With his past series of books set in Coalwood, West Virginia, New York Times best-selling author Homer Hickam won the praise of critics and the devotion of a huge national readership. His novel, Red Helmet, takes an inside look at coal mining, from shoveling gob to negotiating international trade deals, through the lens of modern romance.
A half-Korean New York rich girl turned takeover specialist for her Daddy’s company, Song Hawkins falls for Cable Jordan, a macho West Virginia mining manager. After a whirlwind wedding, she lasts four days in Cable’s town of Highcoal, West Virginia (pop. 624), unable to rough it without her expensive cosmetics or low-fat meals.
She likes Cable’s house and artisan furniture, though, and she still loves Cable. Quickly Song realizes her marriage is in big trouble. She can’t imagine life outside of New York, and Cable has no intention of leaving Highcoal.
After learning that her father has acquired the company that owns the Highcoal mine, Song returns to see for herself why the company isn’t meeting quotas and signs on for beginner miner’s training, where she wears a red helmet, the sign of a Trainee.
As she encounters the camaraderies, rivalries, satisfactions and dangers of mining, Song works on solving a murder along with saving her marriage.
Hickam’s secondary characters—including a folksy wisdom-spouting preacher, a busty Botoxed ex-girlfriend, and a meticulous MSHA safety inspector—narrowly escape caricature by showing their human side during the climactic scene.
Love may conquer all, Hickam suggests, but in a coal mine you also need good luck and good engineering.
Homer Hickam is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rocket Boys, which was made into the acclaimed movie October Sky. He is a former coal miner, a Vietnam combat veteran, a scuba instructor, a retired rocket scientist, and, recently, an avid field paleontologist.
More than anything else, he loves to write. He is married to Linda Terry Hickam, an artist, who is also his assistant. They share their time with their cats between homes in Alabama and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The JSF bookstore contains numerous books about coal mining. For more information about these books, contact the Jesse Stuart Foundation at 4440 13th Street in Ashland by phone at 606-326-1667 or email jsf@jsfbooks.com.
James M. Gifford, Ph.D.
CEO & Senior Editor
Jesse Stuart Foundation
With his past series of books set in Coalwood, West Virginia, New York Times best-selling author Homer Hickam won the praise of critics and the devotion of a huge national readership. His novel, Red Helmet, takes an inside look at coal mining, from shoveling gob to negotiating international trade deals, through the lens of modern romance.
A half-Korean New York rich girl turned takeover specialist for her Daddy’s company, Song Hawkins falls for Cable Jordan, a macho West Virginia mining manager. After a whirlwind wedding, she lasts four days in Cable’s town of Highcoal, West Virginia (pop. 624), unable to rough it without her expensive cosmetics or low-fat meals.
She likes Cable’s house and artisan furniture, though, and she still loves Cable. Quickly Song realizes her marriage is in big trouble. She can’t imagine life outside of New York, and Cable has no intention of leaving Highcoal.
After learning that her father has acquired the company that owns the Highcoal mine, Song returns to see for herself why the company isn’t meeting quotas and signs on for beginner miner’s training, where she wears a red helmet, the sign of a Trainee.
As she encounters the camaraderies, rivalries, satisfactions and dangers of mining, Song works on solving a murder along with saving her marriage.
Hickam’s secondary characters—including a folksy wisdom-spouting preacher, a busty Botoxed ex-girlfriend, and a meticulous MSHA safety inspector—narrowly escape caricature by showing their human side during the climactic scene.
Love may conquer all, Hickam suggests, but in a coal mine you also need good luck and good engineering.
Homer Hickam is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rocket Boys, which was made into the acclaimed movie October Sky. He is a former coal miner, a Vietnam combat veteran, a scuba instructor, a retired rocket scientist, and, recently, an avid field paleontologist.
More than anything else, he loves to write. He is married to Linda Terry Hickam, an artist, who is also his assistant. They share their time with their cats between homes in Alabama and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The JSF bookstore contains numerous books about coal mining. For more information about these books, contact the Jesse Stuart Foundation at 4440 13th Street in Ashland by phone at 606-326-1667 or email jsf@jsfbooks.com.
James M. Gifford, Ph.D.
CEO & Senior Editor
Jesse Stuart Foundation
