Coal is West Virginia’s bread and butter. For more than a century, West Virginia has answered the energy call of the nation—and the world—by mining and exporting its coal. In 2004, West Virginia’s coal industry provided almost forty thousand jobs directly related to coal, and it contributed $3.5 billion to the state’s gross annual product. And in the same year, West Virginia led the nation in coal exports, shipping over 50 million tons of coal to twenty-three countries. Coal has made millionaires of some and paupers of many. For generations of honest, hard-working West Virginians, coal has put food on tables, built homes, and sent students to college. But coal has also maimed, debilitated, and killed. Bringing Down the Mountains provides insight into how mountaintop removal has affected the people and the land of southern West Virginia. It examines the mechanization of the mining industry and the power relationships between coal interests, politicians, and the average citizen. Shirley Stewart Burns holds a BS in news-editorial journalism, a master’s degree in social work, and a PhD in history with an Appalachian focus, from West Virginia University. A native of Wyoming County in the southern West Virginia coalfields and the daughter of an underground coal miner, she has a passionate interest in the communities, environment, and histories of the southern West Virginia coalfields. She lives in Charleston, West Virginia. " Bringing Down the Mountains is a clear and impassioned account of the devastation being visited upon the mountains of southern West Virginia by the coal industry. Read it and weep." Denise Giardina , author Storming Heaven and The Unquiet Earth "Shirley Stewart Burns. . .reminds us that the effects of certain economic practices might still be described in such old-fashioned terms as 'devastation' and 'destruction.'" Tycho de Boer , The Journal of Southern History "[Burns] exercises considerable skill in detailing the expansion of mountaintop removal (MTR) and its growing opposition." Chad Montrie , author Making a Living: Work and Environment in the United States "Burns offers a cautionary tale of the future... The crisis Burns defines has implications for all of us and for our children. This book deserves a wide audience." John H. Barnhill , Technology and Culture " Bringing Down the Mountains is one of the finest books yet regarding mountaintop removal mining and the destruction of the Appalachian culture and environment. Shirley Stewart Burns has written the most comprehensive account of the struggle that has been taking place in the coalfields of southern West Virginia and the long-term ecological and social consequences of mountaintop removal mining. It is a thoroughly researched and eloquent book that brings alive the true voices and great dignity of a courageous people." Jack Spadaro , former Superintendent of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy "Everyone in America should read this important book. Shirley Stewart Burns understands this complex issue intimately, and she eloquently explains it from all the various angles, exposing the horrors of mountaintop removal and the way it is not only destroying the heart of a place and its people, but also affecting everyone. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to educate themselves on this disturbing, irresponsible, and disrespectful form of Big Business gone awry." Silas House , author Clay's Quilt and The Coal Tattoo "Written with passion and a sense of urgency, Bringing Down the Mountains is one of the most important resources available on the causes and consequences of mountaintop removal. It is historically grounded and well-documented but also remarkably current and accessible. It is always informative and alternately infuriating and inspiring as the author recounts the incestuous power relationships between the coal industry and local and national politicians, and the courage and determination of local people fighting to save their land and heritage. This should be required reading in every high school civics classroom in West Virginia and for all who care about the future of the Appalachian coalfields." Stephen Fisher , editor Fighting Back in Appalachia: Traditions of Resistance and Change " Bringing Down the Mountains provides a powerful, fact-filled analysis of controversial mountaintop removal coal mining in the context of more than a century of social, economic and environmental injustice experience by coalfield communities. Shirley Burns shines a bright light on King Coal and its handmaidens who have exploited the vast mineral wealth of the region, reaping huge profits while coal mining communities continue to experience poverty, high unemployment, and economic distress." Patrick McGinley , West Virginia University College of Law "The common ground on mountaintop removal is as narrow as the Appalachian hollows being filled in by MTR. Those on both sides of this deep divide, however, will