Coal has transformed societies & shaped the fate of nations. It launched empires & triggered wars. Above all it fuelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain propelling the rise of a small rural kingdom into the greatest commercial empire in the world. Taking us on a rich historical journey that begins on the banks of the river Tyne Barbara Freese explores the profound role coal has played in human history & continues to play in todays world. The first half of the book is set in Britain & tells how coal transformed Britain & ushered in the industrial age. The rest of the book looks at America & China at the birth of the unions & the closing of the mines & at the energy industry today. With oil prices on the rise & no end in sight to our insatiable appetite for energy the world is turning again to coal.