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and reinforcing poverty through factionalism and clientelism,and make appropriate changes to reduce both proble Ills. 327) Finally,Billings and Blee argue that only a long term study of communities, as opposed to presentist snapshots of community life that sociologists and anthropolc, gists produce,can lead tc,policies that will effectively combat poverty and inequality. ( 328) Taken as a whc, le. The Road t() Pot' el' ty makes a very strong case tor these policy directives. In short, only by looking to the past for the roc,ts of Appalachian poverty,they argue,can we begiti to think about how tc) chatige it. Rebecca J. Baird Apt), ilacbia, 1 State Universitr Frances McGovern. Fun,Cheap,6 Easy:My Life in Obio Politics, 19491964 . Akron: University of Akron Press. 2002. 162 pp. ISBN 1884836798 cloth), $ 29.95. activities and thereby impeding democracy. ( 13436 ) Factionalism in Clay County,in fact,eventually led to a " feud"involving its wealthiest families and their clients that produced niiny killings and seriously disrupted local politics. Like Altina Waller, Billings and Blee argue that feuds like the one in Clay County stemmed in the nineteenth cennuy from multiple causeslocal political struggle, the economic impact of the coal and tilliber industries, and increased outside influences over the county' s economic development. Specifically, local elites lost control of economic change after the c() al and timber industries moved into Clay County,but local businessmen and investors also gained in wealth largely by squeezing by coercive means ever greater profits from farmers and laborers who worked their land. ( 280) The resulting Clay County feud, like the Hatfield and McCoy feud, attracted national media coverage that reinforced widely Circulatinti images of Appalachians as violent hillbillies. And, like Waller,Billings and Blee argue that these itiiages allowed outsiders to view industrialization and exploitation in the region as a necessary and even progressive remedy to " backwards mountain IJLL# di, PJ culture." ( 31415 ) 24% 11' A:' li ./.. Finally, The Road to Pot,erty liwiltions . Billings and Blee claim that theirstoryshowsthat " market-driviuNbEheah #. E< q en development has not rescued the region from poverty and in fact *@ SI***«, a*, 1 _, i has increased the problem. Citing LIFE:. 0. 10 POLITICS, lili19 . 4 Richard Couto,they also argue for . the development and encourage- #** e= tes, s .. :' Slf» 31 ment of " cultural strategies that maintain social capital" ( 323).In other words,policy makers ought to look to the Appalachian past for local ideas and practices that can help bolster community sustainability,rather than attack mountain customs as retrograde, as some scholars have done. ( 324) Policy makers must also examine the role of local government in creating rbc, litical menioirs often conform 1-to a certain standard. tending toward gravitasladen tomes by 1 I important political figures that focus sf » ' on their major accomplishments while downplaying or " spinning" their shortcomings or defeats. It is f . 41 precisely this expectation that makes Frances McGovern' s Fun, Cheap,6 Easya lighthearted,brief,and selfdeprecatory account of a relatively minor figure in Ohio politicssuch a refreshing and welcome addition to this otherwise predictable genre. Frances McGovern, a lawyer now retired from the Ohio Edison Company, served as a Demc, cratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives from Akron in the 19505 and as a member and chair of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission in the 1960s. A female public figure in the days when this was still SPRING 2004 87 BOOK REVIEWS unusual in Ohio state politics, McGovern uses her own records,photos, and a fairly straightforward, chronological approach to recount her fifteenyear political career. Far from using this opportunity to tout her own significance or pioneer Status,though, she focuses instead on the nature of Ohio politics in the days before it became a serious,bigmoney operation when it was still " fun, cheap,and easy." In a style disarmingly lacking in pretense, McGovern fondly and vividly recalls the events and people surrounding her campaigns and her time in office. Colorful anecdotes abound, including her meeting with John E Kennedy which left her unapologetically starstruck , and her peek into the Ohio »* St» , j«2 ,3 '' delegation at the 1960 *** ..] 4* ' f'f»-,-, Democratic Convention. 42 14* ' ] Bit' , i 1 Almost as colorful are her * .* te'» ' sage pieces of political ', *: . ' 4 wisdom from less compli1 :/ Id" £ 1.' El, 4 cated times. She describes, ' S@, 44/ 45{ '* for example, all aspects A' 31 1. ' of running a successful : statehouse campaign for S, 250 in the days before candidates relied on slick television political advertisements and spin doctors. These include meetings in boards of election offices, endless covereddish suppers, the vagaries of effective handcard and sign distribution,and especially the strategic rounds she made as a candidate to local picnic grounds on Sundays. Perhaps the most unique contribution of this book, however,lies in the insight it provides into the connections between politics and gender in the 1950s and 1960s. Although never a major figure in Ohio politics, McGovern can be considered a relatively successful female politician in the days when the few women legislators in the Ohio House had their own sitting room and other legislators would call her " Miss Representative." She seems uncomfortable with the mantle of " pioneer," however ,pointing to a poignant memory of an awkward meeting with some " elderly suffragettes"during her time in the Statehouse. If this book has a major shortcoming, it has to do with context. For example, although she gives some attention to the high points of her political career,McGovern devotes relatively little space about four chapters out of the nineteen) either to the major issues facing Ohio politics at the time or to her legislative and regulatory accomplishments. Instead, she favors her impressions of various political figures. Similarly, national politics only enter into the narrative toward the end of the book when McGovern served as a delegate to the 1960 Democratic convention and when Lyndon Johnson I«] 1) " kft. and Hubert Humphrey 1. 4, 0 Ill, campajgned in the Akron 1 si area during her unsuccessf ful run for the U.S. House 61 of Representatives in 1964. Admittedly, the author did not intend to provide 4 a comprehensive look at 1 the politics of the time. But perhaps a few more pages might have been in order providing greater information on her specific role in the halls of state power and a nod to the national issues of the day as they affected her. Conversely,McGovern provides a bit too much specific context on the local level, especially in the first few chapters. It is perhaps not surprising that the author of Written on tbe Hills: Tbe Making of tbe Akron Landscape would make numerous references to local geography and landmarks both extant and extinct. But readers not familiar with northeast Ohio in general and Akron in particular likely will feel lost among the streets and buildings to which MeGovern so familiarly refers, although these references do contribute to the charm and character of her account. Despite these weaknesses, Frances McGovern succeeds in accomplishing what she sets out to dopresenting a rich, textured and very personal OHIO VALLEY HISTORY 88 view of the local and state politics of a bygone era. The obvious affection and enthusiasm she displays for the topic and the unique insights she provides recommend this book to anyone with an active interest in Ohio history or politics. Kevin Ker, 1 University of Akron SPRING 2004 89 ...

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