The Real Disaster Is Above Ground: A Mine Fire and Social Conflict

by J. Stephen Kroll-Smith

Book by J. Stephen Kroll-Smith, Stephen Robert Couch

Hardcover

First published March 1, 1990

Reviews

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose to read this book for my anthropology class because I live relatively close to Centralia and wanted to learn more about the problem. Nonetheless, the book was more about the community falling apart and not about anything that really interested me. Honestly, the authors became quite repetitive with their insights into the "real disaster" and never answered questions that interested me like: in what jobs did these people work if coal mining was dead? (or was the end of coal mining an assumption on my part?) and where were these people relocated to? It was ok if you don't mind reading the same old conclusion for every chapter. I guess I also have the perspective of reading this 30 years after the book was written, but I could hardly feel any sympathy for the "cold side" residents.

[Danny Mcmurphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about this book is the attention the authors' paid to the history of Centralia and how this history factored into the ways the residents divided over what to to about the mine-fire. I like the story more than the jargon of sociology. It's a close-up look at the troubles small towns face when disaster creeps up on them.