This was not what I expected but interesting nonetheless. I thought it would be interviews with coal miners but instead it was a memoir of the bosses' son. Regis Maher grew up in coal patches as the son of the superintendent which gave him status and finances not available to the miners' sons, like my father. He attended a private boarding school and medical school. Yes, he struggled but he didn't have to dig coal for $3 a week.
He described life in the patch including schools, churches and religious rites of passage. He also defined the terms used in the mines and how and why the patches came into existence.
My only complaint is that the single map of the area is much too small and detailed to see. I know where most of those patches are but to the casual reader it would have helped to show that clearly. There is a bibliography but no index. ( )