The book tells about the history of the formation and development of the oldest of the sectors of the economy of Sakhalin Island - the coal industry. On the basis of archival documents, the main stages of the development of the industry are revealed, starting with the first information about Sakhalin coal dating back to the XVIII century and ending with 2002, many names of long-forgotten people are named. http://samlib.ru/img/o/ostashew_a_e/chapterone/sakhalincoal.pdf