Jeff Biggers presents a history of coal mining and industrial strip-mining in the American mid-west, specifically on his families land in the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois.  Mr. Biggers contends that the history of coal production in America is marked by the displacement of Native Americans, slavery,unsafe work conditions, and environmental degradation.  He argues against the idea of coal as a viable energy source and questions the Obama administration's interest in "clean coal."  Jeff Biggers discusses his book at Malaprop's Bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina.