by Joan Quigley
Beginning on Valentineโ€�s Day, 1981, when twelve-year-old Todd Domboski plunged through the earth in his grandmotherโ€�s backyard in Centralia, Pennsylvania, The Day the Earth Caved In is an unprecedented and riveting account of the nationโ€�s worst mine fire. In astonishing detail, award-winning journalist Joan Quigley, the granddaughter of Centralia miners, ushers readers into the dramatic world of the underground blaze. Drawing on interviews with key participants and exclusive new research, Quigley paints unforgettable portraits of Centralia and its residents, from Tom Larkin, the short-order cook and ex-hippie who rallied the activists, to Helen Womer, the bank teller who galvanized the opposition, denying the fireโ€�s existence even as toxic fumes invaded her home. Like Jonathan Harrโ€�s A Civil Action, The Day the Earth Caved In is a seminal investigation of individual rights, corporate privilege, and governmental indifference to the powerless.
Beginning on Valentineโ€�s Day, 1981, when twelve-year-old Todd Domboski plunged through the earth in his grandmotherโ€�s backyard in Centralia, Pennsylvania, The Day the Earth Caved In is an unprecedented and riveting account of the nationโ€�s worst mine fire. In astonishing detail, award-winning journalist Joan Quigley, the granddaughter of Centralia miners, ushers readers into the dramatic world of the underground blaze. Drawing on interviews with key participants and exclusive new research, Quigley paints unforgettable portraits of Centralia and its residents, from Tom Larkin, the short-order cook and ex-hippie who rallied the activists, to Helen Womer, the bank teller who galvanized the opposition, denying the fireโ€�s existence even as toxic fumes invaded her home. Like Jonathan Harrโ€�s A Civil Action, The Day the Earth Caved In is a seminal investigation of individual rights, corporate privilege, and governmental indifference to the powerless.
