Other editions of book King Coal

A fellow determined to find the truth for himself about conditions in the mines, runs away from home and adopts the alias "Joe Smith." After being turned away by one coal mine for fear of Hal being a union organizer, he gets a job in another coal mine operated by the General Fuel Company, or GFC. In the mines he befriends many of the workers, and realizes their misery and exploitation at the hands of the bosses. What he found there was abhorrent -- thus begins the tale of unionization and the advocacy workers' rights. Unionization, however, is easier spoken of than it is accomplished. It was a dangerous task -- for the leaders of the coal mines were hardened men, men who would not stop at petty threats and minor violence.

Upton Sinclair is one of the writers of the present time most deserving of a sympathetic interest. He shows his patriotism as an American, not by joining in hymns to the very conditional kind of liberty peculiar to the United States, but by agitating for infusing it with the elixir of real liberty, the liberty of humanity. He does not limit himself to a dispassionate and entertaining description of things as they are. But in his appeals to the honour and good-fellowship of his compatriots, he opens their eyes to the appalling conditions under which wage-earning slaves are living by the hundreds of thousands. His object is to better these unnatural conditions, to obtain for the very poorest a glimpse of light and happiness, to make even them realise the sensation of cosy well-being and the comfort of knowing that justice is to be found also for them. This time Upton Sinclair has absorbed himself in the study of the miner's life in the lonesome pits of the Rocky Mountains, and his sensitive and enthusiastic mind has brought to the world an American parallel to GERMINAL, Emile Zola's technical masterpiece. The conditions described in the two books are, however, essentially different.

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Upton Sinclair is one of the not too many writers who have consecrated their lives to the agitation for social justice, and who have also enrolled their art in the service of a set purpose. A great and non-temporizing enthusiast, he never flinched from making sacrifices. Now and then he attained great material successes as a writer, but invariably he invested and lost his earnings in enterprises by which he had hoped to ward off injustice and to further human happiness. Though disappointed time after time, he never lost faith nor courage to start again.

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Sinclair most famous novel, The Jungle, was a written as a scathing indictment of the corruption within Chicago's meatpacking industry. Similarly, King Coal is a book about social justice; it is ultimately a denunciation of the coal-mining industry in Colorado. Like The Jungle, King Coal was inspired by a true event. In 1913, tensions due to a miners' strike turned lethal, and many, including women and children, were killed. The novel follows the wealthy young Hal Warner, who journeys to the coal mines of Colorado to learn what they are like. He is stunned by the exceedingly poor working conditions and the dishonest and cruel nature of the supervisors. State laws are ignored, safety is non-existent, and injuries and deaths are quickly swept under the rug. The wages are poor, and the company bosses cheat the workers out of their fair share. Incensed, Hal forms ties with the workers and goes against the mine owners, who are in cahoots with the local government and the authorities, to help workers unionize and strike to gain fair treatment and better wages. Then, a shocking incident occurs that no one is prepared for... Upton Sinclair was a journalist and an advocate for socialism. He ran for office (both the governor's seat and for congress) several times. However, his most successful political activism took place through his writing. His novels championed the socialist cause and brought to light the many problems behind a capitalist culture. Title: King Coal Author: Upton Sinclair ISBN: 9781775420484 Version: Unabridged Language: English Reader: Solo Female Format: MP3 Audio DVD Tracks / Chapters: 44 Chapters Total running time: 14:02:55

Upton Sinclair is one of the not too many writers who have consecrated their lives to the agitation for social justice, and who have also enrolled their art in the service of a set purpose. A great and non-temporizing enthusiast, he never flinched from making sacrifices. Now and then he attained great material successes as a writer, but invariably he invested and lost his earnings in enterprises by which he had hoped to ward off injustice and to further human happiness. Though disappointed time after time, he never lost faith nor courage to start again.

Upton Sinclair (1878 - 1968) wrote over 90 books in several genres. He was considered to be a leading social advocate. Because of his novel The Jungle, which dealt with conditions in the meat packing industry, The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed. Upton Sinclair has once again taken on an American cause. He writes about the life in the coal mining area of the Rocky Mountains. The miners are a varied group of European immigrants speaking various languages, making it difficult for them to unite in order to protect themselves against being exploited by the mining company. A young upper class American tries to get work in the mines so that he can observe for himself what the conditions are like.

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