Book of the week: Black Gold by Jeremy Paxman
Paxman’s history of coal is told with ‘characteristic panache’
In today’s ecologically conscious age, a popular history centred on coal “might seem a foolhardy undertaking”, said Dominic Sandbrook in The Sunday Times. But coal’s importance in Britain’s modern history “can hardly be exaggerated”, and Jeremy Paxman has produced a book that “could hardly be more colourful”.
Britain, he points out, would never have become the “world’s first industrial superpower” were it not for coal: this “black gold” powered factories, ships and railways; heated homes and offices; and created towns and villages.
And yet, as he rightly emphasises, coal was “dirty and dangerous” from the start – the cause not only of endemic pollution, but also of many appalling accidents. At Seaton Delaval in 1862, 204 men and boys perished underground when a pumping engine collapsed. An explosion at Senghenydd in 1913 killed 440. Today, such tragedies are largely forgotten – and coal has “almost vanished from our national imagination”. Paxman does a “fine job” of trying to restore it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Approaching his chosen topic with “characteristic panache”, he shows how coal had an influence “on almost every aspect” of British history over the last few hundred years, said Richard Vinen in Literary Review. He describes the vast fortunes amassed by owners of land from which it was extracted – among them the third Marquess of Bute, who was already one of the world’s richest people when he inherited his title as a baby in 1848.
“The son of a Naval officer, Paxman is particularly good on the role that coal-fuelled ships played in establishing the hegemony of the Royal Navy, and thus also of the British empire.” Such ships, he points out, were not only faster than their predecessors, but also better protected – even the coal itself, stored in bunkers on their flanks, sometimes stopped projectiles.
“In the 20th century, coal’s dark history came back to bite it,” said Emma Duncan in The Times. As a fuel for ships, it was supplanted by oil, which “produced four times as much energy, pound for pound”. Its decline was hastened, too, by strained industrial relations” – miners were “readier to strike” than other workers, and the “industry was appallingly run”.
Paxman ends his narrative with the 1984 miners’ strike–an event that had a scarring impact upon the nation, but which was also in a sense unnecessary, since decades of stalling productivity had already “doomed the coal industry”. Nonetheless, it provides a “dramatic finale” to a “vividly told” and enjoyable book that “throws new light on familiar features of our national landscape”.
William Collins 392pp £25; The Week Bookshop £19.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
6 serene homes in Vermont
Features Featuring a four-level Shaker barn in Hartland and a Scandinavian-inspired home in Stowe
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 spacious homes with great rec rooms
Feature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Arizona and a marine-themed home in Maine
By The Week Published
-
Recipe: gnocchi di spinaci (spinach gnocchi)
The Week Recommends Forget the potatoes for this gnocchi made of the 'classic combination' of spinach and ricotta
By The Week UK Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 stylish homes on the top floor
Feature Featuring a 1925 art deco high-rise in San Francisco and a factory-turned-home in Los Angeles
By The Week US Published
-
The Anxious Generation: US psychologist Jonathan Haidt's 'urgent and essential' new book
The Week Recommends Haidt calls out 'the Great Rewiring of Childhood' phenomenon
By The Week UK Published