Kentucky Books

Having read some of Mr. Cunningham's regional non-fiction, I was pleased to learn of his historical fiction work "Children of Promise". Set in the town of Currentville before the creation of Lake Barkley, this novel tells stories of a group of boys growing up in a town without a future. Mr. Cunningham's talent for painting with words makes one feel like part of the story. The format in which this book was written is unique and more interesting than the traditonal sequence. He also did a very good job of combining the true aspects of time period into the well-woven details of the fictional plot. I simply couldn't stop reading it.

As a literacy volunteer, I am always looking for stories to engage my student. CHOICES offers short stories with lots of topics for discussion. For example, in one story a man feels destined to failure because his mother didn't have enough milk when she was growing up so he has bad teeth! A victim mentality is a valid choice by default. Other stories consider choices in employment, marriage, friendship, or moving to new locations. While the reading is not complex, the ideas are and provide great value for critical thinking.

"Cincinnati Ghosts" is for everyone who loves a good ghost story...especially REAL ONES. I've read several fictional ghost stories that spook the daylights out of me and several real life accounts that are interesting but not very spooky. Well, this book combines the first-hand actual accounts WITH all the spine tingling story telling! The end result is one great book. Ms. Laven does an excellent job of giving you all the facts and research but also keeping you on the edge of your seat. It's everything you hope for in a ghost book. Ghost-Hunters all over the nation will want to move to the tri-state area after reading it. I hope there's a sequel! WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE HOME ALONE AT NIGHT!

Stuart's stories of the backwoods during the first half of the 20th Century are a piece of Americana. They haven't lost anything with time, though they've become more foreign. It's clear they're written for a readership that savors a good yarn and has the appreciation to savor it again sometime in the future.

Watch a blusterer, proud of his prowess as an eater almost kill himself in a kernal corn eating contest with a chicken. Spend the day traveling with a drunk who votes in 36 different precincts in a single election. Experience the remorse of a thief, convicted of disassembling an idle steam-shovel, carrying it away on his back, piece by piece, and reassembling it in his barn, all because he fell in love with it.

Bear wrestling, youthful mountain romance, digging worms for fishing surrounded by a coal mine and a moving love for the land; these are all the meat and potatoes of Stuart's delightful, entertaining stories.

Excellent reading, one story at a time. You'll save the book and read it again. This isn't fare for the disposable-minded, 'Yeah, I already read that one' culture, but the 21st Century might profit by reading it anyway.

My Dad was an avid squirrel hunter after the War (II) and brought me along with him long before I could ever carry a gun. He involved me in many of his favorite outdoor activities and I still thank him, although he is gone, every day for his patience and love for me. Ron Ellis is a very talented writer that has evoked vivid memories of those hunts with my Dad. It is a book that I carry with me when I travel. I read a few pages each night before turning in. It is that good.....

In this long overdue collection, Ballard and Chung have carefully presented Harriette Arnow's twenty-five extant stories, including fifteen previously unpublished ones. Arranged roughly in the order in which they were written, each one is prefaced with one or two paragraphs documenting the circumstances in which it was written, published or rejected. These stories range from the simple and naïve to the learned and sophisticated. "Winky Creek's New Song" and "Dreams Come True" were written when Ms Arnow was still in high school, while later stories like "King Devil's Bargain" and "Ketchup-Making Saturday" were studies for two of her novels. One of the most terse and stunning short pieces I have ever read and originally published in the small literary journal THE NEW TALENT in 1935, "A Mess of Pork" alone is worth the price of the volume.

The ten previously published stories are:
Marigolds and Mules
A Mess of Pork
The Washerwoman's Day
The Two Hunters
Blessed-Blessed
The First Ride
Fra Lippi and Me
The Hunter
Love?
Interruptions to School at Home

Author of Hunter's Horn, Mountain Path and other novels, and several historical works concerning Appalachia, Arnow was National Book Award winner in 1955. Although her most famous work, The Dollmaker, has enjoyed much success and was dramatized for television in 1984 with Jane Fonda playing Gertie Nevels, her works have been largely relegated to "regional" literature and subsequently her short stories, up until now, have been hard to find. So it is with special pleasure that we can now trace some of Arnow's evolving artistry and sociopolitical consciousness through these works she left behind.

A New Critic to her core, Gordon's discipline, control, and craftsmanship shine through in her short stories. This collection should show anyone why she was such a tremendous influence on Flannery O'Connor. As a master of the short story, Gordon deserves the recognition accorded O'Connor, Katherine Anne Porter, and Eudora Welty. I hope someone will reissue Gordon's anthology 'The House of Fiction.'

This is a very exciting andinsprational Book about Col.Sanders life.I hope that this book someday\soon gets back into print.

It remains one of the great mysteries of history how the Spanish Civil War came to be viewed as a struggle of Democracy versus Fascism, when, in fact, it was actually a battle between Soviet Communism and Conservative Reactionaries. Part of the explanation can be found in Richardson's excellent little book, which describes how, through and through, the International Brigades were creatures of the Kremlin, with the sole intent the sovietization of Spain. He tells the tale of the recruitment of this Red Foreign Legion, which had two main goals; the defense of the Spanish Rrepublic and as a propaganda and training tool to promote international communism.
While many if not most in the media today continue to characterize Franco as the fascist bad guy, aided by Hitler and Mussolini, this conflict demonstrates how fuzzy the whole issue of fascism vs democracy vs communism really was back then. As it turns out, Hitler was absolutely right in his assertion that Spain had to be saved from Bolshevism, am opinion that the western democracies blithely ignored. Unfortunately, many Spaniards have been so propagandized to hate Franco that the truth has been obscured. And it is today simply politically unthinkable to even suggest that Hitler could have actually done the right thing while democratic stalwarts like Roosevelt did nothing but mouth platitudes.
Reichardson's book is an outstanding example of how personal recollections and archival research can create a compelling view of a significant aspect of a little-known war. Highly recommended to any student of communism or pre-war Europe.

This guide is excellent. Perfect, in my opinion.

Birds are separated by types with a quick guide in the front pointing to the pages with more complete information. This information includes general information, habitat description, pictures of both the male and female, other ID, range map, pictures of similar birds, nesting information, things to look for, interesting facts and even a picture of an egg.

Quite a lot for a book that fits easily into a jacket pocket. I can't recommend this book highly enough.