Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917

The book masterfully tells the story of the 1917 mining disaster in Butte, Montana and the dramatic rescue efforts as well as the aftermath of the accident. Interwoven through the compelling narrative is the story of the context that gave rise to the disaster - the rise of the Montana copper barons, the political disfunction that resulted from the influence of copper money on politicians, the press, and the emerging union movement of the times, and the few courageous individuals who stood up to those powers, often to their own detriment. It's a well researched, incisive history that reads like a suspense novel. One of my favorite books this year.

Fantastic story, well researched. The author does a wonderful job telling not only the story of the horrific fire and working conditions faced by the miners but also of the political climate at the time.Well worth a read .

He kept asking how I found tge book. An online friend is from Butte and shared the podcast so I looked for paperback. My husband said it was incredibly interesting!

Superb book by a truly great author about people my grandad would have known in his day working for Marcus Daly as his hack driver. Grandad Mke Ryan loved "Mister Daly" and said he was a kind, caring gentleman who cared about his workers unlike Clark who was the opposite. This book gripped me from the get go and never let me loose. I go to the graveyard where the folks in this story are buried and reflect on their lives and am happy that their story is so well told. It's a tribute to us who worked in this area and lived and died with the old copper collar around our necks. "Heres to the hearts and souls of the men who came with the dust and left with the wind" and died in the dark belows. Tap er light. Now if the author would sign my book before I have to hunt him down in Missoula.

This was a very interesting book where the central story was about the mining disaster but also about American politics. It is also about the corporate power versed against fledgling unions with corruption that lives on to this very day.

I admire Punke's detailed and documented research and his story telling. From the intimate details of personal tragedy and triumphs to the broad scope of corporate greed and its horrible impact on workers, Punke weaves a detailed accounting of the infighting in labor's failed attempts to organize juxtaposed with the almighty power of the corporation's control of the press and working conditions.

I bought a paperback copy of this book, Fire and Brimstone, from Amazon. The picture shows a black cover with a gallows or mining frame. When I received the book I was happy to find that the cover of the book I bought was actually a picture of the original hardcover book. The problem is that I had bought, in the meantime, a hardcopy so I want to sell the paperback book; however, I cannot find a paperback cover with the real cover, i.e., same as the hard copy. It's not really a big deal except that it is NOT accurate to portray a book with the wrong cover, and no way to change it except with a wordy explanation about the cover that is difficult to explain unless you are familiar with the original; cover..

I originally had to read this book for a college course. I recently ordered it again and it is even better the second time around. Punke is an amazing journalist and story teller. As a journalist myself, I am always in awe the way he is able to connect MT state history to this one horrible event. His writing is smart, funny, and heartbreaking.

Loved this book! I had read the reverent and wanted to read more books from same author, really enjoyed the details and style of writing. I was gripped straight away and would recommend to anyone who enjoys stories of overcoming adversity or about ‘people’ history

Despite a promising start, the final half of the book deals almost exclusively with american senate politics between FDR and Wheeler. I am sure there are better books about mine disasters more concerned with the event itself.

Ich kenne bis dato keinen einzigen "hellen" Abschnitt der amerikanischen Geschichte, aber dieses Buch beschreibt einen den Dunkelsten. Kein Roman, sondern bitterste, schier unvorstellbare Wirklichkeit, perfekt dokumentiert. Punke, wie immer, recherchiert und berichtet präzise und schreibt es auch sofort, wenn es um Vermutungen und/oder unbewiesene Angaben handelt.Wheeler sollte für dessen unermüdlichen, kompromisslosen Kampf für Gerechtigkeit und gegen die Korruption ein Denkmal gesetzt und in den Geschichtsunterricht aufgenommen werden.

Non, ce n'est pas parce que Michael Punke a écrit "The Revenant" que j'ai commandé ce livre mais bien pour connaitre l'histoire de cette catastrophe minière et toute cette partie est tout à fait passionnante -- héroïsme, abnégation, fatalisme. Deux groupes de mineurs pris au piège s'emmurent volontairement au fond de la mine en attendant les secours ou la baisse des gaz toxiques pour s'échapper. L'auteur nous fait revivre l'atmosphère de la ville minière de Butte dans le Montana au début du 20è siècle et "the richest hill on earth" -- un "melting pot" fascinant -- irlandais, finlandais, serbes, croates, slovènes, autrichiens etc.et les trois "Copper Kings", William Clark, Marcus Daly et "Fritz" Heinze qui se battent pour contrôler cette fortune souterraine. Oui, les syndicats de mineurs ne peuvent rien faire contre leur cupidité, leur duplicité et leur puissance.Je suppose que l'auteur a voulu ajouter une autre dimension à son récit en introduisant plusieurs chapitres sur un homme politique du Montana, Burton K. Wheeler et nous voilà parti dans la période "New Deal". Je trouve que là on est vraiment trop loin du récit de la catastrophe minière et c'est pour ça que je n'ai pas donné cinq étoiles.Ce livre est bien documenté et à la fin l'auteur nous montre les répercussions géopolitiques sur Butte; même Salvador Allende joue un rôle dans le destin de cette ville.

I was interested in both the events leading up to the disaster and the aftermath and found the book very interesting particularly the politics of big business..