I don’t find that the absent or non-existent treasure in the “empty” pit in Treasure Island is “exhausted” or that it “explodes the fantasy of open-handed nature” (110), nor do I find convincing that Nostromo, a novel in which a supposedly exhausted mine turns out to be rich in silver, fits her scheme, in large part because of the book’s emphasis upon its protagonist and Decoud. I read in another book, discussing the Senghenydd disaster: "One woman said goodbye to her husband, three sons and two brothers on the morning of 14th October 1913. Too often, the reverse was true: it prevented people working at their own rate and made human beings slaves to a relentless machine” (91).

However, the cavalier attitude to mining and the mining communities that fueled the Industrial Revolution was despicable and its reverberations continue to this day. But they would have been closed more slowly if it had not been for the strike, which also had an odd effect on the way in which the history of mining is seen. Although the author does not make the point, the early coal miners were close to slaves, working under truly dreadful and dangerous conditions. Paxman's main argument in the political sections of the book is that coal mining was unproductive and unprofitable in the 20th century long before Thatcher came to power (the peak of coal production was in 1913 then never recovered from WWI) so it is hard to see how it could have survived to the present day anyway. It sets out the history of the coal business in the UK, particularly concentrating on three aspects.

I grew up up in the South Wales valleys, with relatives and friends who worked in the mining industry . It was a world of "allotment associations, pigeon and poultry clubs, brass bands, choirs, youth organisations, whippet racing and eagerly contested giant-vegetable competitions" . It wasn't an exhaustive history and some aspects were dwelt on for longer than others - naval developments had much more coverage than railways and I was surprised that the traditional birthplace of the industrial revolution in Shropshire didn't get much of a mention. He did give a good impression of how unpleasant working in the mines was, even at such a distance from the reality, as well as the importance of coal until the late 20th century. To access your ebook(s) after purchasing, you can download the free Glose app or read instantly on your browser by logging into Glose.

Jeremy Paxman tells the story of coal mining in England, Scotland and Wales from Roman times, through the birth of steam power to war, nationalisation, pea-souper smogs, industrial strife and the picket lines of the Miner’s Strike. Mum, look what they’ve done to your coal hole,’ says one character when she sees how the new owners of a former council house have adapted the cellar. And all of it thanks to the legions of men who travelled into the earth to hew the ‘black gold’ by hand. He does not pull his punches when describing the great wealth accumulated by land owners who were lucky enough to find the black gold on their land and the sufferings imposed on the workforce.

I thought the death of coal mining in the UK was a political decision, which it certainly was, steered by Thatcher and aided by Scargill, but I had never realised that the end was simply bringing forward the inevitable.