The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition passed on this notice about two authors of coal-related books who will be appearing at Taylor Books here in Charleston on Sunday afternoon:

The coal industry is “Bringing Down The Mountains,” but plans are afoot for “Fixing the Ungodly Mess.” Hear about both at a book signing event sponsored by the Huntington-based Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition from 2 – 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 22 at Taylor Books 226 Capitol St., Charleston.

Wyoming County native Dr. Shirley Stewart Burns’ book Bringing Down the Mountains is one of the top-selling books printed by WVU Press. Burns’ book provides the first scholarly study about mountaintop removal’s impact on the people and land. This well researched and highly readable book provides insight into how mountain­top removal has affected the people and the land of southern West Vir­ginia. It examines the power relationships between coal interests, politicians and the average citizen.

Bud Fultz grew up in Harlan County, Kentucky and Raleigh County. Although he left West Virginia decades ago, “my soul remains here,” he said. So Fultz has just completed a no-holds-barred book on coal industry practices and what he calls their devastating impact on people and the environment. 

In Fixing the Ungodly Mess, Fultz documents political sleaze, bluntly claiming that, “West Virginians have been sold out to the coal industry.”  Fultz offers up proposals to clean up politics and diversify the regional economy.Fultz’s family was among the thousands that left West Virginia in the 1950s and ‘60s when mining was mechanized.  He went on to become an international airline executive and a small business developer.  “I attribute much of my success,” he says, “to the solid education I received in West Virginia and to the cultural values instilled in me.”

The mechanization that drove Fultz’s family from the coalfields is examined in Stewart’s Bringing Down The Mountain.  

The two authors’ viewpoints should provide for lively discussion at the book signing event, which is open to the public.