New Appalachian Books

New Appalachian Books by George Brosi* Appalachian Wilderness: The GreatSmoky Mountains. Natural and Human History by Edward Abney. Photographs by Eliot Porter. EpUogue by Harry M. Caudill. New York: Arrowood Books, 1988 reprint of a 1970 release. 123 pages. Oversized coffee table hardback with numerous full-color photographs. $9.95. This book presents three histories of our region: A traditional Cherokee perspective , a Hardshell Baptist point of view, and one from the standpoint of modern science. AU three focus on nature instead of on a particular race or class of people like most history books do. The photographs are stunningly beautiful and the text hard-hitting and insightful. Ball, Bo. Appalachian Patterns. Atlanta: Independence Publishers, 1988. 208 pages. Hardback in dust jacket. $12.95. This first book by the author is a significant coUection of short stories. In the New York Times Book Review, Roy Hoffman said: "Despite some characters who come close to being folksy caricature, there is real emotional resonance in most of these colorful tales. But he cautioned: ". . . when it comes to rendering dialogue he often gets lost in a brier patch of fractured spelling." *George Brosi owns and operates the Appalachian Bookstore in Berea and publishes the bimonthly Appalachian Mountain Books. He also sells books through mail orders to clients in all parts of the country. If readers need more information about any of the above listings, write him at 123 Walnut Street, Berea, Kentucky 40403. 72 Other reviewers echoed diese same sentiments, impressed with the strengths displayed, yet anxious for the author to work on die flaws. Chappell, Fred. First and Last Words. Baton Rouge: The Louisiana State University Press, 1989. 57 pages. Hardback in dust jacket. $13.95. Trade paperback. $6.95. Fred Chappell is, perhaps, one of the most erudite and accomplished contemporary writers with roots in the southern mountains. This new book has poems expressing the author's perspective and emotional response, poems of general interest, such as "Dipperful, and "Literature," and epilogue poems to various works of art. To this reviewer, an impressive collection. Day, John F. Bloody Ground. Lexington, Kentucky: The University of Kentucky, a new 1989 printing of the 1981 reprint of a 1941 release. 328 pages. Trade paperback. $9.00. This book was intended simply as a journalistic account of what life was like in eastern Kentucky during the Great Depression. It stays in print because it is readable and fascinating-the very first chapter jumps right into a snake-handling church service-and because it is comprehensive. No nonfiction book is cited more frequently than Bloody Ground in the late Cratis Williams' definitive Ph.D. thesis, "The Southern Mountaineer in Fact and Fiction." Dix, Keith. What's a Coal Miner to Do: The Mechanization of Coal Mining. Pittsburgh: The University of Pittsburgh Press, 1988. 248 pages illustrated with notes and index. Hardback in dust jacket. $26.95. This book clearly makes a very important contribution to the field of Appalachian studies in general as well as to the study of coal mining. It focuses on the transition from the hand-loading era to die era of mechanizedloading inside coal mines and utilizes interview and archival data primarily from West Virginia. Mountain Getaways in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Compiled and written by Rusty Hoffland. Atianta: On the Road Publishing, the fourth revision , 1988, of a 1984 release. 158 pages widi maps, photos, and sketches. Trade paperback. $5.95. This is a helpful little guidebook, especiaUy for couples comfortable with spending money freely. Even those who know the area well and can tiiink of places Rusty missed will probably find that Rusty has also found something they missed. The sketches are neat, but die photos appear to be publicity shots from "attractions," particularly the two pictures of couples in hot tubs. Lambert, Walter N. Kinfolks and Custard Pie: Recollections and Recipes from an East Tennessean. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1988. 209 pages widi an index and wonderful sketches by Hugh Bailey. Hardback in dust Jacket. $14.95. 73 This book invites comparison to More than Moonshine: Appalachian Recipes and Recollections by Sidney Savior Fair, the original University Press book of mountain culture and cooking. Sidney Farr...