West Virginia Books

Mr. Smith's book on Early Fenton Rarities is incredible. In addition to his very in-depth and informative text, the photos are abundant and well done. No details are lost to shadows. He describes and shows magnificent pieces that are truly one-of-a kind from this early period in Fenton's history. As a Fenton collector, my dream is to find one of these rarities and after reading and re-reading this book, I will be able to recognize them if I should run across any. This book is a valuable resource to any Fenton collector. I highly recommend it.

Written in 1979 during her tenure as West Virginia's Poet Laureate, Louise McNeill's "Elderberry Flood" is an original, thoughtful collection of poems that reflect rural life and mountain heritage. A must-read for every West Virginian!

Excellent book. Great Pictures. A Great Reference book. Well done.

This is a very informative book with a detailed picture guide. Each type of glass design is expained and color pictures help in the identifcation of the glass.A price guide is also included. An excellent tool for identifying Fenton Art Glass. This book is worth the price.

Very informative and wonderful pictures. This book has a section of various miniture baskets with great photos and descriptions. Fairly recent with a 2005 publication date. Recommend book for the Fenton Basket collector.

Very good descriptions and photos of cats and dogs through publication date 2002. The book also includes the Chessie Boxes.

The book is simply wonderful. I have wanted it for some years and now I have it. The problem is with the price guide, I can't find the prices on a lot of the beautiful Fenton pieces. The price guide is very hard to use. I've had the Third Twenty-Five Years book for sometime and it's easy to locate the prices.

The excellent description of the social contexts for fiddling is one of this book's major strengths. Throughout the book, Beisswenger also presents numerous interesting stories that Melvin Wine told to him during various interviews. These texts provide a good understanding of fiddle traditions in Appalachia, and there are vivid discussions of house parties, public square dances, and contests. Melvin Wine's life history is also interesting. Like many fiddlers, Wine stopped playing for a long period of time but then decided to pick up the instrument once again. Beisswenger explains "the missing years," and the analysis provides insight into tensions between religious sentiments and the musical spirit. The excellent transcriptions of Wine's complex playing round out this thorough study of a folk music tradition. The author has a rich understanding of fiddling, and the transcribed tunes are excellent resources for understanding this particular style of fiddling. The book is an excellent tribute to a great fiddler.

I have read a number of different books on where to fish in the Virginia area and loved the coverage here. I typically do not go back to the same place in the same season in order to spread the pressure. David's book provided a large number of options that allow the reader to go to a new place each week and still have places left over for the next season. He includes hatch charts, directions as well as local references on hotels and restaurants. The info is up to date with the 2006 revision. Good work!

Genealogies of West Virginia Families is a consolidation of all the family history articles to have appeared throughout the complete run of The West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly, from 1901 to 1905. Though a rich source of West Virginia genealogical data, this short-lived periodical is very scarce and, moreover, has never before been indexed. Clearfield Company is delighted to rectify both of these shortcomings by reprinting the genealogical meat of the magazine and by adding a complete name index of more than 5,000 entries. If your West Virginia ancestor came from one of the following main families, Genealogies of West Virginia Families is a work you won't want to overlook: Cameron, Clendinen, Doddridge, Duke, Elting-Shepherd, Hansford, Henderson, Henshaw, Hite, Houston, Lewis (Samuel and John), Lovell (Joseph), McWhorter (Henry and John), Miller, Morris (William), Nourse (James), Patrick (Virginia Harvie), Ruffner (Peter and Joseph), Rumsey (James), Shepherd, Stribling-Hereford, Teays, VanMeter, Van Metre-DuBois-Shepherd-Hite, and Yates-Aglionby.