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Cargando... The Valley: A Hundred Years in the Life of a Familypor Richard Benson
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. A perspective on UK coal mining, it could be said, or a reflection on the unmaking of the working class between 1900 and 2000. In its later chapters, the book is a companion to Peter Parke'rs "RedHill: a mining community" (1986) about pit communiies and the 1984-85 strike. I visited Grimethorpe in 1996 - redundant miners being retrained in basic computer skills in pristine temporary huts. Peter Parker tells you to hate Margaret Thatcher. Richard Benson doesn't need to - he presents the stories of his family. For once an Economist book review that delivers! The Valley tells the story of several generations of Richard Benson's family who lived and worked in the Dearne Valley, South Yorkshire. Most of the men in the book were miners and there's a fair bit of history relating to miners' strikes. The book is non-fiction but told in a way that is much more interesting than just a book of facts. For me it's the best kind of family story - facts interspersed with imaginings of what people might have said and done, with conversations and family folklore retold. It's a big book at just over 500 pages, but a very human story with characters to like and some to dislike. The author writes about them without bias and I found it all really interesting. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
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The close-knit villages of the Dearne Valley were home to four generations of the Hollingworth family. Spanning Richard Benson's great-grandmother Winnie's ninety-two years in the valley, and drawing on years of historical research, interviews and anecdotes,The Valley lets us into generations of carousing and banter as the family's attempts to build a better and fairer world for themselves meet sometimes with triumph, sometimes with bitter defeat. Against a backdrop of underground explosions, strikes and pit closures, these are unflinching, deeply personal stories of battles between the sexes in a man's world sustained by strong women; of growing up, and the power of love and imagination to transform lives. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)942.820820922History and Geography Europe England and Wales Northeast England South YorkshireClasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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From the very beginning, there is no doubt that this is a deeply-felt story. It is full of detail and also evident that the author has done a great deal of research into his family, including the memories and recollections of a large number of living relatives.
So the author gets an "A+" for effort.
However, I found the actual narrative over-wordy and lumpy. There's certainly a tale in there, but it's just not told very well. This is a book which sets down the history of one family, for that family to reference and enjoy. It has very limited appeal to a wider audience.
My view of this book is contrary to many other reviews, both here and in the press, so you may want to check some of these other sources before you decide whether or not to embark on this 500-page family history. ( )