If youve ever been concerned about the effects of mountaintop removal mining, Shirley Stewart Burns can answer many of your questions.

Burns is the author ofBringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities,published by the West Virginia University Press.

She will give a presentation about mountaintop removal mining and her book from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 3) in the Laurel Room of the Mountainlair.

The event is free and open to the public. After the presentation, she will be signing books from 2-4 p.m. at the WVU Mountaineer Week craft fair.

Burnsbook is available from the WVU Press and bookstores around the country.

Mountaintop removal mining, a form of surface coal mining, is rapidly changing a landscape that has taken millions of years to form. The practice, which involves blasting large areas of land to quickly expose coal seams, requires fewer workers than traditional underground mining and has been blamed for the spread of harmful dust, cracked foundations and increased flooding and landslides in nearby communities.

Bringing Down the Mountainsexamines the history of mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia and its environmental, political and economic impact on the region. Burns also tells the personal stories of many people who are affected on a daily basis.

�€~Bringing Down the Mountainsis one of the finest books yet regarding mountaintop removal mining and the destruction of the Appalachian culture and environment,said Jack Spadao, former superintendent of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy.Shirley Stewart Burns has written the most comprehensive account of the struggle that has been taking place in the coalfields of southern West Virginia and the longterm ecological and social consequences of mountaintop removal mining.

It is a thoroughly researched and eloquent book that brings alive the true voices and great dignity of a courageous people,he added.

Burns has a bachelors degree in journalism, a masters in social work and a doctorate in history with an Appalachian focus from WVU . A native of Wyoming County and the daughter of an underground coal miner, she has a passionate, personal interest in the communities, environment and history of the region. She currently lives in Charleston.

WVU Press on the Net:http://www.wvupress.com/