BOOK REVIEWS

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam dolor libero, luctus quis malesuada ac, facilisis non velit. Nulla non nunc a dui ornare facilisis sed nec justo. Sed sollicitudin mattis egestas. Ut auctor sagittis turpis, et sodales ante iaculis vitae. Nam ligula enim, ultricies nec dignissim vel, luctus in odio. Nullam fringilla enim in lacus tincidunt pharetra. Phasellus tincidunt orci id lorem bibendum id rhoncus eros ultrices. Nullam eu justo urna, vitae luctus leo. Sed faucibus dapibus metus, porta imperdiet quam cursus non. Aliquam massa lacus, varius in pulvinar at, accumsan in lectus. Duis ac purus at enim feugiat aliquet. Etiam pharetra venenatis ligula accumsan varius. Sed mattis faucibus semper. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Integer malesuada velit sed dolor aliquam eget lacinia sem volutpat. Phasellus tellus velit, egestas ac rutrum eget, pulvinar a nunc. In dolor ante, iaculis a gravida vel, accumsan in nulla. Etiam blandit, tellus sed feugiat hendrerit, augue sapien volutpat tellus, ut scelerisque velit massa vitae turpis.Sed id laoreet dolor. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Morbi molestie dictum dignissim. Cras ut ante orci, at adipiscing dui. Cras viverra, ligula et lobortis viverra, augue tellus suscipit leo, at faucibus massa enim sed risus. Pellentesque sed blandit mauris. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nam at odio orci. Cras et diam non mauris feugiat euismod vel vel sapien. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; In sed nibh at augue vehicula pharetra. Nulla facilisi. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Duis bibendum metus eget felis adipiscing porta. Donec luctus aliquam vehicula. Ut vitae RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: march 2010 :: RMTnews 27 book reviews K illing No Murder; South Wales and the Great Railway Strike is Robert Griffith’s extended English language version of his Welsh language book Streic! Streic! Streic! on the class politics of the 1911 rail strike and its significance today. The book, published in conjunction with RMT, begins with an introduction to the political life of south Wales, within the British context, and through an analysis of Parliamentary politics, the role of religion and the early trade union movement. Detailed accounts of the terms and conditions of railway workers are provided, and the second class manner with which the workers in the railway industry were treated in comparison with, for example, the coal, steel, and tinplate industries is highlighted. From the start, this history analyses the material conditions in which railway workers lived and demonstrates how far railway trade unionists have come today through struggle. Solidarity between railway workers and other trade unionists such as the miners is noted in the run up to the Great Strike, with railway unions providing financial support to the striking workers in the Rhondda valley. The valley was then under military occupation in order to suppress the dissatisfaction of the workers there, and to quell persistent rioting. Mention is also given to the international solidarity expressed by railway workers through their support of Dublin transport workers who were locked out of work in 1913. In all the book is a highly commendable account of Churchill’s role as a class warrior, the role of the state in opposition to the labour movement and the active undermining of Harold Spiers for refusing to shoot a railway worker. Killing No Murder is an accessible book which clearly demonstrates that unity and militancy can win *Copies are available from Unity House at the reduced price of £5, cheques made payable to RMT W hen We Were Miners is an account of the South Wales miners’ part in the great miners’ strike of 1984-85, written by one of the participants. Ian Isaac was part of a group of young miners’ leaders for whom the strike was a baptism of fire. The book is very much an eyewitness account of Ian’s role in the South Wales coalfield and the National Union of Mineworkers and gives a real flavour of the period, the issues and the battles that were fought. The book explained how the coal industry and the union grew up in Wales, giving fascinating details about the growth of the Labour movement. Ian started his own working life at Cowley car plant in Oxford, where he became very politically active and involved in the union, but returned to Wales where he began his mining career in St John’s Colliery. In 1978 Ian became St John’s NUM lodge secretary, an important position which he held during the strike. One of Ian’s roles was to coordinate pickets from the Maesteg district. The battles that the pickets faced were some of the most vicious ever fought. Two miners, David Jones and Joe Green, lost their lives in the process. Support for the miners came from across the labour movement, but the author reserves special mention for rail workers: “It would be true to say that the only section of the trade union and Labour movement who instinctively understood the miners’ dilemma were the railworkers. This affinity had echoes of the past, of the Triple Alliance of miners, transport workers and railwaymen during the 1926 general strike. Recently, rail workers had lost thousands of jobs unnecessarily during the 1950s and 1960s.” The book even credits national RMT regional organiser Peter Skelly for his assistance in writing the book. When We Were Miners is much more than a personal account of the strike as it weaves personal memoir with historical detail. There is a lot information in the book – yet it still remains highly readable KILLING NO MURDER By Rob Grffiths, Manifesto Press WHEN WE WERE MINERS By Ian Isaac, Ken Smith Press