Because Wales no longer has coal mines, it provides an important precedent for Americans to study as we move into an era of independence from polluting fossil fuels.
This book is half of an ambitious project that also includes a film produced by the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University which has sponsored exchanges of coalfield people, including activists, between the two countries for four decades. The book is really an attractive multi-media presentation including charts, maps, graphics and photographs as well as interviews, reproduced articles,commentary and historical background. "Visually appealing . . . . Hansell promises no easy answers, but his optimistic work showcases multiple community-building efforts." Publishers Weekly. “After Coal is a deeply moving account of a long-term exchange between miners in the coalfields of central Appalachia and south Wales where, between 1980 and 2000, both regions lost thousands of mining jobs. Tom Hansell captures their struggles through the voices of miners and their families. He brings the reader face to face with Appalachian and Welsh coal miners whose stories will touch the reader’s heart.” - William Ferris. “A badly needed analysis of the situation where post-coal Appalachia finds itself. Books like Hansell’s are necessary to help the region move forward.”- Denise Giardina. Tom Hansell is a documentary film-maker who began his career at Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky, and now teaches at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.
Morgantown: West Virginia University Press: 2018. 237 pages with an Index, Bibliography, Notes, charts, graphs, and photos. Oversized trade paperback