Appalachian Fall: Dispatches from Coal Country on What’s Ailing America by Jeff Young

The basic thrust of this book is that what afflicts Appalachia is perhaps only quantitatively different from the rest of the country and that solutions for Appalachia have the potential to ward off or ameliorate problems looming for the rest of the country. The eleven chapters are interrupted with profiles of particular people who exemplify the personal impact of the issues discussed. The first two chapters deal with underground coal mining, and the profile is of a retired union miner.  The next two chapters focus on black lung and the profile is of a nurse. Then there are three chapters on wider environmental health issues with a profile of two doctors. The next three chapters deal with politics with a profile of a father-son team of activists. The book ends with a chapter exploring the concept of a “just transition” away from fossil fuels and toward a meaningful prosperity for the region. The author is Jeff Young, the managing editor of Ohio Valley ReSource, a regional journalists’ c