Social History

'You're a coal miner and I'm a shale miner. You're a tramp and I'm a toff.' HARRY, a Drawer

'There were sixteen or eighteen Simpsons… She was having one every dividend we would say.' SISTERS, from Broxburn

Shale Voices introduces the shale miners and their families, an industry that employed generations of Scots, had an impact on the social, political and cultural history of Scotland and gave birth to today's major oil companies. Author Alistair Findlay was born in the shale mining village of Winchburgh and is the fourth son of a shale miner, Bob Findlay, who became editor of the West Lothian Courier. This book is made up of oral history, local journalism and family history. The generations of communities involved in shale mining tell their story in their own words, providing a unique documentary of their class and lifestyle.

Alistair Findlay combines photographs, drawings, poetry and short stories with the cultural and economic history of the shale industry. In doing so, he brings the people of the shale villages to the forefront of this beautifully-written memoir of central Scotland's great shale bings.

To find out more about Shale Voices, including author interview and teaching notes

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