"As a piece of historical investigation, it is superbly done. But it is more than a history of the coal industry; it illuminates the development of the American corporate economy in the late 19th and early 20th century, and gives a rare picture of intense class conflict in a country often presumed to lack that. Her account of the Colorado coal strike is not only impeccably accurate but recaptures the drama and excitement of that astonishing event with rare skill." —Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States.

Quick Links

HistoryLink.org
The free online encyclopedia of Washington state history
Taos Summer Writers Conference
A fabulous week for writers.
Genome Tome
This creative nonfiction on the Human Genome Project won the National Magazine Award in 2006.
Web Conjunctions
Check out my creative nonfiction, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Fur-Covered Teacup."
Priscilla Long
Priscilla Long's other website includes a CV, Philosophy of Teaching, and sample works.
John Olson's blog
Seattle writer John Olson is worth a read.
Richard Hugo House
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Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal Industry

"An intense and accomplished social history."
–Christopher Hitchens, New York Newsday


"One of those rare works that asks and answers important questions about who we are...as a nation and how we got to that point."
–Barbara Kingsolver, Women's Review of Books


"Both scholarly and unusually well written, so that the story moves along at a good pace while not compromising the standards of acute historical analysis."
–E. P. Thompson, author of The Making of the English Working Class

Selected Works

Science/Memoir/Reflection
My Brain on My Mind
The ABCs of the thrumming, plastic mystery that allows us to think, feel, and remember
History of Coal Mining
Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal Industry
"A very well-written and well-researched history of the American coal industry from its earliest days through the 1920s."
–Choice