Read on Twitter
I retweeted this the other day to spur others to post, but wanted to list a few of my own.
"Appalachia: A History" by John Alexander Williams is a comprehensive history of the region. It's really broad so also a little shallow in spots, but with a ton of historical anecdotes. 1/ https://twitter.com/themeghanodea/status/1316423641194786817
"Appalachia: A History" by John Alexander Williams is a comprehensive history of the region. It's really broad so also a little shallow in spots, but with a ton of historical anecdotes. 1/ https://twitter.com/themeghanodea/status/1316423641194786817
Definitely "What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia" by @elizabethcatte, an instant classic that spotlights a lot of stories and people that generally get missed in the national narrative.
"The Industrialist & the Mountaineer" is narrowly focused on a specific moment in Appalachian history, but that somehow makes it feel transcendent at times too. Sorry for the typo, Tucker County, WV. https://twitter.com/MasonAtoms/status/1284281689787817985
Howard B. Lee's "Bloodletting in Appalachia" is outdated, problematic & full of tall tales. Nevertheless, it's an entertaining read with unforgettable mountain lore & references to my hometown of Clifton Forge, Va., & the Franklin/Floyd moonshine region. https://twitter.com/MasonAtoms/status/1287107425703809024
Two books on my to-read list that I've heard are both excellent:
"Reading Appalachia from Left to Right" about the Kanawha textbook wars, &
"Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia" by Steven Stoll
"Reading Appalachia from Left to Right" about the Kanawha textbook wars, &
"Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia" by Steven Stoll
I also *really* want to read "Don't Buy Another Vote, I Won't Pay for a Landslide: The Sordid And Continuing History of Political Corruption in West Virginia" by Allen H. Loughry, but it's out of print and crazy expensive.
Fiction:
Denise Giardina's "Storming Heaven"
Lee Smith's "Dimestore: A Writer's Life"
Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain" & "Nightwoods"
Denise Giardina's "Storming Heaven"
Lee Smith's "Dimestore: A Writer's Life"
Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain" & "Nightwoods"
I know I'm forgetting a ton more. I'll add more to the list as I remember them.
The Pittston strike has been coming up a lot in my reporting lately, including for this story about "the future of work" in Dickenson County, Virginia: https://www.100daysinappalachia.com/2020/09/when-fad-industries-arent-enough-coal-communities-have-to-market-themselves-for-a-new-economy/ https://twitter.com/michaelwhudson/status/1317201244503609344?s=20
Anytime a political boss writes their own memoir, you read it with a skeptical mind, & that goes here, but this is a fun read with a lot of good stuff on vote buying & patronage. It also works as a secret history of mountain infrastructure https://twitter.com/masonatoms/status/1135551827573977090
