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: 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. 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 .
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.
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 .
K**U
Must read for anyone who grew up in Montana
I originally had to read this book for a college course. I recently ordered it again and it is even better the second time around. Punke is an amazing journalist and story teller. As a journalist myself, I am always in awe the way he is able to connect MT state history to this one horrible event. His writing is smart, funny, and heartbreaking.
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.
W**N
About more then a mining disaster
This was a very interesting book where the central story was about the mining disaster but also about American politics. It is also about the corporate power versed against fledgling unions with corruption that lives on to this very day.
G**R
History of Montana even the dirty underhanded history of a great state.
Very good read. I first saw this book through my grandson. He had received it from when he went to college orientation at MSU. He brought it home and I started to read it.y wife got me the e-book and I just finished reading it.
C**D
A good account of the mine disaster but the remaining third of the book is awful.
This is a very good history of the worst hard rock mining disaster. However, the author shows a deep bias against the IWW. He portrays the union as a bunch of thugs and Frank S. Little as a hooligan. This is far from the truth. I'm not a wobbly, but a long time reader of union and western history and find his account of this part of history very wanting and biased.
E**R
Lessons learned from Butte's mining and labor history
I admire Punke's detailed and documented research and his story telling. From the intimate details of personal tragedy and triumphs to the broad scope of corporate greed and its horrible impact on workers, Punke weaves a detailed accounting of the infighting in labor's failed attempts to organize juxtaposed with the almighty power of the corporation's control of the press and working conditions.
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..
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