West Virginia Books

I am new to Thomas Cook novels, but am a complete convert after reading this, my 2nd novel of his. He is a masterful writer with elegant, but economical prose. He gets on with and is no wuss, but there's beauty and compassion in among the dire circumstances and well crafted storyline.

In this novel, he does a wonderful job developing the characters - they really come to life and seem like real folks caught in a bad reality. No superhero crimefighters or crazy pyschos here.

Granted these folks live in an insular community and the story is a bit depressing as it revolves around the difficult lives led since some murders committed years before. But it really works as a plausible story whose outcome you can't be sure of until the very end.

Now I'm off to order some more of his books! This should keep me entertained for a while.

This is a novel that tends to haunt you long after you have read it. At least, that's how I am experiencing the aftermath of reading it. I cannot say that the plot is a blockbuster--a 25 year old crime left with many question marks appended to it, a protagonist who is forced by the illness of his practically estranged father to return to West Virginia, from which he long ago gratefully escaped, not much caring where he went, as for the fact that he just got out of a suffocating milieu.

I was asking myself as I was pasted to the pages, unable to put this book down during a full, one-time reading, what power it contained to make it so riveting. And I came up with a twofold answer.

First, the writing often reaches the heighth (or should I say the depth?) of poetic prose. I would not be surprised if Mr. Cook does write poetry on the sly (or should I say on the side?). This is not a book just writen with the head -- there are strong feelings propelling it.

Second, no character in this book is skimmed over. Each one is viewed in depth, so much so that you feel you are in the same room with these fictional people, listening to them speak, liking or disliking them (and I must say the character of the father is one of the most unlikeable characters you will ever meet in fiction, no matter what excuses are made for his behavior).

Lastly, the ending of the book is great. When all mysteries have been solved except for the one of the long-term romantic entanglement, it seems the main character has to make a black or white decision. But the author doesn't let the reader down with the expected denoument. Oh, no, like any great mystery writer, the protagonist's dilemma is solved, thus creating another mystery, the book's goodbye to all who have given their time to read it. Remarkable!

*Into the Web* is the first time that I've read anything by Thomas Cook. I found him to be an alright writer.

Roy Slater, a professor of a small Californian college, returns home in Kingdom County, West Virginia after 25 years. The reason for the return is to care for his ailing father. Not only does he returns but he revisits the secret that caused him to leave in the first place...one that involved his older brother's suicide.

Within days of his return, someone is murdered. The murder brings back everyone from Roy's past, including Lila, his old flame and Lonnie, the current sheriff who is the exact replica of his father, who literally controlled the area.

Meanwhile, Roy has to deal with his dying father, who is bitter and hard to please. However, over a period of time, Roy's father reveals tidbits that finally answers some of Roy's questions.

Predictably, all of these people and their pasts/secrets bring closure to Roy and the terrible tragedy that led to his older brother's suicide.

I thought the book was alright...not quite a page-turner. I felt that Cook dragged on with revealing information from Roy's father and former love. It was like pulling teeth. Just spill the info and move on already.

This book will keep you guessing. Excellent writer. I couldn't put it down.

This offering from my favorite author is another work of great writing and rich characters.

This book reads as if Roy Slater was sitting across form you, sipping coffee and spinning the tale himself. It begins with an unrelated but no less shocking death, which becomes the reason for the story. Roy is the sleuth, a suspect, and the victim. So very well written.

I've enjoyed the Phineas series and am enjoying this one, also. I liked the cover of the book. Though, if I had a preference it would be for a book with the notes inbedded to illuminate some words or phrases that I was not familiar with.

OK, I'm a Trollope fan, and I sometimes wonder why these novels about social interactions 150 years ago interest me so much when I know I would have suffocated in such a rigid society.

First of all, Trollope describes human behaviour in a way I can understand better than any other novelist. I suffer from mild asperger syndrome, and am often baffled by peoples' behaviour in real life. I think I get some relief from this frustration by watching Trollope's characters while the author makes their motives clear and enables me to feel real compassion for them.

His novels reflect his belief that English gentlemen had found something close to the ideal system of values, and they explore the effects of someone violating those values, or of difficulties arising as they try to fit special circumstances into them.

In some of his other novels, he has been accused of antisemitism, and by modern standards there is some truth to this. I do not believe it was his intention to attack Jews, but in his efforts to plausibly create characters who did not behave like English gentlemen, he used the examples he saw of people who were raised in different cultures, but were to be found in London society. This issue does not arise in Dr. Thorne, partly because it is set in the country.

Dr. Thorne contains one scene that (to me) perfectly exemplifies his virtues. Dr. Thorne asks the heroine if she would like to be rich. She mentions a trivial luxury she would buy if she were. He offers to buy it for her. I will not spoil your enjoyment of her reply, but it moved me deeply.

I'm sure Trollope had no idea that this novel also illustrates why Britain later lost her world empire. It was written in 1858, twelve years before the Franco-Prussian war demonstrated that Germany was the rising power that must challenge England, thanks to the Prussian education system's emphasis on technical skills, but after Prussia had achieved a higher rate of economic growth than England.

A very successful railway engineer-businessman (a Bill Gates?) is drinking himself to death, and Dr. Thorne asks why.

'Oh my God! Have you not unbounded wealth? Can you not do anything you wish? anything you choose?'

'No' and the sick man shrieked with an energy that made him audible all throughout the house. 'I can do nothing that I would choose to do; be nothing that I would wish to be! What can I do? What can I be? What gratification can I have except the brandy bottle? If I go among gentlemen, can I talk to them? If they have anything to say about a railway, they will ask me a question: if they speak to me beyond that I must be dumb.'

It is not clear to me that Trollope recognized that this describes a limitation in the English gentlemen, let alone that this limitation would ultimately doom the empire. The US is definitely treating Bill Gates better than this.

(3.5 stars) The third in the Chronicles of Barsetshire, Dr. Thorne is not a satire like the mild satire of The Warden or the more pointed ecclesiastical satire of The Warden. Instead, this novel is pure melodrama, the story of Mary Thorne, a girl of uncertain parentage. Mary, often in the company of the Gresham sisters, with whom she has been schooled, is attracted to their brother Frank.

The Greshams, of a high social level, own a dilapidated estate, and their increasing debts have left them owing many wealthy landowners and lenders. Their only hope is that Frank, who will inherit the estate, marry a wealthy woman who will solve their cash-flow problems by trading her wealth for his family's status. Frank, however, is in love with Mary.

As Mary is increasingly ostracized because of her lack of high birth, she and Frank become increasingly in love. Despite other attempts to introduce Frank to wealthy, older women who might marry him and solve the estate's financial problems, he remains true to Mary. When Sir Roger Scratcherd, in poor health, decides to redo his will to honor the oldest child of his absent sister Mary, the scene is set for a change of fortunes.

Though the earlier Barsetshire novels are highly satiric, casting wry glances at the church and its behavior, this novel is more rooted in day to day activities, accurately depicting the class divisions in England at the time and emphasizing their absurdities. These divisions are so ingrained in society that there is little hope for any change and even less for any recognition that they might be morally wrong. Mary Thorne is the perfect little lady, despite her lack of family "background," and she shows those more "elevated" than she that she is more a lady than they are. The novel follows standard plot lines, and there is little doubt, throughout, that the romantic complications will be resolved as the reader hopes. The good and honest characters of low birth are rewarded, and the snobs and their heirs are brought low.

Though Trollope is as good as always with his dialogue and his pointed observations, this novel lacks the punch of his earlier satires. The action and melodrama are predictable, and the ending is completely expected. Adding to the complexity of life in Barchester, this novel provides some new characters for this community (and series), and suggests new complications for future novels of the Barset Chronicles. n Mary Whipple

Framley Parsonage
The Way We Live Now (Barnes & Noble Classics)
The Anthony Trollope Collection (The Barchester Chronicles / He Knew He Was Right / The Way We Live Now)

When we ask someone if they are engaged, we are asking if they have made with their partner an explicit and reciprocal promise to enter marriage. When Mary Thorne is asked the question, she takes it literally and means something wholly different.

Mary Thorne is the niece and adopted daughter of the eponymous main character of the novel, Doctor Thorne. (If you'll permit an aside before proceeding, Trollope begins the novel by addressing the question of who is in fact the main character of his novel. He doesn't answer this question, rather he leaves the final verdict up to the reader.) Though a member of an ancient Barsetshire family, Doctor Thorne's material fortunes have fallen and he cannot hope to arrange a marriage of wealth for his niece. However, this hardly matters since the doctor wishes his niece happiness, not wealth, and when prospects of wealth do come her way, he is rather perplexed as to what he should do.

Another important character, young Mr. Frank Gresham, is in a similar situation, though in his case his fortunes are falling rather than already fallen. As Doctor Thorne does for his niece, Frank cares for his happiness rather than his wealth. Alas, Frank's family has decided he must marry money. He objects and declares his love for Ms. Mary Thorne. She reciprocates Frank's feelings for her but in the face of his family's opposition, and their accusations of impropriety on her part, she cannot accept his proposal.

And yet Mary declares herself engaged even when she's renounced her beloved. Her heart is engaged to his and she cannot move it. He may do as he pleases, he may follow the wishes of his family and marry another. It doesn't matter, her heart will be nonetheless engaged to his with no prospect of turning to another.

It is this precise use of words and this detailed development of a plot turning on the quite literal nuances of an idiom which make Anthony Trollope's books a joy to read. This chapter of Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire, his "Comédie Humaine", is as satisfying as the previous two, and I warmly recommend it.

Vincent Poirier, Dublin

Making money and a good marriage: the bulwarks of solid middle-class society, and the theme of Trollope's third Barchester novel. The good Dr. Thorne has raised his brother's illegitimate daughter Mary, and she and Frank Gresham fall in love. Unfortunately for Frank his once well-off family is now in desperate straits, and he is implored to "marry money" - which pretty much rules Mary out. He goes off to seek his fortune with the rich Miss Dunstable, but cannot be untrue to Mary, and in a very humorous chapter, Miss Dunstable calls him out.

Unknown to everyone except the reader and Dr. Thorne, however, Mary will inherit a great fortune if events go a certain way, and, of course, they do. The reader is, therefore, cheated out of the "surprise" waiting Mary at the end, but the scenes preceding this of Frank going through the motions of pleasing his family while he and Mary remain faithful to each other is worth that disappointment. The chapter in which Dr. Thorne stands up to Lady Arabella (Frank's mother) and defends Mary after she's been banished from the Gresham home after being seen as an obstacle to Frank's marrying money, is a highlight of the novel. Just as good, of course, is the scene near the end where Mary defends herself against Lady Arabella. Trollope didn't think much of this novel; in fact, he couldn't understand why it was so popular with the public, but he's been about the only one to feel that way. Perhaps not as good as BARCHESTER TOWERS, it's still one of Trollope's most enjoyable works.

I absolutely loved this book when I read it at 12 years old, at 21 years old and I wanted to read it again and have my own copy. This edition was so full of typing errors that it was distracting. I can't imagine reading this copy having never read the book before. Even having read the story I had to puzzle out the meaning of some phrases or sentences!

I maybe a little biased but I'm a big Zane Grey fan. Despite the corn, this is a great read. It describes frontier life in the 1700's. Full of adventure and family loyalty, this book is simply wonderful. If you're looking for intrigue, introspection or deep meaning don't read Zane Grey, otherwise enjoy.

Zane Gray is a master of the western tale. His books cover the western expansion from the French and Indian wars right down to the 50's. This particular book is more historical than others, but still rich with action and romance. Don't miss out on this and other books by the "King of the West". I have read nearly all of his 30+ books, and find myself master of all the major and minor events the Western expansion. His plots grow slightly repetative (boy meets girl, ect.)but her never sets his stories in the same year or "territory". His best book is "Riders of the Purple Sage".

I am 15 years old and I too am a descendant of Betty zane. I read this book after I started my research about my family, and after I had discovered that my ancestors had written books about one another. This book is great even for teens !!!
Jessica King

Ps. Mrs. Brown if you read this message could you please leave me an e-mail address or something, because I am trying to contact members of my family, and Idiscovered that you are part of it...

In 1972 my father gave me a copy of this book in his efforts to instill in me the joy of reading. I still have that book and still love reading it after all these years. 31 years later I still enjoy it.

This chapter book will fill a real niche for young readers who are anxious to read a grown-up type book with chapters. The book reads like an adult book because it's not restricted with a graded vocabulary. Many young children speak with sophistication and yearn for books that are written with "real" language in mind. The three stories in this book ,No Soap, The Boy Who Hated Halloween, and The Ocean Vacation are about the author as a boy growing up in West Virginia. Each chapter is an adventure with exciting and unexpected endings. The chapter about halloween allows for two possible endings and if the child and parent want to become even more creative they can develop additional endings.Children will learn early with this book that there can be great variation in chapter books for No Soap with its play on language has thirteen chapters while The Ocean Vacation has only three. Yet the excitement is maintained in each story. This is a book that can be enjoyed silently or read aloud. The book is magnificently illustrated by Joan C. Waites. She worked with the author directly.Her illustrations required a great deal of research on West Virginia and its people.She learned a great deal about how they dressed and the tools used in the occupations of that time. There is a future Little Ned book in the planning stage. I look forward to it.

The stories are based in West Virginia. There are three stories and our children personally favored, "THE OCEAN VACATION" and "THE BOY WHO HATED HALLOWEEN."

If you want to introduce chapter books to young readers this is an excellent choice. It will not frustrate the early reader. The writing style is fun has good flow and the illustrations are sure to aid in holding the interest of any child.

As a mother of advanced twin 8 year old readers, a son and a daughter, both children eased through this title. They also truly enjoyed it. The book is reader friendly not only in story line and fun sketches but the print style and size are perfect for the 4-8 age group.

An adult will enjoy sharing these stories with any child. There is a classic feel and a sense of days gone by that the adult reader will appreciate.

Overall an excellent choice for a first chapter book pick!

The stories are based in West Virginia. There are three stories and our children personally favored, "THE OCEAN VACATION" and "THE BOY WHO HATED HALLOWEEN."

If you want to introduce chapter books to young readers this is an excellent choice. It will not frustrate the early reader. The writing style is fun has good flow and the illustrations are sure to aid in holding the interest of any child.

As a mother of advanced twin 8 year old readers, a son and a daughter, both children eased through this title. They also truly enjoyed it. The book is reader friendly not only in story line and fun sketches but the print style and size are perfect for the 4-8 age group.

An adult will enjoy sharing these stories with any child. There is a classic feel and a sense of days gone by that the adult reader will appreciate.

Overall an excellent choice for a first chapter book pick!

My son is 5 1/2 and is beginning to have a desire to read "chapter" books but often finds them difficult to actually read. The "Little Ned" stories have been perfect for him! He reads them again and again, and really identifies with this little boy. The illustrations help him understand the story as he reads. I would encourage parents (and teachers) of early readers to purchase this book to encourage more advanced reading by allowing young children to have success while reading "chapter" books.

Little Ned Stories: Book One is the first of a four volume series of "chapter-picture" books designed, written and illustrated for young readers ages 4 to 8, in grades K-3. This easy-reader series is highly recommended for parents and teachers seeking to wean children away from picture books to the longer chapter books they are expected to have mastered by the third grade. Little Ned Stories: Book One features three separate stories centered on the realistic adventures of a "six going on seven" year old boy set in West Virginia in the early 1950s. One story has a central message with a life lesson to be learned (The Ocean Vacation), the other two stories are just for fun (No Soap and The Boy Who Hated Halloween). The 128 pages comprising Little Ned Stories: Book One are enhanced 45 b/w illustrations.

I am addicted to The Cabin Series! I cannot wait for the 4th novel to come out. I met the author, C.J. Henderson, and she is a wonderful compliment to her books. A lovely lady.

My husband bought me "Cabin II" for my
birthday. I was happy, but his ulterior
motive was obvious when I caught him reading
"The Cabin Misery on the Mountain!"

Sandy

Well, she did it again. A great story and some very
different twists. The novel is very intriguing. I'm settling
down to read Cabin III.
Mr. Monroe

I loved the continuing story of Tuesday and Jacob. The author captures the evil and control Jacob had over the women and children on the mountain. He took everything away from them so he could control them and when he wasn't around Aunt Aggie took on the role as tyrant. You want to dislike Aunt Aggie and Big Bessie, but then again you must remember they were controled as much as the others.
The author offers twist and turns throughout the story. I can't hard wait to read the next book of this series.

I was amazed when I read the reviews on here. How could anyone actually enjoy reading one of these books? I rated it 1 star because that was the lowest rating allowed. I grew up in the hills of WV and this is the most preposterous and disgusting story I have ever read. The author's use of "knowed" in the present tense was a sure sign that she knew nothing about WV slang or mountain people. Knowed is often used by uneducated people as the past tense of know, but I have never heard it used in the present tense the way her characters did. It simply appeared to me to be an attempt to show how backward the characters were, but actually served to show how ignorant the author was about her subject. I hate to think that people in other places get their ideas about WV life from trash like this book. We bought these books as a gift for my mother, but thankfully I decided to read them before giving them to her. After reading the first one, I asked my sister to read it just to verify that I wasn't over-reacting, but her opinion was even lower than mine!! Don't waste your time or money on this.

I was 12, growing up a couple of counties away, when the dam burst at Buffalo Creek in 1972. It was just the latest disaster in less than a decade to afflict what I thought was my cursed native state: The Silver Bridge collapse, the explosion at the Farmington No. 9 mine and the Marshall University plane crash.

This book is in three parts, the first describing the disaster, the second a historical overview of Appalachia in general and the Buffalo Creek area in particular. The third is on the effects on the survivors of the flood.

Though the Buffalo Creek flood happened more than 30 years ago, its lessons are as current as the destruction of New Orleans.

Kai Erickson writes quite well for a sociologist and the book only begins to drag a bit at the end, in the sociology part. Maybe it's just the (justifiable) litany of complaints from the survivors. If this account is any measure, the survivors of Hurricane Katrina will be suffering in psyche long after their material losses have been recouped.

Anyone with further interest in the Buffalo Creek flood ought to also read Gerald Stern's "The Buffalo Creek Disaster," written from the point of view of one of the lawyers who took part in the resulting litigation.

This was a very intersting book for me. I was looking for information on this flood & I found the information plus more. I didn't really realize it was going to deal so much with "how the person works" in tragedies. I came to understand the Appalacian people as a unique group. I also understand how & why the flood started. But I also learned a lot about how people's "mind" deals with events such as this type of tragedy. And I also can understand how people in general, including myself, react to events in much smaller every-day problems. I can now understand many of my "reactions" & how they are normal & very unique to each individual. It helped me a lot Plus I learned a lot about the needless tragedy. It made me think a little. Good Read.

In February of 1972, the town of Buffalo Creek in West Virginia was devastated by a flood, which was, in a way, 'man-made'. Water from heavy rains collected in a pile of coal slag, eventually working through and sweeping the town, killing over a hundred people. Erikson recounts this disaster in his first chapter, but devotes most of the book to describing the culture of Appalachia, and how it affected the people's psychology and recovery.

For the most part this is a sociological study. Erikson examines the people of West Virginia and Buffalo Creek to discover why they think and act as they do. Culture, it turns out, made this disaster even worse than it might have been in other communities. Survivors could not handle the disruption brought about by the flood. Many said they just didn't feel like themselves anymore, with all that had changed.

While I would recommend this book to anyone, I do think we should have been told a bit more about what eventually happened to Buffalo Creek and its people. Perhaps the book was published before this was fully possible. If so, Erikson might see fit to revisit the town and its survivors again.

In the summer of 1948, we lived in Lorado, West Virginia (Logan County). The Buffalo Creek ran behind `our' house, while a road and the tracks of the C&O Railroad ran just beyond our front yard. The photo on page 37 shows those tracks that we often walked from Lorado towards Man, WV. It could well be a picture of our former front yard.

I , of course, remember the news accounts of the 1972 disaster.

So, I have a personal outlook at this sociological follow-up of the lives wrecked when the earth dam and mine tailings gave way.

Kai Erickson has done a deeply moving and eloquent account of the ramifications of this recent tragedy.

I recommend it to all interested in mankind and the factors that fall upon our fellow travelers as we all 'work our way through life.'

On Feb. 26, 1972, a mining company dam broke, sending 132 million gallons of water rushing down Buffalo Creek in Logan County, West Virginia. Death and property destruction were great, but even worse was the devastation of the community spirit and the long-lasting mental trauma suffered by the inhabitants. Erikson explores what he sees as a major dichotomy in the ethos of the "mountain people" involved in this disaster: a sense of independence versus a need for dependence. Erikson believes this seems to breed inaction and a total feeling of loss for these people in disasters such as this. There are, of course, other factors at work here, but it's an interesting theory. Comparisons to other similar disasters (hurricane victims in Florida, for example) would make for a worthwhile study.

Well researched and cleanly written, Sympathy for the Devil relates the events of 2 murders in San Francisco in 1895. The author painstakingly recreates the events leading up to the murders, the media coverage to rival that of the OJ trial, the trial itself, and the subsequent appeals. You can tell the author did her homework. Each chapter is filled with footnotes that provide not only the source of the information, but at times additional facts about the time period, the city, and the mores of the time. It was fascinating to read about a city I visit regularly and recognize some of the places mentioned.

However, the most fascinating part of this book was the trial itself. The media circus surrounding the trial was phenomenal; the 3 major newspapers took turns printing sensational accounts of the murder, the trial, and the defendant as well as out and out lies in the form of forged letters and false testimonies of people involved in the case. Additionally, the differences between trial procedure and proper behavior then and now are astounding. For example, in the trial, jurors actually stood up and asked questions of the witnesses.

The only negative comment I have is that the author waited until the very end of the book to discuss the possible reason behind the murders. Granted, this was her opinion (though backed by facts) so I can understand why she placed it outside the narrative of events from murder to trial, but it was frustrating at times to read the story without any idea why these murders occurred.

Despite this one drawback, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in mysteries, history, and human behavior.

First of all I have to say that Virginia A. McConnell did fantastic work on the Case of William Henry Theodore Durrant and the two young victims.I thought in the last chapter of the book she speculated very well on what happened on the night Durrant supposedly murdered those young girls. But I have to remind myself it's just a speculation. I do not think Theo got a fair trial and the book gave me the impression that they wanted to hold somebody accountable than doing thorough investigation. There is no absolute proof that Durrant did these
heinous crimes so the guilty verdict was not right at all!!

I don't want to hold him accountable just because the media wants him to be. The was no concrete evedience to support his guilt. Besides there were no draw backs in this book from begnning to end. Durrant was a good boy and never had any strange behavior until that massive brain fever he suffered which I'm sure
left his brain with sever damage and I do have sympathy for him for that. Back then very few people survived brain fever in Theodore's day. If someone did survive they were never the same.

The victims of this tragic story I also have deep sympathy for and they were murdered in such tragic circumstances that never should have happened.

This book is great for every crime buff...and a great story to be made into a movie!!!!

Being a "true crime" book lover since Ann Rule wrote "A Stranger Beside Me", I was looking forward to this book which follows a pair of murders in 1895 San Fransisco. It is a fascinating read - really fun to see how over a hundred years ago this was investigated, tried and reported on. The only draw back came at the end when the author expressed her personally sympathy for the murderer because of possible brain damage. The account was very fun to read. The "he who is without sin...cast the first stone" sentiment is preachy and uncalled for. I look forward to more books of this type!

The second book by this author is even better than the first! The story gives insight into both the murderer and his victims.
It was done with great care to detail to compare the cultures present and past, which is fasinating. Could a young man who seemed to have a good future ahead of him have commited these crimes? What possibly could have drove him to do something like this? If not caught, would he have become a serial killer much like modern day Ted Bundy or was it a simple crime of passion and a cover up?
You MUST read this book!

What exactly is a Victorian murder case anyway?

There's a mystique about "Victorian murder cases" that is possessed by devotees of true crime non-fiction, but it sounds as though all that must happen for a murder or series of crimes to be so regarded is that they take place during the Victorian Era (1837-1901).

Of course, the Jack the Ripper murders from 1888 are regarded as the best and the darkest of all Victorian murder cases. The brutal serial killings of prostitutes, the sexual nature of the crimes themselves, accentuated by the certain body parts which were particularly violated by the Ripper's knife, the exposure of proper British society to the world of prostitution and the seaminess of London's East End - even today, all of these cause right-minded people to solemnly nod their heads and remark on how atrocities are regularly caused by the hypocrisy of blue-blooded aristocrats toward sexual matters. But does the Theo Durrant case, circa 1895, really fit neatly into this same criminal category just because of its chronology?

For the most part, Virginia McConnell is to be commended for her well-researched and comprehensive presentation of the Emmanuel Baptist Church murders. Durrant was regarded by his contemporaries and by many later researchers simply as a monster, and McConnell's contrary theme, as hinted by the title, is that Durrant was a decent man and a genuine religious devotee of decidedly non-murderous disposition for whom these two murders were isolated acts that likely would not have been repeated.

Notwithstanding her moral judgment, she is unsparing in her examination. She marshals the facts impressively and in chronological order, particularly the testimony of the witnesses who observed Theo Durrant in the company of Blanche Lamont as he escorted her to the church, in which belfry her body was later found. The circumstantial evidence which led to the quick conviction of Durrant for the murder of Blanche Lamont (in light of the death sentence imposed upon him, he was never tried for Minnie Williams' death) is impressive for its volume and its probity. The evidence proffered by Durrant and his attorneys in defense is shown to be wanting; and there is even a suggestion of one or more aborted private confessions by Durrant.

McConnell also provides several interesting scenarios as to how and why Durrant murdered the two young women and plausibly maintains that neurological influences (Durrant had suffered from bacterial meningitis) and biochemical influences (she diagnoses Durrant as manic-depressive) likely accounted for his uncharacteristic behavior. But she also seems inclined to portray the murders as peculiarly Victorian crimes - erotic bloody affronts to a repressive 19th century society, in which some elements were struggling for freedom.

However, apart from chronology, it's difficult to see why the Bell Tower murders would be thought of as Victorian crimes. Apparently, it's not even necessary that a crime be committed in Victorian ENGLAND to be so classified. The Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Francisco's Mission District was a good 6000 miles away from Windsor Castle. More importantly, 19th century San Francisco, with its gin joints and Barbary Coast dens of iniquity, frequented openly by all classes, must have been equally distant from Victorian London in the cultural sense.

While McConnell delves extensively into Durrant's family life, she seems to largely overlook its significance. Papa Durrant was a weak impotent father figure, and Mamma Durrant was an overbearing overly-possessive mother whose affection for her son (as well as the affection that she demanded in return) was unhealthy and unnatural, just the sort of mother that has produced monsters on many other occasions. Yet McConnell barely acknowledges these elements as contributing factors to the murderous personality that Durrant temporarily developed.

The fact is that as over the years that have elapsed since the Bell Tower case, as fatherlessness has become more and more prevalent, the combination of overbearing mothers and weak or absent fathers has been the cause of many thousands of particularly brutal murders and perhaps at least one presidential assassination. The Durrant case isn't a Victorian murder case at all; it's a 20th century murder case reflecting what would become that century's principal social epidemic.

On the other hand, what exactly was Theo Durrant's precise role in the deaths of the two women? As convincing a case as the author makes for his guilt, she passes lightly over the possible role played by a figure whose shadow never seems entirely absent from this case: the mysterious Reverend J. George Gibson, pastor of the Emmanuel Baptist Church.

A man of very peculiar tendencies, a man who seemed overly eager to protect the church's reputation by hiding the murders from the authorities, a man who brought in handlers from the outside specifically for the purpose of handling inquiries from a suspicious press, a man who indeed should have known the contours of the church at least as well as Theo Durrant (though he denied this in his testimony), Reverend Gibson was widely suspected at the time and was named by Theo's partisans as an alternative suspect.

And as unlikely as that might appear, McConnell runs too lightly over Gibson's tendency to "hide, ostrich-like and pretend that nothing had happened". She runs too lightly over his flippant and suspicious testimony at the inquest and preliminary hearing and passes these things off as products of his fragile and eccentric nature. This is particularly faulty in light of her own curiosity as to how Durrant managed to carry Blanche Lamont's body to the belfry by himself. Her later explanation that adrenaline gave him the strength to do so is not necessarily satisfying. Was Blanche carried to the belfry by two men?

McConnell's book is an impressive work whose narrative delivers slightly less than the research promises. But it may yet prove to be the Warren Commission Report of the Bell Tower murder case - a weighty tome that is the start of all inquiries but which raises at least as many questions as it answers.

What is being sold here, the 4th or 3rd edition? The above book description makes it sound like its the 4th edition, with a total of 117 pages, but the book cover shown is the 3rd edition (99 pages). This is very confusing.

EXCELLENT BOOK. THE VERY BEST FOR THE AMERICAN COLLECTOR. I NOW HAVE ALL (4) EDITIONS AND IT SURE HAS HELPED ME WITH MY COLLECTION. SIDNEY SELIGSON DID A FIND JOB AND I WANT TO COMMEND DARA FOR COMPLETING THE 4TH. EDITION. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL COLLECTORS.

This is the 4th edition of this book. I previously had purchased all three of the other editions. I am a major collector of Fostoria American Glassware, and this book tells it all. Very helpful in describing items. Highly recommend.....

I AM INTERESTED IN THIS BOOK AND YOUR ON-LINE CATALOG OFFERS SAMPLE PAGES. HOWEVER, THE PAGE CONTENTS YOU OFFER,PARTICULARY THE FRONT AND BACK PAGES, OFFER NO USEFUL INFORMATION. WILL YOU PLEASE REVISE THE SAMPLE CONTENT TO INCLUDE A PAGE WITH PHOTOGRAPHS? THAT REVISED INFORMATION WILL GIVE ME WHAT I NEED TO DECIDE ON A PURCHASE.

This is a must for serious collectors. It has saved hundreds of times the price. There are many glass pieces out there called "American Fostoria" that are not. The description and pictures make it much easier to tell the real items. The prices are quite accurate, but seem to be quite low on the really rare ones.

The book sounded good when I picked it up, but really, it is incredibly cliche and has an overused theme. Not worth reading

Gretchen Moran Laskas's The Miner's Daughter is a haunting story of poverty set in a Depression-era mining town in West Virginia. Willa Lowell and her large, loving family are trapped in a mining ghost town with no chance for work, meaning no food other than meager rations of soup beans and thin cornbread. Willa's mother has just completed a difficult, dangerous pregnancy, and as the eldest daughter, Willa is responsible for household chores and for watching the other children while her mother recovers.

The other mining families are just as hard-hit by the Depression, especially those who are foreign-born like the Olivettis, immigrants from Italy. Willa is sensitive and intelligent, and loves to read, so when a missionary comes offering a large library of pristine books, Willa devours them in-between chores, beginning with classics such as Little Women and working her way into more difficult poetry by Poe and Whitman.

When Willa's father and half-brother Ves leave to search for work at Hawk's Nest, Willa is left to hold down the precarious fort. As her mother's too weak to work, and the next-oldest is only ten years old, Willa must masquerade as a boy in order to pick in the fields; otherwise, the family would starve. She meets Johnny Settle, a boy around her own age who is smitten by her intelligence and courage, and the two begin a bashful courtship.

The remainder of the novel chronicles Roosevelt's projects as part of the New Deal, including a personal visit to the Riley Mines by Mrs. Roosevelt that has a huge impact on the Lowells' lives. The author includes brief notes as to actual New Deal settlements created by the Roosevelts, as well as several websites that give further information about real places and events in the story.

Miner's Daughter is written with great sensitivity towards the harsh realities of poverty, including poignant contrasts between the haves and the have-nots in a nearby town. This is a book that is just as pertinent today in a time of recession, inflation, and rising unemployment, and a book that speaks volumes on the warmth and love of family and the need for all of us to realize our dreams.

Pour yourself a cup of tea and spend an evening viewing a Depression-era mining camp through sixteen-year-old Willa Lowell's eyes. When the story opens, Willia worries about the health of her ailing, pregnant mother while dealing with the difficult task of feeding and caring for her family. A difficult childbirth threatens Mama's life, but Willa's strength and hard work helps this close-knit family pull through a hard winter. An African-American midwife, Granny Maylie, is the only person who comes to Mama's aid when the company doctor turns his back. When the mine closes, Daddy and older brother Ves go south to look for work while Willa helps Mama care for three younger siblings. The arrival of Miss Grace, a missionary, opens Willa's eyes to the beauty of books and education. Willa, along with her Italian-American friend Roselia, visit Miss Grace's home in a larger town. For the first time, Willa realizes not every family lives in poverty. Conversations with her older brother, Ves, add to her confusion as he opens her eyes to politics and the unions.

Willa disguises herself as a boy to pick vegetables as a farm worker. Her budding romance with her brother's friend, Johnny, is overshadowed when her father returns home, sick with a lung infection. Miss Grace brings a visitor, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, to visit the Lowells. This visit results in an offer for the family to move to one of Roosevelt's New Deal towns, Arthurdale. Willa must choose between marrying Johnny, or staying with her family. Offers of education and opportunity make her choice even more difficult.

The quiet strength of this book lies in its vivid and detailed descriptions of life in the mining camp, and in its deftly-characterized picture of an affectionate and tightly-knit family. The relationship between Mama and Daddy is particularly noteworthy. Their real, but nondemonstrative, love for each other has a positive impact on each of their children. As Willa faces choices related to her own romance and future life, she draws on the lessons she has learned from watching her parents. Willa's younger sister, Seraphina, draws reader sympathy with her awkward and clumsy energy. I couldn't help hoping that there would be more books about this family, especially about Seraphina.

If this book were a photograph, it would focus tightly on one family, while letting the larger political and social picture blur slightly into the background. It's true that the novel delves only briefly into issues such as racial and ethnic prejudice, labor relations, union organization, and politics. But by focusing so tightly on one family, the reader learns much about the gritty day-to-day reality of life in a mining camp. It piques reader curiosity, and leaves you wanting to explore more about the larger issues raised in the story. A brief author's note at the end of the novel links readers to sources for further investigation.

Altogether, a quiet jewel in the world of historical fiction for young readers. If you enjoy the novels of Ruth WhiteSweet Creek Holler (A Sunburst Book), Kerry MaddenLouisiana's Song, Delia RayGhost Girl: A Blue Ridge Mountain Story, and others, you'll find a place on your bookshelf for this novel.

i thought this was an absolutley great book.historically accurate. i met Gretchen in person and thought that she was a very nice person, and she is thinging of doing a sequel to miners daughter.

Willa Lowell is a 16-year-old girl living the harsh realities of a Depression-era mining camp. She has always lived a hardscrabble existence with only one dress to wear, little food to eat, and a house so poorly insulated that the family stuffs their mattresses with newspaper to help keep warm in the winter. But things become more difficult when the mines shut down and her father and brother must look for work elsewhere, leaving Willa behind to care for a sickly mother and three younger siblings.

THE MINER'S DAUGHTER is a testament to the ordinary lives people build despite impossible circumstances. Most of the book deals with the emotional ties Willa has with her family and various members of her community, whether it's her best friend Roselia, an Italian immigrant, or Miss Grace, the missionary who introduces Willa to poetry. These relationships are somewhat idealized, the author only occasionally referring to the impact poverty has on human relationships. There is subtle discussion of families breaking up in search of work or under the pressure of too many mouths to feed. There is mention of the competitiveness and jealousy between neighbors all fighting to find work, but these conflicts don't enter much into the plot.

Instead, Willa and her family are lifted out of their poverty by Roosevelt's New Deal when they are chosen as one of the families for Arthurdale, an experimental community designed to alleviate rural poverty by forming planned communities based around skilled laborers. Willa's family qualifies because they are white, non-immigrant Protestants, and Willa's father has experience woodworking. This causes some tension in the mining camp, most of which is alleviated when one of Willa's letters is published in a newspaper drawing attention to the arbitrary standards by which her family is chosen:

Willa writes: "I worry about my friend Roselia, who couldn't come to Arthurdale because her mama and daddy were born in Italy. The government tells too many people 'no.' Washington D.C. demands too much from the people they are supposed to serve.... They judge and find wanting those like Granny Maylie, who cared for my mama when no company doctor would, only because of the color of her skin."

The book ends with Willa's family safely provided for and Willa looking to a bright future where she will use the power of words to make the world a better place. It adheres strictly to the middle-class values of hard work, education, virtue and cleanliness, leading to a miraculous transformation of impoverished lives. Little is said about the controversy surrounding the New Deal, or about the Mine Wars that occurred previously in West Virginia in an attempt to better the conditions of workers prior to winning the right to organize unions in 1933.

The strengths of THE MINER'S DAUGHTER lie in the specificity of its details. Readers unfamiliar with rural poverty may be surprised at the conditions in which Willa and her family live. Gretchen Moran Laskas describes their diet and apparel carefully, but only briefly mentions the company system under which a working man and his family owe their entire livelihood to a company. Often isolated from larger towns, company camps owned not just the mine but also the workers' houses and all the stores where workers could go for supplies. This meant that companies could charge exorbitant prices for basic necessities, charging them against the future earnings of an employee and miring workers in debt from which they could never emerge.

Working conditions were dangerous, profits often taking precedence over human safety. Most companies employed guards who would beat employees at any sign of disobedience and punish them for trying to better their conditions. Although the novel alludes to the terrible conditions in many mines (including the Hawk's Nest Tunnel cave-in that claimed the lives of nearly 500 miners), for the most part these conflicts take place outside the margins of the book.

Also missing is a larger discussion of the process of unionization. At the end of the book Willa's brother leaves to fight for the right to organize, but there is little context about what this means for workers or their families. Thankfully, the author adds some online resources at the end of the book for curious readers to learn more about the period, but that does little to alleviate the sense that many of the realities that would've impacted someone like Willa are omitted in this coming-of-age story.

THE MINER'S DAUGHTER will appeal most to readers interested in historical fiction about young women, particularly those who are outgrowing series like the popular American Girls.

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

Without Robert C. Byrd, West Virginia would not be what it is today. That may be a weird statement, seeing it isn't much now, but it would be nothing. Senator Byrd lobbied hard to get funding for a state the nation forgot about. Robert C. Byrd helped propel West Virginia into a state now gaining national recognition (President Bush likes it for a 4th of July stop). Like him or hate him, you got to respect the man.

I was a little hesitant to buy a biography of over 800 pages. However, I was quite surprised by the content and layout. Although the book is divided into chapters dealing with specific areas of Senator Byrd's life, the narrative is more along the lines of storytelling. I have enjoyed the fact that the format is in small little stories; a motivator to complete a book of this size.

This is an enjoyable, well written book. Although I am originally from West Virginia and thus hold a stronger interest for Senator Byrd, I believe that many will enjoy learning about one of our country's most interesting Senators. Yes, this book does confront the fact that Senator Byrd was in the KKK, unlike what is said in other reviews.

Sent this book to my 89 year old dad who knows Mr. Byrd and who also ran several coal mines in the 50's. So much of the book is true to every detail - this book tells of a time of hard work, good people, company ownership of it's employees, labor unions, and of times that only few know. It is a very pure piece of American History.

Although the Democrats pride themselves on civil rights issues (never mind that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed due to Republicans, not Democrats, who were opposed) they have a lot of 'splainin to do. Apparently, the KKK was "a fraternal group of elites - doctors, lawyers, clergy, judges and other 'upstanding' people". Wow! That's neat... I wonder if anyone will question Senator Byrd about this. People ignored his comments that "(...)", so I suppose he'll get a pass on this, too.
The next time you hear about those "racist Republicans", ask yourself, which party has the dubious honor of having a real life Klansman as their leader in the senate.

An autobiography this book surely is. all 770 pages! I read it with great interest from beginning to end, tho it is a heavy book and could have been shortened considerably.

Senator Byrd published this memoir in 2005 at the age of 87. As a West Virginia senator in Washington, DC. for more than 50 years, he is well qualified to inform us of the workings of government. He manages to convey the story of his entire life and career, as he witnessed and helped shaped American history.

The book is very readable and filled with opinions on most all subjects. Several pictures are appreciated as the reader digests 87 years in the making of a fine gentlemen who, as an orator, a historian, a debator, and a patriotic American, as well as a proud West Virginian, is respected and who inspires us to reach out and make a difference in our corner of the world.

Of course, if you are from the beautiful state of West Virginia, or know someone who is, or have relatives there, or live in neighboring states, or if you, like me, just enjoy learning how our legislative branch has evolved, especially the past half century, you'll enjoy this book also. You may want to visit the
state aptly nicknamed "Mountain Mama" and drive on the highways Senator Byrd helped fund, see the schools and industries named after him, and the bridges, tourist attractions, etc. etc. with his stamp of approval. If it were not for him, a native son who was raised near the coal mines, attended a two room schoolhouse, and worked his way up from a butcher to a senator who "delivered" to his state, we would not be appreciating the wonders of West Virginia, as John Denver portrays in his song "Country Roads".

I was impressed with Senator Byrd's insights. His campaigns over the years had a unique flavor - he played the fiddle and sang mountain music, visited, enjoyed, and helped fund useful projects in every county in his state, made some mistakes, learned from them, and grew into a skillful politician with an attitude - to stand up for what is right, to uphold the Constitution, and to keep America one nation, under God.

I learned a great deal from reading the book and perhaps you will ask legislators from your own state "What have YOU done for us lately!" - It appears to me that Robert C. Byrd, a proud super intelligent West Virginian will be a tough act to follow. Americans will do well to get on the websites of state legislators and voice their concerns.

Incidentally, this reviewer is not from West Virginia, tho I have visited there and studied the history and people. It is a great state for geneology purposes with beautiful websites for every county. Its citizens can be proud and grateful that Senator Byrd's loyalty, influence, support, courage, and calm reasoning has never wavered and that when he speaks before the senate, and to presidents and leaders all over the world, they listen attentively.