Member Reviews

Congratulations to author Taylor Brown for penning “Rednecks,” a very good historical novel about the early 20th century battle between miners and “King Coal.”

The time is 1920. The place is Appalachia, specifically the mountains and coal mines of West Virginia. Thousands work in those mines for low pay amidst dangerous, unhealthy conditions. The attitude of the owners and operators? If you don’t like it, work someplace else. If you complain, we’ll kick you out of the homes we’ve provided and into the street and you can go live in tents in the woods. And if you agitate for a union and better conditions? We’ll send in an army of thugs to beat and brutalize you and your families. And if you want an all-out war? Well then, we can do that too.

Hence the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest civil uprising to occur in the United States since the end of the Civil War.

Mr. Brown has delivered a finely written tale filled with lyricism, historical detail, and richly described settings. It follows the lives and activities of a number of characters involved in the conflict. Some are historical figures, like Mother Jones and Sheriff Sid Hatfield. Others are fictional composites based on real people who lived through those events. All are well-drawn and either likable or detestable, depending on what side they’re on.

Most of the novel is devoted to the confrontations and battles that took place. Readers seeking romance or comedy or a mystery to be solved won’t find that here. What readers will experience is a pro-labor, anti-capitalist story where the “good guys” are the miners (and their supporters) and the “bad guys” are the scabs, “gunmen,” detectives, citizen vigilantes, and others doing the mine owners’ bidding. Mr. Brown pulls no punches in describing the heinous tactics employed by “King Coal” or in portraying the assaults and injuries suffered.

I did think the novel decidedly one-sided and that Mr. Brown could have done more to explain the various forces at work, at both the state and national levels, in this struggle between workers and employers. Nevertheless, I’m glad to have read this story since it introduced me to much I had been unaware of concerning the history of Appalachia, its coal mines, and the American labor movement.

My thanks to NetGalley, author Taylor Brown, and publisher St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complimentary ARC. This review consists entirely of my independent opinion.

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In the early 1920s, the American soldiers who had survived the brutal trench warfare had returned from the Great War in Europe. They returned to their homes and to new lives in a rapidly urbanizing country. Except some people lived a rural existence, not much different than the lives of their parents before them. And some of those same people had spent the war deep underground in a coal mine. You see, part of the war effort required that some of the country’s fittest men continue slogging away in the mines to serve their country, whose war apparatus would come to a standstill without the power of coal.

How did the country repay these coal miners? As Rednecks brings to life, the American government fought against and dropped bombs on their own citizens as a response to their attempt to unionize against Big Coal. As they say, truth is stranger than fiction.

The Battle of Blair Mountain is not taught in schools. It was barely publicized when it occurred, for obvious reasons. But this battle on American soil that pitted the government against its own citizens is a true story that shows the perils of big business and government in cahoots.

Rednecks is a fictionalized account based on this true story and seeks to shine the light of day on a dark moment from a century ago. Before the battle and soldiers in town, first came inhumane treatment. As with other “company towns,” the company owned everything and everyone. Miners’ homes were property of the coal company, the local store would have likely offered food and other necessities on credit only, payable through paychecks. This created a situation ripe for abuse where to do anything against the coal company would leave someone destitute and homeless. Fed up with the treatment, American workers in coal mines – like in many industries – sought to unionize and better their situation.

By the opening of Rednecks, the Baldwin Miners have already been striking and the retort of the coal company is often nothing less than death or atrocious beatings. Brown builds his fictional account around a Lebanese doctor, ‘Doc Moo,’ and his family; Big Frank, a miner, and his grandmother, Miss Beulah; Sidney Hatfield; and adds to them real people like Mother Jones (1837-1930), known for her union organizing during her lifetime.

This novel is a slow burn, not unlike the conditions that lead to the ultimate conflagration. A shooting here, a response, a beating there, a response; if the town were music, it would be jazz, with the call-and-response dynamic. The miners and their families have been kicked out of their homes in town and have been living in an unsanitary tent city up in the mountains. While the coal company has all the power, the miners really have nothing to lose. Led by Big Frank, who gradually becomes more extreme over the course of the novel based on his abuse at the hands of the opposition, the miners decide to fight back with all they’ve got.

Doc Moo, originally serving as the doctor to all in the area, is ultimately forced to choose a side. History is complicated and – as the novel reminds us – the victors write the history. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a right side.

Brown’s novel is disturbing in its violence and inhumane treatment but it is not without hope, best epitomized in Doc Moo’s focus on healing and saving life even under the worst circumstances. I’d recommend this novel to anyone interested in Appalachian history and lesser told stories of American history. Not having been familiar with this author previously, I look forward to reading more from him!

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Brown’s latest work is about an event most Americans don’t know anything about. I say that having been a teacher for a long time and I’ve asked so many people if they knew this and, no, they have not.

This is a big work that covers the 1920 to 1921 in West Virginia. Specifically the Mine Wars. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest battle fought on American soil since the Civil War! Where ‘redneck’ would begin.

He blends facts with characters he has invented, old, young, black, white, and everything in between. Doc Moo for instance was Lebanese-American and a doctor working the camps. One of my favorites is Mother Jones, a legend in the union fights.

A heartbreaking story of love, loss and what people can do together. How ordinary citizens can come together to fight injustice.

Taylor Brown is from just up the road from where I am from in Georgia. Maybe that is one reason I gobble up his stories the minute I can! But I think it is because he is such a wonderful storyteller!

Netgalley/St. Martin’s Press, May 14, 2024

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Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Rednecks by Taylor Brown.

I was not prepared to read this book. At all. I knew the basic premise - an historical novel of events that took place in 1920-1921 in rural West Virginia. I wasn't prepared to want to do a deep dive into this time and place and find out what actually happened when the "redneck" miners decided to unionized and strike against the corruption rampant in the operation of the mines.

The characters are really great - I felt a kinship to the Lebanese-American doctor and his family having had my own grandparents emigrate here to the US from Syria at the turn of the 20th century. Big Frank and his family were strongly developed as well. While I knew of Mother Jones I didn't truly understand her role in much of the early 20th century and including her here worked well to explain things.

All in all a fascinating story that I had not heard before.

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I really loved this book. Maybe because my grandfather was a coal miner in West Virginia during this time period so I had heard the stories about the mine strikes and the violence. The author did a great job of bringing each of the characters, the good ones and the bad ones, to life that the reader can quickly get absorbed in the story. It was one of those books that I didn't want to end because I wanted so much for something good to happen to someone. Very well researched and provides a historical context to this terrible tragedy.

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It seems there isn't enough history books these days. This one grabbed me from the first. Especially when it is taken from real history. Anything to do with the mountains of the south are good. You feel like your standing on one of those sky high look outs and feel the wind on your face. Think of the 1800's standing there to see just trees and very few houses compared to now a days. Amazing to picture isn;t it? So your thinking how high it seems and then think of someone wanting to blow the top off that mountain you're standing on..That makes no sense does it?
Ok and some of us are always really going to root for the under dogs in a situation. But these people are trying to survive and keep their families safe and fed each day. If you call that being a redneck then we all are rednecks. I was swept away with Mr. Taylor's books and have read some of his other work, really enjoyed them and I recommend you reading this great story of the past. You won't be able to put it down. History is amazing isn't it?

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book shines a light on a historical event that most people have never heard of. And it's an important piece of history that should be more well known.
I could put myself into the scenes and really feel the characters come alive.
Well written and informative.

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In less than 10 years, author Taylor Brown has developed into a undeniable force. About every two years, he turns out a new novel that one just cannot put down. "The River of Kings" and "Gods of Howl Mountain" are two of my favorite books of recent times. I honestly did not think he would ever be able to reproduce that level of writing again. Then I received an ARC of "Rednecks", his latest novel (to be published in May 2024). Wow! Was I ever wrong in doubting his ability! I dare say Rednecks is his best work yet.
The book is set in the early 1920's, in the coal fields of West Virginia. It's the story of the underdog coal miners against, well, everyone else....the coal barons, the hired thugs of the companies, and even the government. I wasn't familiar with the "war" that went on there, but am totally shocked at it now. HOW did this happen???? It gives me a much deeper appreciation of the struggles and sacrifices of so many to unionize.
This is an incredible story! I guarantee that once you begin reading it, you will not rest until you finish it. Brown has written a great narrative of the war, using many varied characters. Each is well developed and feels real. The way he writes, you can see the landscapes, smell the gun smoke and sweat, taste the fear in the people, hear the guns as well as the silences. It's all here. You will become immersed in the settings, and actually flinch when a gun goes off in the story. At the end, you're exhausted, unaware that anyone could write to make you feel such a range of emotions. And you will sit back in your chair, take a deep breath, and realize how lucky we are today because of the sacrifices of the people before us. I'm glad Brown only releases a book every two years, I honestly need the time in between to recover from the last one!

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Rednecks is based on fact and many characters did try to help them. This story is about the coal mines and the unions trying to help the miners and, as we all know, the mine owners fought with everything they had to avoid the unions. This story takes place in West Virginia – the hardships the miners and their families had to endure – as the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song goes: You owe your soul to the company store.. The mines owned your house, all the stores you had no choice to get your items and of course not enough pay and horrible conditions to work under the ground. I believe the story was very truthful to the times but I thought it was a little too long and drawn out – I did feel sorry for those people who had to work in those mines. I am sure many of us have had a family member who worked in those mines. A ery ad and heartbreaking story.

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This is based on a true event that happened in the 1900s between coal mine workers and anti union people. I had never heard of this history of West Virginia and it's very sad. This almost became the second civil war.

I loved the characters and the prose that Brown used to describe the area as well as the lives of the inhabitants. I'm glad Brown brought this to light, it is a period in history that should not be forgotten.

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I had a bit of trouble with this book. I think it was the dialogue. I just had a really hard time following. And because of that, it made it hard to follow the story. I think the story was entertaining and it had the features to be great but just not easy to track from start to finish.

Thank you to Taylor Brown, NetGalley, and St Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

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Taylor Brown has written a compelling historical novel about the Battle of Blair Mountain, West Virginia. Although the largest battle on US soil since the Civil War, it's probably fair to say that many outside the region are not familiar with it.

The pivotal character in the book is Dr. Domit (Dr. Moo) Muhanna, a Lebanese man who came to Kentucky to go to medical school and who stayed to care for mine workers and all who needed his care. He is based upon the author's great-grandfather, who also came from Lebanon to attend medical school in Kentucky.

The year was 1920, and joining the union warranted harsh treatment -- often at gunpoint--in the minds of the coal bosses. If a man joined the union, he and his family lost their company housing and, near Blair Mountain, were moved to a tent city at the top of the hill. Contrast that to the mansions enjoyed by the mine executives.

Much of the book deals with the battle between the bosses' hired enforcers and the miners who just wanted to feed their families and house them decently. Some had just returned from fighting in World War I, and employed strategies they had learned there. Still, the Battle of Blair Mountain sounds as if it was an excruciating fight, with victory never assured for one side over the other.

The action moves quickly. Not only was the book hard to put down, it was hard to stop thinking about when I wasn't reading. I recommend "Rednecks." Taylor Brown brings history to life. I was also impressed by the book's bibliography.

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This talented author has written a page turner. This story is about a past that is not pleasant to read about. However, it happened. The title is not one I would have chosen, but it does fit the book. There are passages about events that I did not know about, or at least, I did not remember. There are characters who come alive on the pages. Thanks Netgalley.

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