BOOK BRIEF — Life underground

Fire in the Hole: The untold story of hardrock miners, by Jerry Dolph. Published by Washington State University Press, Pullman, Wash. 99164-5910, U.S.A. 174 pages. Illustrated. US$28 in paperback, US$40 in hardcover.

The author draws on his own experiences, having worked as a hardrock miner in North Idaho’s Silver Valley in Montana and in other western mining regions. His stories about the persons who work day after day, thousands of feet down, bring to life the dark subterranean world of the miner. Dolph describes the heat and dust, the sights and odors, and the harsh realities of the miner’s work. His first-hand account of his training, his constant search for steady work and his first meeting with “Mr. Air Blast” (the name given underground tremors) are told honestly and with humor. A miner for 16 years, Dolph lives and writes in Post Falls, Idaho.