| These Poor Hands: The Autobiography of a Miner Working in South Wales Revised Edition Contributor(s): Coombes, B. L. (Author), Jones, Bill (Editor), Williams, Chris (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0708315631 ISBN-13: 9780708315637 Publisher: University of Wales Press OUR PRICE: $24.75 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2011 Annotation: First published in June 1939, this autobiography became an instant bestseller and catapulted its author, B. L. Coombes, into the front rank of proletarian writers. Coombes, an English-born migrant, had lived in the Vale of Neath since before World War I, but only turned to writing in the 1930s as a way of communicating the plight of the miners and their communities to the wider world. The result is a work that has been recognized for more than 60 years as a classic miner's autobiography. In this new edition, a scholarly introduction and textual notes accompany the original story. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Social History - History | Europe - Great Britain - General - Biography & Autobiography | Historical |
| Dewey: 622.334 |
| Series: Autobiography of a Miner in South Wales |
| Physical Information: 0.53" H x 6.04" W x 8.44" (0.55 lbs) 207 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: First published in 1939, These Poor Hands was an instant best-seller, catapulting its author, B. L. Coombes, to the front rank of proletarian writers. Coombes was born in England, but he lived for decades in the Vale of Neath in south Wales, and as the economic problems of the 1930s deepened, he turned to writing as a way to spread the word about the plight of miners and their communities to a wider world. Presenting the daily lives of miners in documentary fashion, with special attention to the damaging lockouts of 1921 and 1926, These Poor Hands retains the power to astonish readers with its description of the ways that unfettered capitalism can lay waste to human potential. |
Contributor Bio(s): Jones, Bill: - Bill Jones is reader in modern Welsh history at Cardiff University. Williams, Chris: - Chris Williams is professor of history at Cardiff University. |