Three Dollar Dreams (1987)

“The men are young and hungry: hungry for change, hungry for a chance. They are as strong as a spare diet will allow and brave as only young men can be brave. They come from the Black Country of England and the lowlands of Scotland, from industrial Italy and rural China. They travel light. They travel alone and they travel in company. Some leave nothing behind, others promise to return. . . .

The dream is all that matters; the young and the hungry see only the possibilities. The coal will make the dream come true. In the beginning, the dream is hard-edged and distinct. There will be no compromises. Hard work and a clear vision of the future will succeed. Reality clouds the dream; compromise tarnishes it; drink eases the pain. Old men settle for what they can get. And they remember.”