1. "Death of a Mountain" by University of Kentucky professor Erik Reece is an excellent essay on mountaintop removal and its impacts on Kentucky
2. "Harlan: A Century of Mining" by Bill Estep was published in the Lexington Herald-Leader on Aug 23, 2011
3. "A World of Hillbilly Heroin" by Chris Hedges, a Senior Fellow at The Nation Institute, published Aug 28, 2012 is a grim portrait of addiction to opiate pain pills (such as Oxycontin) in the poverty-stricken coalfields of southern West Virginia
4. Excerpt from "Night Comes to the Cumberlands," the ground breaking 1963 book by Harry Caudill about poverty in Appalachia. This chapter deals with the dangers of underground coal mining.
5. Video: "Children of the Mountains," an ABC 20/20 feature about children living in poverty in Eastern Kentucky. Hosted by Kentucky native and ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer. Three parts - Approx 45 mins total.
6. Video: "Hillbillies, Coal Miners, Treehuggers and God" - 30 min video about underground mining, the controversy of mountaintop removal coal mining, and life in a the mining community of Whitesville West Virginia. External link
7: Video: "Christmas in Appalachia" (1965) a 28 minute documentary hosted by CBS News Charles Kuralt