War and Work Bibliography

 Archer, Bill, “Coal Heritage Trail,” Wonderful West Virginia Magazine, January 2000. Very good overview of the colorful history of the area along WV Route 16, also known as the Coal Heritage Trail, with excellent photographs. Available online at http://www.wvtrails.com/fea1.cfm

 Bowman, Mary, Reference Book of Wyoming County (Parsons, WV: McClain Publishing, 1965).

 Bradley, James, with Ron Powers, Flags of Our Fathers (New York: Bantam Books, 2000). An excellent biography of the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, by the son of one of the men.

 Brokaw, Tom, The Greatest Generation (New York: Random House, 1998). Good coverage of Europe but very little about the South Pacific campaign.

 Day, Heather, “Thriving coal town still home in the hearts of its remaining townsfolk,” Beckley (WV) Raleigh Register/Post-Herald, 16 February 1996. Short history of Amigo, which lies just south of Helen on Route 16.

 Dillon, Lacy A., They Died in the Darkness (Coal Books, 1992).

 Frank, Richard B., Guadalcanal: A Definitive Account of a Landmark Battle (New York: Random House, 1990).  An excellent, exhaustive history of the battle.

 Giardina, Denise. The Unquiet Earth (New York: Ivy Books, 1994).

 Hammel, Eric, Guadalcanal: Starvation Island (New York: Crown Publishers, 1987).

 Lunt, Richard D., Law & Order vs. the Miners: WV 1906-1933 (Charleston, WV: Appalachian Editions, 1992).

 Haga, Pauline, “Looking back at Helen,” Beckley (WV) Raleigh Register/Post-Herald, 11 January 1996.  Reprints the 1920 Helen census, with comments about some of the residents.

 Haga, Pauline, A Tribute to the Coal Miner, Volumes 1-4 (Crab Orchard, WV: self-published). An ongoing series reprinting pictures and articles about the coal mining region.

 Henderson, Catherine, “Uncle Jack’s Legacy,” Wonderful West Virginia, September 1996, at 15. Excellent brief history of the Mullens area.

 Hickam, Homer, The Coalwood Way (New York: Dell Publishing Co., 2000). The follow-up to his book Rocket Boys. His description of a coal camp boyhood is very true to life. 

 Hickam, Homer, Rocket Boys (New York: Delacorte Press, 1998). An excellent book, the basis for the movie October Sky. Four friends work to escape the grime and uncertainty of a life in the coal mines at the beginning of the race to the moon.

 Hoyt, Edwin P., Guadalcanal (New York: Stein & Day, 1981).

 Jackson, Ralph Neal, “Life in Hell: A brief sketch of the living conditions on Guadalcanal as experienced by a United States Marine in World War II” (1991, unpublished, available from the author). A brief but very interesting profile of M.O. “Mo” Darsey by a University of Georgia student. 

 Kline, Michael, “Growing Up on Cabin Creek: An Interview with Arnold Miller,” reprinted in The Goldenseal Book of the West Virginia Mine Wars (Charleston, WV: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1991).

 Leckie, Robert, Strong Men Armed (New York: Random House, 1962).

 McMillan, George, The Old Breed (Washington, D.C.: Infantry Publishing Co., 1949).

 Miller, James Edward, My Autobiography (1990, unpublished).

 Miller, John, Jr., Guadalcanal, the First Offensive (New York: Kanecky and Kanecky, 1949).

 Nicholas, John, Guadalcanal Online: The Battles of the USMC and US Army on Land [online]. Available online at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/6672/canal/land/canal_toc.html  Excellent overview of the campaign, with many historic photographs.

 Richmond, Melissa, “Families have always been close,” Beckley (WV) Raleigh Register/Post-Herald, 12 December 1995. Short piece about Helen, with comments from an interview with the author.

 Richter, Don, The Sun Stood Still (Tawe, CA: Tucan Publishing, 1992).

 Savage, Lon, Thunder in the Mountains: The West Virginia Mine War 1920-21 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990).  Raleigh and Wyoming counties were spared much of the chaos of the “mine wars” but this is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of southern West Virginia.

Starks, Kerry, “There’s not many of us now but we all stick together,” Beckley (WV) Raleigh Register/Post-Herald, 1 August 1995.  Brief interviews and history of Ury (Cooktown), located on WV Route 16 between Tams and Helen.

Tams, W.P. Jr., The Smokeless Coal Fields of West Virginia (Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press, 1983). First-hand account of creation and governance of Tams, one of the most famous of the “company towns.”