Storming Heaven Mass market paperbound - 1988

First line

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From the jacket flap

Annadel, West Virginia, was a small town rich in coal, farms, and close-knit families, all destroyed when the coal company came in. It stole everything it hadn't bothered to buy -- land deeds, private homes, and ultimately, the souls of its men and women.
Four people tell this powerful, deeply moving tale: Activist Mayor C.J. Marcum. Fierce, loveless union man Rondal Lloyd. Gutsy nurse Carrie Bishop, who loved Rondal. And lonely, Sicilian immigrant Rose Angelelli, who lost four sons to the deadly mines.They all bear witness to nearly forgotten events of history, culminating in the final, tragic Battle of Blair Mountain -- when the United States Army greeted 10,000 unemployed pro-union miners with airplanes, bombs, and poison gas. It was the first crucial battle of a war that has yet to be won.
"Brilliant, diamond-hard fiction, heartwrenching, tough and tender." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

Media reviews

"Brilliant diamond-hard fiction, heartwrenching, tough and tender."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"THIS IS THE GRIPPING STORY OF A REAL CONFLICT. . . . Denise Giardina tells the miners' stirring story with a fierceness and passion. This is a fine, moving book."
--ANNIE DILLARD

"If we are very lucky, every few years there arrives a novel that is so moving, so instantly successful . . . that it towers high over much else that is being published. Storming Heaven is that novel."
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"An excellent book, full of fine observations and vivid characters . . . Giardina is a gifted writer."
--Chicago Tribune


From the Trade Paperback edition.