The scars left by the 1984/85 "Great Strike for Jobs" are still raw in Nottinghamshire, thirty years later. There, the majority of the National Union of Mineworkers did not support their
union, working throughout the strike, later forming the breakaway Union of Democratic Miners. Look Back in Anger puts these events into context, giving a history of the coalfields
through the twentieth century and the first comprehensive overview of the strike year in Nottinghamshire. Harry Paterson has interviewed striking and working miners, Coal Board officials, women active in opposing the pit closures, Council officials and others. The book includes information that has never before appeared in print, alongside memorabilia and
personal letters from the period.
Harry Paterson was seventeen when the strike began. Members of his family stayed on strike the whole year while others worked during the strike. He has been active in the trade union movement and is a former Labour Councillor – and is proud of his expulsion from the Labour Party. He is a freelance writer and rock music journalist, living in Nottinghamshire.