Coal River (book)
Encyclopedia
Coal River: How a Few Brave Americans Took on a Powerful Company–and the Federal Government–to Save the Land They Love (2008) is a book by Michael Shnayerson
.
Coal River is a work of investigative journalism
which describes an environmental controversy in southern West Virginia
, where coal
companies are using mountaintop removal mining. The book argues that towns, communities, and the environment are at risk.
Shnayerson is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair
. His books include The Car That Could: GM’s Revolutionary Electric Vehicle and The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria.
Michael Shnayerson
Michael Beahan Shnayerson is an American journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine. He is the author of several books and over 75 Vanity Fair stories since 1986. Two of his pieces for the magazine have been developed into films...
.
Coal River is a work of investigative journalism
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
which describes an environmental controversy in southern West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, where coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
companies are using mountaintop removal mining. The book argues that towns, communities, and the environment are at risk.
Shnayerson is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
. His books include The Car That Could: GM’s Revolutionary Electric Vehicle and The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria.