Menu
Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America
Next in the queue
65
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
69/100Critics
61/100Scholars
Author:
Mark A. Bradley
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Date:
October 13, 2020
The most infamous crimes in the history of American labor unions, the Yablonski murders triggered one of the most intensive and successful manhunts in FBI history â and also led to the first successful rank-and-file takeover of a major labor union in modern U.S. history, one that inspired workers in other labor unions to rise up and challenge their own entrenched, out-of-touch leaders.
What The Reviewers Say
In Blood Runs Coal, former CIA officer and Justice Department attorney Mark A. Bradley reveals the appalling story of the Yablonski murders, combining elements of true crime drama and legal thriller with a perceptive exploration of a transformative moment in modern labor history.
The author is a former Justice Department lawyer, and his writing style seldom deviates from a criminal affidavit’s dry recitation of dates and facts. But when the details are this lurid and grisly, a little understatement is probably a wise choice.
An extraordinary portrait of one of the nation’s major unions on the brink of historical change, Blood Runs Coal comes at a time of resurgent labor movements in the United States and the current administration’s attempts to bolster the fossil fuel industry. Brilliantly researched and compellingly written, it sheds light on the far-reaching effects of industrial and socioeconomic change that unfold across America to this day..
Bradley sets forth a methodical, step-by-step account of the vicious murders and Boyle’s fall from power and life imprisonment. Yablonski loyalists were able to effect some of the reforms he’d argued for, including a more effective pension plan and overall stronger union. A well-paced, thorough investigation of a half-century-old crime whose effects are still felt in the Appalachian coal fields..
