Coal Dust on Your Feet - (Stories of the Susquehanna Valley) by Janet Macgaffey (Paperback)

About the Book

Coal Dust on Your Feet is a historical ethnography covering a century and a half, looking at the lives and struggles of the immigrants who came to work in the Pennsylvania anthracite mines.

Book Synopsis

Coal Dust on Your Feet is a historical ethnography covering a century and a half, looking at the lives and struggles of the immigrants who came to work in the Pennsylvania anthracite mines.

Review Quotes

Coal Dust on Your Feet is an engaging addition to the Great American story--the story of ethnic support in easing the transition to a new society and the decline of that support as generations become more and more assimilated. In her account of the peopling of a Pennsylvania mining town, Janet MacGaffey captures the critical role heritage initially played in residents' lives. But it is diluted when they overcome ethnic barriers in order to resist the economic forces that are undermining their ability to eke out a living. One of key ingredients in MacGaffey's account is the extraordinarily important part food has played in defining and perpetuating the lingering ties to peoples' origins. This is a highly readable book that can be savored by a wide audience.

MacGaffey's Coal Dust on Your Feet is a fascinating, readable account of the history of community life in the Pennsylvania coal regions. MacGaffey is a master anthropological ethnographer, committed to digging out a vast number of details about ethnicity, labor history, and the particular background of different towns. This not only provides an education for a coal region researcher like myself, it also gives us general theoretical understanding of ethnicity and class identity by anchoring insights in extensive, specific information about the people and the place. This is a masterful book that should be widely read by social scientists as well as by residents of the Lower Anthracite region.

About the Author

Janet MacGaffey is professor emeritus of anthropology at Bucknell University.