Recent Publications

The history of West Virginia is rich and complex. Over one hundred and fifty years have passed since West Virginia was admitted to the Union, and the desire to understand and relate to our past continues to the present day. The books, theses and dissertations, magazines, and journal articles listed here are testament to the continued interest in the state and its people, traditions, and culture.

Each of the works cited in this bibliography is available for reading and research at the West Virginia and Regional History Center, the largest historical archives collection and library relating to West Virginia. This list includes works published from 2016 to 2019. West Virginia–related titles not found in this bibliography can be located in other resources for publishers, periodicals, magazines, historical societies, and state publications.

Special thanks go to Jessica Kambara for her periodicals, dissertation, and book research and her work on compiling the bibliography, and Laureen Wilson for her meticulous proofreading and editorial assistance.

As always, if you are aware of significant books or articles concerning West Virginia, its people and places, please bring them to my attention.

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Albert, Howard. My Journey Through Life. 126 pages. Lulu Publishing. (November 10, 2017). This autobiography was written by a 92-year-old West Virginian looking back over the course of his life. The author describes his childhood, during which he lived on a small farm in Summers County, and includes details about the ways of life in rural West Virginia in the 1930s. As a young man, Albert joined the Merchant Marines and served in the US Army; he provides stories, anecdotes, and tales of adventure from those years.

Aldinger, Kyle Ray. “Ecology and Management of Golden-Winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) and Associated Avian Species in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia.” PhD diss., West Virginia University, 2018. 197 pp.

Almond, Greenbrier. More Stories of a West Virginia Doctor for Kith and Kin. Volume Seven. 240 pages. Parsons, WV: McClain Printing Company (January 2, 2019). This volume continues Almond’s stories of his experiences as a doctor in West Virginia. Topics of this volume include the doctor’s travels around the world, his four granddaughters, and family holidays along with episodes drawn from his many years of medical practice. Also included are a genealogy and photographs of the Almond family.

Alvarez, Raymond M. “Is your dad home from the mines?” Goldenseal 44 (Fall 2018): 23–26. In this article, Zella Martin recalls the experience of losing her father in the 1968 Farmington Mine Disaster.

Alvarez, Raymond M. “Nurses at No. 9.” Goldenseal 44 (Fall 2018): 46–47. This article concerns the nurses who provided medical aid and emotional support to those injured in the 1968 Farmington Mine Disaster. Among the nurses, Alvarez focuses on Doris Lee Colbert in particular.

Andrew, Ross Gilbert. “Examination and Characterization of Brook Trout Ecology Before and After a Broad Scale Disturbance Event in Headwater Streams of West Virginia, USA.” PhD diss., West Virginia University, 2018. 128 pp.

Arbogast, Terry E. West of Cumberland: A History of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the Mountain State West of the Queen City. Fairmont, WV: Glover Gap Graphics, LLC. 448 pgs. Book Two. MR/SHORT LINE. Profusely illustrated. Tracing both the history and the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through West Virginia this profusely illustrated book follows the railroad up the West Fort River from Fairmont to Clarksburg, then down the West Fork River, and over Hartzel Hill to the Ohio River.

Asce Pittsburgh 100^th Anniversary. Engineering Pittsburgh: A History of Roads, Rails, Canals, Bridges and More. 226 pages. History Press Library Editions (September 10, 2018).

Ayers, Ginny Savage, and Lon Kelly Savage. Never Justice, Never Peace: Mother Jones and the Miner Rebellion at Paint and Cabin Creeks (West Virginia and Appalachia). 360 pages. West Virginia University Press. (August 29, 2018). In 1986 Lon Savage published Thunder in the Mountains: The West Virginia Mine War, 1920–21, a popular history now considered a classic. When Savage passed away, he left behind an incomplete book manuscript about a lesser-known Mother Jones crusade in Kanawha County, West Virginia. His daughter Ginny Savage Ayers drew on...