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Lost Mountain
by Erik Reece
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (2006-02-02)
ISBN: 1594489084
EAN: 9781594489082
Dewy Decimal #: 622.2920974
Hardcover: 272 pages
SKU: 081808010
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: ...No noticeable Underlining or Highlighting...light shelf wear on dustjacket
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
A groundbreaking work of literary nonfiction that exposes how radical strip mining is destroying one of America's most precious natural resources and the communities that depend on it.
The mountains of Appalachia are home to one of the great forests of the world-they predate the Ice Age and scientists refer to them as the "rainforests" of North America for their remarkable density and species diversity. These mountains also hold the mother lode of American coal, and the coalmining industry has long been the economic backbone for families in a region hard-pressed for other job opportunities. But recently, a new type of mining has been introduced-"radical strip mining," aka "mountaintop removal"-in which a team employing no more than ten men and some heavy machinery literally blast off the top of a mountain, dump it in the valley below, and scoop out the coal.
Erik Reece chronicles the year he spent witnessing the systematic decimation of a single mountain, aptly named "Lost Mountain." A native Kentuckian and the son of a coal worker, Reece makes it clear that strip mining is neither a local concern nor a radical contention, but a mainstream crisis that encompasses every hot-button issue-from corporate hubris and government neglect, to class conflict and poisoned groundwater, to irrevocable species extinction and landscape destruction. Published excerpts of Lost Mountain are already driving headlines and legislative action in Kentucky.
In Erik Reece, the mountains of Kentucky have found an eloquent and powerful spokesman in the tradition of Edward Abbey, Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, and Henry David Thoreau. Like the work of those writers before him, Lost Mountain will stand as a landmark defense of a natural treasure-and a core part of our national identity-on the verge of extinction, and as the introduction of a mighty new literary voice.
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Customer Reviews
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Appalachians Vanishing
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-11-20
Erik Reece has written a heart gripping story of our beloved mountains that are being destroyed by the major powerful coal companies. It's heart breaking to read of Ollie Combs being hauled off her land by her arms and legs.
Erik chronicles the year he spent witnessing and observing the decimation of Lost Mountain in Perry County, Kentucky.
It takes no more than ten men and some heavy machinery to blast off a top of the mountain, dump it in the valleys, scoop out the coal and the environmental results are devastating on a unprecedented scale.
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A Mixed Bag with some Good Points
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-11-09
"Lost Mountain" is a rather interesting book in the fact it deals with my own native region. Erik Reese displays talented penmanship and gives readers the feel of being there to see the events taking place. And Reese does have some good points to make. The coal industry has certainly commited abuses as is evidenced by a major coal slurry spill near Wolf Creek a number of years back. Eastern Kentucky is on average a poorer region than many others in the United States (though this had sadly led to many exaggerated sterotypes and "documentaries" which tell only a segment of the story while excluding the bigger picture). Reese also provides interesting descriptions of wildlife in our beautiful mixed mesophylic forests.
Regretfully, I can not bring myself to give Reese's book a completely positive review for a number of reasons. First of all, I would caution readers that Reese presents a largely one sided view of the story and they should also seek out opposing viewpoints for balance. I believe that the environment needs to be protected, but there are both good and bad points to mountaintop removal. I type this review in a house likely built upon formerly mined land. A certain amount of tradeoff must be made until coal can realistically be replaced as a major energy source (hopefully sooner in my view rather than later). Likewise, I have heard an acquiatance of mine who formally worked in the coal industry criticise Reese's criticism of how earth is packed. Also I feel Reese's apparent allegations of political corruption need more evidence behind them. Those points don't make Reese's book worthless. He has some good points as well. In fact I have seen in particular one location in which orangish water (possibly from mines) has surfaced. And coal is generally quite a dirty burning fuel. I think we need to put more effort into finding alternatives.
Also, I found Reese's occasional jabs at religion annoying and thought his pantheistic/agnostic philosphical musings did nothing to further his points. Having read an essay Reece wrote on Jefferson's "bible" and "The Gospel of Thomas", it appears the author has some deep personal issues with mainstream Christianity. In the essay, he attempts to use an early gospel of Thomas (his opinion on the dating is at best highly questionable and he doesn't mention the many noted scholars who disagree with him here) to form a version of Christianity that looks suspiciously in his own image. Incidently, a countering letter to the editor in Harpers criticised Reece's position even if Thomas had an early dating. Thankfully, in "Lost Mountain" Reeces views on religion aren't stated to the point where they completely ruined my reading experience.
Some of Reese's information is dated as well. For instance, a company he mentions leaving Perry County for Latin America has since returned. I could mention a few other points but I'll let this suffice for now.
Over all, an informative and well-written book about an important subject but also a one sided work with a number of problems.
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Lost Mountain
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-02-22
Erik Reece's "Lost Mountain" is a metaphor as well as the actual name of a mountain. This is his story for a year in eastern Kentucky as the mountain "is removed."
This is not just another tale of woe about Big Coal, about coal mining or about mining in general. Reece knows that mining is here to stay, whether it is coal, copper, iron, nickel or bauxite.
The focus here is on a special type of mining: mountaintop removal and valley fills. This type of mining came into being in the early 1990's when massive, powerful equipment and the technology to support it made this type of mining possible.
This type of mining has the capability to destroy the topography of planet Earth. Our descendants, hundreds and thousands of years from now will still be living with the effects of mountain top removal and valley fills.
The fact that the central and southern Appalachian Mountains are for now, the mountain range most affected by this type of mining holds a special irony. The Appalachians are one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth. The mix of flora and fauna has evolved over a long period of time. A rich mix of species includes more species of salamander, more species of bats, birds, butterflies, fish than any other place in the United States.
Mountain top removal and valley fills destroy the land. Trees and vegetation get stripped and removed. The rich,layered soil gets dumped, along with broken-up rock into ravines and valleys where it blocks springs, intermittent streams, vernal pools and bogs. Watersheds and drainage patterns are destroyed. The complex ecological structure that took so long to evolve and which provides different ecological niches that support many different species can be destroyed after a day of mountain top removal.
It will take centuries and millenia for land so damaged to emerge. Until then, only the very roughest species of flora and fauna can tolerate such poor conditions, a much-narrowed spectrum of life-forms.
Read Erik Reece's book and get mad. And then do something about it. This type of mining needs to be stopped.
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Enjoyable, but not the best.
Rating (3)
Date: 2008-02-08
4 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
I am graduate engineer with three decades experience in the Eastern Appalachian Coal Fields. I have managed both surface and underground mines; I have inspected impoundments, designed hundreds of ponds and roads, and helped assemble a hundred environmental permits. I occasionally try to read a few "green" books about my region and my career/profession. I think it's interesting to entertain different opinions and gain different perspectives in life. So this is not a glowing review given just because I believe in the author's view point. There are several problems with the story and several misconceptions.
As usual in these type books, a basic tenant of our history, government, and way of life is forgotten: The right to own property and to do with as they please (with in reason). The land companies, coal companies, private citizens, and others own the right to mine these reserves. As noted in the book, it has taken time to define the extent of each party's rights but no permits are granted until the mining company proves they have the legal right to enter the property. Unlike the author who acknowledges trespassing and illegally entering private property. It can be argued that he only put himself at risk but what if he had been hurt or killed. The blame would have been placed on the blaster and the mine managers. They would have suffered potential civil and criminal penalties and most likely sleepless nights over someone's death.
Most of the mining references, terms, technical references, and descriptions of what the author observed are at best..... not too far off but mostly wrong. The author does acknowledge a complete lack of technical training and background and offers to address any technical errors........I wonder where? In a public notice in the local paper to run for four weeks to allow for 60 days of public comment by any interested party, just like every coal operator is required to do with every permit application.
Regarding the property rights issue....as already discovered by the Black Mountain protests in the mid 90s, the property owners have the rights to recover lost opportunities and lost profits. Want to really hurt Kentucky's poor? Take away the mining generated jobs, tax payments to the state and federal coffers, and make the public, i.e. us....... Pay the millions of dollars due the land owners for a taking of their property rights, investments and anticipated profits.
"Night Comes to The Cumberland's" is mentioned here and in every other environmentally themed Appalachian book that reaches for greatness. The problem is Yes.....as driven home by NCTC, conditions were bad and some things were grossly unjust during that time, but who built the railroads, the roads, the towns, the homes, the stores, the theaters, the schools, the golf courses? The land companies, the coal companies, and the private investors did.
Coal mining reclamation is a relatively new science and will continue to change, evolve, and get better. The early days of black locust and lespedeza grasses are long gone. Arch, the enemy, brought elk back to eastern Kentucky, nobody else. ARRI as mentioned in the book's conclusion is a new idea. Contrary to the author's belief, this new direction in reforestation is being funded and promoted in part by .....omg......coal companies. One villain in particular TECO Coal, has taken a lead in eastern Kentucky along with industry from Virginia and West Virginia. The author infers that the industry is slow to change, just try and get a bureaucrat to change.
In one instance the author does present new thoughts and covers new ground for the outside non coal world. The amount of coal generated taxes and government revenue is staggering. Of all the proposed indignities, suffering, and immoral actions put forward in this book the uneven distribution of this revenue stream is unforgivable. A look at OSM's website indicates that the US coal industry has generated over 7 billon dollars (2005). Of that almost 2 billion is being held by the government. Wise use of resources........NO!
The author also seems to understand the paradox we are caught in. America's greatness is partially driven by cheap energy. This relatively cheap economic cost is supported by abundant natural resources and a relentless drive to make productivity gains. Few will go back to using wood and corn shucks to heat their homes, willing anyway.
This leads to the final weak part of the book. Give global warming a rest. Science has almost caught up with the media frenzy. At some point in the next decade we will decide what we can do to live and adapt with global warming. It's not all bad. It's happened before and at some point temperatures will cycle up and down again. Despite our best intentions. We need to quit pissing money away on political knee jerk reactions. These economic costs and actions will hurt the poor folk that the author wants to save more than anybody. Solar, wind, or thermal will not provide the amount of energy required. They cost too much and the technology is not there. Like it or not coal power is here to stay unless the country makes a huge paradigm shift. Then in about a century we will be forced to embrace nuclear power again until finally at some point in the future one of our great great great great great grandkids will come up with a solution to provide cheap safe energy. Most likely, the future Einstein will be an engineer, not a biologist.
As I said in the title, good but not great. Certainly an enjoyable book. It was fun to see friends quoted, even if they begrudgingly appear.
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a call to action
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-02-06
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Erik Reece's Lost Mountain is a classic of beautifully written, heartfelt reporting that calls on all American citizens to confront the outrage of mountaintop removal. His book demonstrates, once again, how corporate power will destroy people, nature, culture and the hope of the future for the sake of short term profits. Reece equally indicts the complacency and complicity of a larger culture (all of us) which accepts a lifestyle built on such insane, literally, destruction. Mountaintop removal is the ultimate price that people pay when they believe that the reality of their their lives and their values are found in economy rather than in nature. This great book should be required reading for every American, and then every American should demand an end to mountaintop removal and demand an economy based in conservation and renewable energy.
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