West Virginia Books

"West Virginia" is a fast reading introduction to the history of the Mountain State. Beginning with a brief section on the region from Revolutionary times, the book quickly moves on to the Civil War era which gave birth to West Virginia statehood.

The Unionist sentiment in the Western part of Virginia resulted, in 1863, in the only case of succession of a portion of one state from another in American history. The Civil War in West Virginia is portrayed both in its military and political aspects.

Williams tells the story of the evolution of West Virginia from the political, economic and social perspectives. The fabled Hatfield-MCcoy feud is given ample attention, as is the Hatfield who served his state as governor and United States Senator.

In a state with an undistinguished political history, Williams introduces the reader to a series of governors, senators and political bosses who struggled with absentee landowners, rail and coal concerns and labor leaders to lead West Virginia through the 19th and 20th centuries.

The story of West Virginia is a story of hope and despair, promise and danger, fulfillment and disappointment. Through it all Williams presents its story as a drama, partly heroic and partly tragic. Not a partisan Mountaineer booster, Williams tells the good with the bad. For anyone wishing to know the history of our country, state by state, this book fills in one piece of the American mosaic in a most pleasant fashion.

I feel like I'm cheating the writer by giving it only four stars, because this book's great strength is its biggest flaw: It's a very good read. This is a broad outline of West Virginia history with some of the more important events colored in a bit. It's a bit over 200 pages and reads a like a novel.

I wish this had been the text we used in West Virginia history class back in junior high in the instead of that dreadful, trivia-laden textbook.

It's divided into chapters named after some of West Virginia places where major events in state history took place, (Point Pleasant, Harpers Ferry, Droop Mountain, Tug Fork, Paint Creek, Hawks Nest, Buffalo Creek) but the chapters cover far more in geography and time than the events that made the places famous. The Droop Mountain chapter, for instance covers not only that battle, but most of the Civil War and statehood period.

So it's not all-inclusive (Jim Comstock tried to do that with his West Virginia encyclopedia), but that's what makes it a pleasure to read and not a chore. One night when I couldn't sleep I picked up Williams' book and started in the middle, in the Paint Creek chapter. I was more than 30 pages into the book and into the next chapter before I could sleep.

This well-written and well-documented 2005 volume is everything that last year's "West Virginia Tough Boys" by Davis wasn't -- a hard look at West Virginia politics by a reporter who followed the game for years and conveys to the average reader how political life has been lived for decades in a corrupt state. Where Davis focused on political shenanigans by powerful sheriffs and courthouse rings in southern West Virginia's coal counties, Stafford takes a broader, more holistic view, following, in chronological order, the state administrations of various governors from the 1930s through the 1990s. Stafford's work is a lot easier to follow, doesn't rely so much on long, rambling passages from oral histories, and brings the practiced eye of a veteran statehouse political reporter to his subject. It's a valuable addition to the literature, however neither Davis nor Stafford really manages to satisfactorily answer the fundamental question: why has political corruption and malfeasance been permitted to persist for so long in America's poorest, neediest state?

I'm not a fan of amnesia stories. However, this case was of short duration. And it helped to bring the characters closer together. The idea behind the amnesia, I'm sure. I would like to have gotten to know Connor's father and brothers a bit. But most of the Born in the USA series are a bit short of secondary relationships of the main characters. Not enough room to develop them, I suspect. A nice beach read.

Not to bad, but a bit outdated on a few campsites.

Ended up driving around and found a nice wv campsite
called Bluestone. I would recommened it to anyone interested.

I serve as the Chief of Resource Education at Badlands National Park, one of the few sites in North America that has had black-footed ferrets reintroduced. This book has good information and provides children between the ages of 8 and 12 with a good introduction to this extremely rare mammal species. It is a bit dated as the black-footed ferret recovery program continues; however, it is still a good reference.

I've read other writings that Ms. Covey-Fry has written and eagerly awaited the release of this book. I'm sure it will be worth the wait. Her research is always thorough and her stories easily captivate the reader's imagination of a by-gone time. She is part historian and part investigator as she pieced together her family's early roots in America.

This book was the most exiting dragon book that I ever read.

This guide to the entire 184 mile C&O canal is wonderful, with nice cutaway illustrations of locks, boats, the gatekeeper's house; well-written accounts and vintage photos of life on barge boats, current information on the park's amenities. It's small enough to be portable. Very useful and enjoyable guide. I would have liked more information on the possibility of canoeing the entire length of the river, thus my 4 star rating. A great little book, and quite affordable.

I loved this book. A lot of my family lives in W.V. but this book allowed me to explore a part of the State that relatives never show you! It's as if they don't want to because it's their best kept secret.

A trip to W.V. with this book in the Fall is the perfect weekend getaway!

I just used this book to navigate through the Dolly Sods Wilderness loop last weekend. The book was an invaluable tool because of the (somewhat) detailed trail maps it offers and the elevation profile of the trail. I did find the 2-3 page description of the trail to be pretty good, but I felt that it was too vague in spots.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get started hiking in the Mon. After a few trips, you might even start making your own loops with knowledge you soak up from this book. I digg.