Miner

A map to the new frontier, and a rollicking ride across it Ethan Lou goes on an epic quest through the proverbial cryptocurrency Wild West, through riches, absurdity, wonder, and woe. From investing in Bitcoin in university to his time writing for Reuters, and then mining the digital asset ― Lou meets a co-founder of Ethereum and Gerald Cotten of QuadrigaCX (before he was reported dead), and hangs out in North Korea with Virgil Griffith, the man later arrested for allegedly teaching blockchain to the totalitarian state. Coming of age in the 2008 financial crisis, Lou’s generation has a natural affinity with this rebel internet money, this so-called millennial gold, created in the wake of that economic storm. At once an immersive narrative of adventure and fortune, Once a Bitcoin Miner is also a work of journalistic rigor. Lou examines this domain through the lens of the human condition, delving deep into the lives of the fast-talkers, the exiles, the ambitious, and the daring, forging their paths in a new world, harsh and unpredictable.

During the mid-twentieth century, Mineral Science and Engineering educator Frank White played an influential role in the advancement of his field, widely respected not only for his knowledge but also for his advocacy, leadership, and visionary perspective on both mining technologies and their impact on the environment. He looked at mining and metallurgical engineering though a much wider lens than was common at the time, embracing a diversity of cultures with environmental consciousness, inclusiveness, and a commitment to sustainability. Written by his son, this is the story of Frank White—a story that connects people, cultures, and histories from around the world: Australia, New Zealand, the Western Pacific, South East Asia, and North America. He lived through hardship, warfare, and economic upheavals, but with the love of his family, and the satisfaction of scientific and educational advancement, he remained always a seeker of knowledge, and an inspiration for all those whose lives he touched.

This story revolves around a young girl's unending passion for and ultimate marriage to a man more interested in the miner's union then in the one he has consummated with her. Both Characters, strong in totally different ways compel the reader to sympathize alternately with each, creating a desire to discover the final culmination of this love/hate relationship and the many lives affected by it. The Pennsylvania coal miners who despite their hazardous lives, both physical and financial, their bigotry and ultimate betrayal by John L. Lewis were the true heroes of this county, through the beginning of it's growth to the end of World War II.

Like the canaries that alerted miners to a poisonous atmosphere, issues of race point to underlying problems in society that ultimately affect everyone, not just minorities. Addressing these issues is essential. Ignoring racial differences--race blindness--has failed. Focusing on individual achievement has diverted us from tackling pervasive inequalities. Now, in a powerful and challenging book, Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres propose a radical new way to confront race in the twenty-first century. Given the complex relationship between race and power in America, engaging race means engaging standard winner-take-all hierarchies of power as well. Terming their concept political race, Guinier and Torres call for the building of grass-roots, cross-racial coalitions to remake those structures of power by fostering public participation in politics and reforming the process of democracy. Their illuminating and moving stories of political race in action include the coalition of Hispanic and black leaders who devised the Texas Ten Percent Plan to establish equitable state college admissions criteria, and the struggle of black workers in North Carolina for fair working conditions that drew on the strength and won the support of the entire local community. The aim of political race is not merely to remedy racial injustices, but to create truly participatory democracy, where people of all races feel empowered to effect changes that will improve conditions for everyone. In a book that is ultimately not only aspirational but inspirational, Guinier and Torres envision a social justice movement that could transform the nature of democracy in America.