New Appalachian Books

New Appalachian Books by George Brosi* Appalachian White Oak Basketmaking: Handing Down the Basket. Rachel Nash and Cynthia W. Taylor, coauthors. Knoxville, Tennessee: The University of Tennessee Press, 1991. 295 pages. An oversized trade paperback, profusely illustrated with drawings and photographs and with a glossary, bibliography, and index. $18.95. The combination of Law's experience with baskets in both North America and Europe and Taylor's experience with baskets in Asia as well as North America gives the authors a cosmopolitan perspective which permeates this book. Included are basket makers of African, European, and Cherokee descent. "Rachel Law and Cynthia Taylor have produced the definitive book on white oak basketmaking . They have identified the best basket makers and discussed their tools, material, and techniques." —Loyal Jones, Director, Appalachian Center, Berea College, Berea, Kentucky. Brill, David. As Far As the Eye Can See: Reflections ofan Appalachian Trail Hiker. Nashville, Rutledge Hill Press, 1990. 190 pages. Hardback in dust jacket. $14.95. This is an account of a five-month hike up the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is written by David Brill, the coordinator of the Writing Center at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. "I no longer leave society to visits the woods. Rather, I have the woods to visit society." he writes from Little Rock Lean-to in Vermont. *George Brosi is the proprietor of a business called Appalachian Mountain Books and publishes a periodical by that same name twelve times a year. He sells books, both new and out-of-print, through the mail and brings a display of books for sale to regional events. His address is Appalachian Mountain Books, Route 2, Box 238, Whittier, North Carolina, 28789. His phone number is 704-5865319 . 74 Caldwell, Willie Walker. Stonewall Jim: A Biography ofGeneral James A. Walker, C.S.A. Elliston, Virginia: Northcross Press, 1990. Trade paperback, illustrated, with an index and bibliographic note. $12.95. This biography was written by his daughter between the world wars and first published in book form only last year. James A. Walker's life in the middle of the 19th Century touched practically every corner of Western Virginia. He was born in what is now Rockbridge County; went to Virginia Military Academy; studied law in Pulaski County; fought for the Confederacy; and then, after reestablishing himself in Newburn, moved to Wytheville where he had a successful political career which included serving as Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Congressman . Carter, Forrest. The Education ofLittle Tree. Albuquerque: The University of New Mexico Press, a 1990 reprint of a 1976 release. 216 pages. Hardback in dust jacket. $16.95. Also available as a $10.95 trade paperback. "A Cherokee boyhood of the 1930s remembered in generous, loving detail . . . Orphaned at five, Little Tree went to live with his grandparents in the mountains of Tennessee . . . their reflections on musk bugs, hound dogs, and the birth of each day form the core of an unbelievably rich young life." —Kirkus Reviews. "Some of it is sad, some of it is hilarious, some of it is unbelievable, and all of it is charming." —The Atlantic. "The Education of Little Tree is like a Cherokee basket, woven out of the materials given by nature, simple and strong in its design, capable of carrying a great deal. It addresses concerns of environment, family, racism, and human relations. —Joseph Bruchac in Parabola. Chappell, Fred. Brighten the Corner Where Your Are. New York: St. Martin's Press, a 1990 reprint of a 1989 release. 212 pages. Trade paperback. $8.95. Fred Chappell is one of our most respected contemporary writers. A native of Canton, North Carolina, he teaches at the University of North Carolina. This novel centers around a fictional incident based on a real-life experience of Fred Chappell's father. He was not allowed to continue teaching school in Haywood County because he was accused of supporting a non-Biblical world view. Clarkson, Roy B. On Beyond Leatherbark: The Cass Saga. Parsons, West Virginia: McClain Printing Company, 1990. 625 pages. Hardback in dust jacket with over two-hundred full-page photographs and a map folded in the back of...