Booklist and Notes

Booklist and Notes George Brosi Armstead, Robert as told to S.L. Gardner. Black Days, Black Dust: The Memories ofan African American Coal Miner. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2002. 255 pages with an index, suggested resources, glossary, and eleven photographs. Trade paperback. $15.00. Hardback in dust jacket. $35.00. Robert Armstead worked in West Virginia coal mines for forty years, from 1947 until 1987. This book concentrates on the story of Armstead's life as a resident of many often-segregated coal camps and a worker in the mines, from laborer to foreman to safety inspector, until his death in 1998. It also tells of his family's experience before his time—they migrated from Alabama in 1924 seeking steady work in the coalfields. The first published biography of a life-long Black Appalachian coal miner, this book does much more, including sharing insights on women miners, the union and a plethora of pertinent topics. Altogether, this is a very pleasant read and an extremely helpful source on both coal mining and Black history. Barnes, July, Jolane Edwards, Carolyn Lee Goodloe and Laurel Wilson. Coasting the Mountains: A Guide to Western North Carolina. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 2001. 270 pages with an index, photos and sketches. Trade paperback. $15.95. Here is a book written by four old ladies that focuses almost exclusively on how to spend money in the North Carolina mountains. Seriously. Eighteen pages on Highlands without using the word, "waterfall." Lots of attention to fancy shops and restaurants, but virtually nothing on places kids can play or adults can enjoy the scenery. Blythe, Hal and Charlie Sweet. Bloody Ground: Stories ofMystery and Intrigue from Kentucky. Ashland: The Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2001. 300 pages. Trade paperback. $15.00. This is a collection of seventeen short stories. They are clearly written, enjoyable and feature a common touch. Most are set around Richmond, where the authors have taught English at Eastern Kentucky University since the 1970s and collaborated closely producing a steady stream of scholarly articles, plays, novels, columns and articles. Hal Blythe (b. 1944) is a native of Connecticut who got his PhD from 98 Florida State, and Charlie Sweet (b. 1943) is from Louisville and got his PhD from the University of Louisville. Crawford, Martin. Ashe County's Civil War: Community and Society in the Appalachian South. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2001. 238 pages with an index, bibliography, notes, charts and photographs. Trade paperback. $17.50. The University of Virginia Press seldom publishes anything about the Appalachian Region, but when it does, look out! This is a thoroughgoing study of the impact of the Civil War and its aftermath on the North Carolina county that is nestled in the extreme northwestern corner of the state, adjoining both Tennessee and Virginia. It puts the events here in a national, a regional, and a sectional context beautifully while at the same time delving deeply into the most particular local events that shine light on the experience as a whole. "This is a remarkable community study . . . Crawford reveals much about the dynamics of nineteenth century Appalachia and the South and the way in which, at the most intimate level, the Civil War impacted its inhabitants. This is not only a major contribution in Appalachian studies; it also ranks with the best of southern community studies." - John C. Inscoe. A native Englishman, Martin Crawford (b. 1948) teaches U.S. history at Keele University in England. Ford, Thomas D. and J. Randolph Osborne, editors. John B. Stephenson: Appalachian Humanist. Ashland: The Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2001. 349 pages plus appendices and notes. Oversized hardback in dust jacket. $30.00. John Stephenson is best know as the President of Berea College from 1984-1994,but from 1979 until 1984 he was the Director of the Appalachian Center at the University of Kentucky, and he served as the first Chair of the Appalachian Studies Conference in 1980. This volume includes a thirty-page biographical sketch of Stephenson by Randy Osborne, one of his assistants at Berea College and now a campus minister there. Most of the book, however, is a compilation of Stephenson's writings edited by Dr. Thomas D. Ford...