Title: A Miner’s Family Life: Memories of Minden, West Virginia
Author: Billy Ray Bibb
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 987-1-7283-0084-9
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 112
Reviewed by: Suzanne Gattis
Pacific Book Review
Part history lesson, part treatise on greed, A Miner’s Family Life: Memories of Minden, West Virginia, is one man’s walk down memory lane, as well as an introduction into a world that many of us do not understand, mining. While this is an easy-to-read book and not overly long, a lot of reminiscing and information is packed into it.
I am sure that writing a memoir must be a daunting task; narrowing all the memories, lessons, and experiences into a relatively minimal number of pages. It is admirable of anyone to tackle. When you also considered that that Billy Ray Bibb added additional information about the life of a miner and a commentary of greed, it is even more so. It is a tribute to his family, past and present, and to the miners of that time.
I will be honest that I knew very little going into reading this book about mining or the harsh life that they endured. Reading early on in the book that his father went to school only through third grade, when he was considered old enough and big enough to mine, made me realize I was going to be exposed to a world I did not understand and would struggle to comprehend. These men and women scrimped and saved, worked hard, and valued their families – something many would say are attributes that rarely exist nowadays. The conditions these miners worked in were deplorable and should never have been tolerated.
It is almost impossible to not draw a connection between the poverty and working condition of this time and the greed of others. It was interesting to see the opinion of someone who saw this firsthand and who can relate it to the modern world. I liked how he added his commentary into his book without having a preachy tone.
While I believe it is the full right of the author to write his memories in a way that makes sense to him, it did seem to me at times that he jumped from one thought to another. Overall this book is easily understandable, but at the same time chock-full of information, presented in an entertaining and efficient manner. I enjoyed taking this walk-through history with this author and learn the unique culture of the miner which A Miner’s Family Life: Memories of Minden, West Virginia reveals. This should be required reading in high school or for college freshmen as it illuminates an important part of history.
