  

BookTitle: Anywhere But Schuylkill

Series:The Great Upheaval Trilogy

Author:Michael Dunn

PublicationDate: September 25, 2023

Publisher:Historium Press

PageLength: 301

Genre:Historical Fiction 

 

 

 

The Blurb:  

In1877, twenty Irish coal miners hanged for a terrorist conspiracy that neveroccurred. AnywhereBut Schuylkill is the story of one who escaped, Mike Doyle, a teenagertrying to keep his family alive during the worst depression the nation has everfaced. Banks and railroads are going under. Children are dying of hunger. TheReading Railroad has slashed wages and hired Pinkerton spies to infiltrate theminers’ union. And there is a sectarian war between rival gangs. But none ofthis compares with the threat at home. 

 

My Review:  

Thankyou to the author and Coffee Pot Book Tours for providing a review copy of thisbook.

TheShort Story: Gritty, violent and heart-wrenching story of life in a 19thcentury mining town. 

Anywhere but Schuylkill is the aptlynamed story of young Mike Doyle, son of a Pennsylvania coal miner. After hisfather is killed in a mine explosion, Mike and his family move in with hisviolent uncle, Sean. Always one pay packet away from hunger the familyscrabbles to make ends meet. The threat of strikes, violence from rival gangs,and death or injury in the mines hangs over his young head daily. Any hope thatyoung Mike has of creating a better life is slowly crushed until it seems toofar out of reach. 

AuthorMichael Dunn draws a dark, terrible image of life in coal country. The story isas compelling as it is hard to read. This book should be requisite reading foranyone who longs for ‘the good ole days’. Short, brutish and apt to endviolently, life in Schuylkill Country was anything but good. The historicaldetail is fantastic and the story itself moves along. It’s not an easy readerand not for those looking for a light-hearted tale. The characters are, for themost part, morally gray, including young Mike. I’d like to tell you there is ahappy ending but I can’t. 

Irecommend this to serious readers of American history looking of realisticdepictions of 19th century life. 

Irate this book 4 ½ stars rounding up to 5 for Amazon

 

 

Buy Links: 

UniversalBuy Link: https://books2read.com/u/496Ag0 

Historium Press: https://www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/hp-authors/michael-dunn

 

Author Bio:

 

Michael Dunn writesWorking-Class Fiction from the Not So Gilded Age. Anywhere But Schuylkillis the first in his Great Upheaval trilogy. A lifelong union activist, he hasalways been drawn to stories of the past, particularly those of regular workingpeople, struggling to make a better life for themselves and their families.

 

Stories most people do notknow, or have forgotten, because history is written by the victors, the robberbarons and plutocrats, not the workers and immigrants. Yet their stories areamong the most compelling in America. They resonate today because they are thestories of our own ancestors, because their passions and desires, struggles andtragedies, were so similar to our own.

 

When Michael Dunn is notwriting historical fiction, he teaches high school, and writes about laborhistory and culture.

 

Author Links: 

Website:https://michaeldunnauthor.com/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/MikeDunnAuthor

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Michael.Dunn.Fiction

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldunnauthor/

AmazonAuthor Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-Dunn/author/B0CJXGQYZ8

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45063197.Michael_Dunn