Review: "The Sons of Molly Maguire - The Irish Roots of America's First Labor War" by Mark Bulik

This is a nonfiction account of the Molly Maguire organization in the northeastern section of Pennsylvania. It is fact filled and thought-provoking. My ancestors are from this region and I had heard a lot about the Maguire legend, basically that they were wrongly prosecuted and hanged. This book lays to rest the misinformation and also fills in the some of the missing material.

This book gives the evolution of the Molly Maguire from Ireland through their demise. Theirs is not an easy history to understand. They have their basis in a number of different factions that migrated from Ireland. They evolved because of the conflicts between the coal corporations and the unions that were made up mostly of Irish immigrants. The Irish immigrants treatment during the Civil War also fueled the fires that cemented their development.

I did enjoy this book and it was very enlightening. Make no mistake, this is nonfiction and is not an easy book to read. There is an abundance of names and facts that tend to be confusing. I will definitely need to revisit it and read again to get more information and understanding of what really happened.