Rednecks by Taylor Brown: Book Review

Rednecks is the latest release from award-winning author Taylor Brown. Released on May 14, 2024, by St. Martin’s Press, it showcases a little-known event in American history. In 1920, coal was king in West Virginia unless you were the one digging it out of the ground. What happens when hundreds, if not thousands, of men want better working conditions? And the companies don’t agree?

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Rednecks. All opinions presented here are my own.

CW/TW: gun violence

Synopsis from Goodreads

Rednecks is a tour de force, big canvas historical novel that dramatizes the 1920 to 1921 events of the West Virginia Mine Wars—from the Matewan Massacre through the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed conflict on American soil since the Civil War, when some one million rounds were fired, bombs were dropped on Appalachia. The term “redneck” would come to have an unexpected origin story.

Brimming with the high stakes drama of America’s buried history, Rednecks tells a powerful story of rebellion against oppression. In a land where the coal companies use violence and intimidation to keep miners from organizing, “Doc Moo” Muhanna, a Lebanese-American doctor (inspired by the author’s own great-grandfather), toils amid the blood and injustice of the mining camps. When Frank Hugham, a Black World War One veteran and coal miner, takes dramatic steps to lead a miners’ revolt with a band of fellow veterans, Doc Moo risks his life and career to treat sick and wounded miners while Frank’s grandmother, Beulah, fights her own battle to save her home and grandson.

Real-life historical figures burn bright among the hills: the fiery Mother Jones, an Irish-born labor organizer once known as “The Most Dangerous Woman in America,” struggles to maintain the ear of the miners (“her boys”) amid the tide of rebellion, while the sharp-shooting police chief “Smilin” Sid Hatfield dares to stand up to the “gun thugs” of the coal companies, becoming a folk hero of the mine wars.

My Opinions

With an overall length of under 330 pages, Rednecks is packed with history. A history that not many people are familiar with. I had never heard of the West Virginia Mine Wars until this book. Brown did his research and brought real-life characters to the story along with well-crafted fictional characters.

The way the story is written, you will feel yourself invested in it and cheer for the miners. All they wanted was the right to have a life—is that too much to ask? These men came from all walks of life, trying to make way for themselves and their families. They were promised the sun, the moon, and the stars and found themselves living in horror. And many of these men weren’t men but young boys trying to help their families survive.

After reading Rednecks, I have a better understanding of the term redneck. As someone who spent their formative years in the South, I never truly understood the word. I always assumed it was an insult and not a name someone wanted to be called. Now, I know better! I will hold my head high when someone uses that word to describe me!

Who do I feel should read Rednecks? Everyone, especially if they are interested in American history. Or even if they are curious about the rise and fall of labor organizations. Rednecks will make you stop and think about what our ancestors went through to survive.

Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.