Summary of Michael Punke's Fire and Brimstone

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 The worst hard-rock mining disaster in American history began as an effort to improve safety at the Granite Mountain shaft. The cable crew was installing a sprinkler system, but they had to relocate a large electrical transformer first.

#2 The crew had worked for sixteen straight hours before the lower end of the cable finally came even with the 2,600 Station. As they prepared to begin threading the cable toward the site for the new transformer, they noticed a problem. The cable appeared to be coiled around the hoisting rope. They tried to straighten out the kinks, but the cable fell down.

#3 Butte, Montana, was a powder keg waiting to explode. It was a microcosm of Europe, and Europe was at war. The Irish, with historical animosity toward England, stood in bitter opposition to an American alliance with the British.

#4 The Butte miners’ riot was the result of a $5,000 electrical wire being pulled from the mine shaft. The men knew they were lucky to be alive, but there would be serious consequences for their role in ruining a valuable piece of mine property.