West Virginia Books

Amazing book. It's very heartening to see that the work of a few concerned people in Appalacia made a difference. This book really illustrated the battle between the people and Massey Energy. Really opened my eyes to the disgusting corporate greed displayed by this company. With coal and oil companies making billions in profit, is it worth destroying land, sickening children, polluting air, and allowing mine workers to work obscene shifts and in dangerous conditions for the company to get a few more dollars?

Some say this book is biased. I say it's hard not to be biased when looking at what these companies are doing. Destroying the environment, destroying unions, and destroying lives is simply unacceptable, and it's good to see a story about the little guys winning at least one small battle against this nasty corporate giant.

I just finished reading Michael Schnayerson's Coal River. Wow! What an exposé! This work of nonfiction reads almost like a novel. The cast of characters is headed by the hulking, somewhat reclusive, brilliant, but sadistically insane Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy. Blankenship's egotistic darkness is opposed by an army of soldiers of the light, whose efforts to offset the workings of the unholy prince have not always been very effective. These soldiers would include lawyer Joe Lovett, the environmental group "Coal River Mountain Watch," environmental activists Julia "Judy" Bonds, Bo Webb, Sarah and Vernon Haltom, Patty Sebok, Freda Williams, Janice Nease, Hilary Hosta, Ed Wiley, Larry Gibson, and many others.

Blankenship is aided in his drive to extract all of the Coal River area's coal wealth by a corrupt cast of characters and government organizations. Among these are Bill Raney, President of the West Virginia Coal Association, the Mining Health and Safety Administration (MSHA), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Brent Benjamin--Massey's newly-purchased Supreme-Court Justice of the state of West Virginia, and many other doers of evil works.

Blankenship's "A.T. Massey Coal Company," known these days as Massey Energy is responsible for an almost unprecedented destruction of environment and of people in their quest to extract the last dollar's worth of coal. They have destroyed mountains, poisoned water and dried it up, fouled the air, and alienated a large portion of the population of the Coal River area.

Even the workers employed by Massey are not exempt from the draconian policies of big coal's prince of darkness. Schnayerson details the life-shattering experiences of several workers, who Massey Energy regards as just tools. In the view of Massey Energy, if a tool breaks or is marginally useful, get rid of it and get a new tool. One of the ways Massey Energy saves money is by getting rid of workers before they get to the age at which they can retire from the company. In that way, no money gets wasted on retirement benefits.

I recommend Coal River to anyone who has ever suspected there was collusion between big business and government to maximize profits, no matter what the cost to the environment or to the people. Coal River gives a revealing look into an area and a people subjected to the unashamed, unbridled exploitation of the area along Route 3 of Raleigh County of West Virginia.

The pace of this book is as fast and compulsive as a wicked thriller, but the story happens to be completely true. Shnayerson is a natural spinner and he totally delivers the goods with this tale of good versus evil. The bad guy is the morally autistic coal baron, Don Blankenship, recently selected by Old Trout magazine as the "seventh scariest person in America." He even looks like a villain -- black mustache, lifeless stare -- and spouts social Darwinist cliches while turning tens of thousands of acres of West Virginia's beautiful mountain into a moonscape. Enabling this sociopath are his lawyers, the spineless bureaucrats in various state agencies and the Army Corps of Engineers, some of the most venal judges in America, and the craven policies of the Bush Administration.

On the other side of the moral ledger are some amazing people. Injured miners who took huge risks in fighting back. Blankenship's abused maid, who dared to stand up to him. A tenacious, underpaid lawyer named Joe Lovett. Gutsy activists like Judy Bonds, Vivian Stockman, and Ed Wiley.

If you think modern life lacks drama, check out this book. There's a real war going on in the mountains of Appalachia -- and, of course, the climate implications of that war will affect the world our grandchildren inhabit. Way to go, Shnayerson, for going to West Virginia and bringing us back this story.

As a committed conservationist, I really, really want to give Coal River a positive review. No can do. I tend to simplify (oversimplify?) the issues in a case. In that vein, I have carefully distilled the teaching of Coal River.:

1 - Mountaintop removal/valley fill mining (in the industry, MTM/VF) is raping Mother West Virginia. God is angry. (By the book's third sentence, we see such mining as "cancerous growths.")

2 - Our collective stunningly glutinous appetite for cheap energy has nothing to do with that.

3 - It's all "notorious," "the most hated man in the state" (Massey Coal CEO) Don Blankenship's fault, and his mother's fault, too.

Well, you gotta give Shnayerson credit, he does have remarkable clarity of vision, if you are into philippics. Perhaps, though, reason could support abolition or restriction of MTM/VF. From Shaynerson, we'll never know. Coal River contains some solid scientific information which can be useful in determining environmental and energy policy, in determining the trade-offs society seems to be willing to make (which Shnayerson detests) to provide cheap energy. That information is buried so deeply in lofty prose that it's lost. He includes passages on some basic (but largely unexplained) concepts of West Virginia's remarkable diversity of flora species, basic (but largely unexplained) processes & structures of streams, ponds and watersheds, (largely unexplained, speculative and anecdotal) health effects of coal production, and (largely unexplained) factors which make the coal available for MTM/VF mining chemically desirable and economically attractive.

Shnayerson refers to the "war against coal" (p. 291) and agrees with the view that "the world would have to stop burning coal, period." (P. 292). The author savages part of the West Virginia Supreme Court (particularly Justices Maynard and Benjamin and, to a slightly lesser extent, Justice Davis), the entire corrupt West Virginia political system, faux-plaintiff lawyers who can be "bought off," Don Blankenship's "attempted putsch" in the 2006 election, teachers, the "rotundness" of a judge, the Corps of Engineers, the DEP, coal company "security goons," the Governor, and everyone else who doesn't agree with his shrillness. He plays right into the Right's "activist judge" tirades by lamenting that a Court did not consider "the question of whether mountaintop coal mining is useful, desirable, or wise," a question which a Court is constitutionally not permitted to answer. He expresses chagrin at the preference for physical markers in metes & bounds descriptions, a concept as old as surveys.

This kind of discussion adds very little to intelligent discourse about jobs, the massive energy and heat that we produce, or the environmental prices that we are knowingly paying and unknowingly foisting upon our heirs. Strip mines are ugly as hell. Make that Hell. So are chemical plants, interstate highways, strip malls and (this is a minority view) Glade Springs. For that matter, in the 17th Century, Manhattan was a bucolic wooded island with streams and wonderful biodiversity. Look what we have now.

Consider the book itself. Fossil fuels cut the pulpwood, transported it to a mill, made the paper, powered the computer which wrote the book, cultivated and processed the cotton fibers in the paper and binding, provided feedstock for the plastics in the binding, delivered the book, and even powered my reading lamp. The national electric grid is connected. Half of all electricity is produced by burning coal. Around half of coal production comes from surface mines, including MTM/VF mining. Neither Shnayerson (nor anyone cited by him) will admit that WE are the ones who have created the demand for coal and, indeed, created and empowered Don Blankenship. By the way, I'm not kidding, Shnayerson blames Don Blankenship's mother:

[Blankenship's mother] had a work ethic that wouldn't slow down. . . . From her, Don learned that he would have to work for everything he wanted and work very, very hard. There was a dark side to this lesson, however. Don's mother would point out the town drunk to her children or criticize a customer's sloppy dress after he left the store. Anyone who didn't meet [her] high moral standards deserved to be scorned. Anyone who didn't work as hard as she did deserved to fail. Sympathy appeared to play no part in her reckonings. People got the lot they deserved and that was that."

Hey, I've never met Don Blankenship. For all I know, he's the Energy Grendel. Or maybe he's a Boy Scout among industrialists, I don't know. But picking on his MOTHER? You gotta be kidding me.

Captain Reality says that we aren't abandoning coal anytime soon. How can we improve it, and live with it? Coal River has no clue.

This book is very well written and is an easy read. I was surprised that other than the cover photo, there are no photographs in the book documenting the horrific rape of the environment. The EPA, gutted by Bush, the state governors, senators and congressmen of WV and Tenn, and the Corps of Engineers should all be ashamed of their complicity in allowing this to happen. This is capitalism at its worst.

While I admire Mr Cook's skill and style as a writer, and i found his vision of the backlands of West Virginia as full and vigorous as those P.D. James has of the windswept corners of England, I had two problems with the book. For one, there really isn't much of a mystery, not in the sense that I cared about the "solution", and the protagonist was not someone with whom I could either sympathize or empathize. He had less backbone than Hamlet on valium. And he was far less interesting as a person. In fact, he seemed to have little personality . . . some interesting (other) charachters only tepidly served.

RHB

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 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'm sorry, commenters, but I gave this book a fair try and just couldn't warm up to it ... despite efforts to pump sales with ecstatic words in your own reviews.

I so looked forward to reading "West Virginia Tough Boys," having heard at least one recommendation from a West Virginia state official and having read the glowing reviews on Amazon.com's Web site. The 1960 West Virginia primary election was historic, and deserves a seminal work; indeed, the book may be about much more, but from the "Tough Boys" title to its cover photo, the implication is that it focuses on the famed 1960 showdown between Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, and their efforts to win the fateful primary with local county support ... and shenanigans.

Unfortunately, "Tough Boys" falls short of the mark. It's proven a disappointment; I could barely make it though the first few chapters before deciding to return it unfinished. If you enjoy transcribing tapes, this one's for you; if you want to learn something, you'll have to search diligently for it in "Tough Boys."

"Tough Boys" appears to be drawn largely from oral histories and personal interviews -- ordinarily fascinating material, but requiring a writer skilled in narrative form to present the information in logical, chronological sequencing, and to add the perspective and detachment of the third-person author who can establish what's important and what's not. I found it very difficult to follow Keith Davis' story line; it's largely a series of (overly) long interview passages, stitched together with the barest of continuity. The interviews/oral histories also tend to jump ahead of themselves, leaving the reader bewildered as to where he might be in the time sequence of the telling the story of the 1960 campaign. There appears to be no day-by-day or week-by-week order to the book, on a subject (a political primary) where events unfold in such very sequence.

I suppose, if I lived in Logan County, the plethora of local names and first-person stories (ad nauseam) would be compelling, but for anyone (even West Virginians) a half-a-state away in geography and a generation removed in time, the impact of the story is lost. (At times, JFK himself seems but a bit player in the whole story.) In the hands of a more skillful author, the story would prove riveting, but "Tough Boys" remains a disjointed mass of material that conveys "much heat, little light" about an election that had ramifications for an entire generation, far beyond the borders of West Virginia.

The readability of "Tough Boys" is further compromised by an unattractive page layout, mind-numbing typeface, and muddy photographs. The typographical errors on the reverse of the book jacket itself are an embarrassing initial tip-off to the perils of having your book produced by a regional (as opposed to national) publishing house, where rigorous editing would not have allowed a tome like this to slip past without at least some of the errors of punctuation and computer-generated typesetting to be caught.

If you live in Logan County, West Virginia, buy this book as a valuable source of local history and color; if you live elsewhere in West Virginia, consider it, if you can wade through its deficiencies; if you live outside the Mountain State, I'd definitely pass on it, and turn to a re-reading of Theodore White's "The Making of the President 1960" as still the most interesting retelling of the famous West Virginia primary of nearly 45 years ago. What White may not have included in the form of "local color" is compensated for in his perspective and skilled narrative; "Tough Boys" spins too many local yarns to excess and to no apparent point, and after finishing it, the reader will probably still be left wondering what they all add up to.

I commend the author for tackling the subject, but this treatment of a genuinely compelling story could have used the assistance of a good editor of historical nonfiction to package it into a truly great work.

Perhaps the discouraged reviewer David C. Klinger doesn't fully understand the concept behind this literary piece. This is a work much larger than another boring look at JFK. Instead, it is the story of several uneducated Appalachians who effected history and influenced many of the icons of our vanishing generation. It is also a work that contains stories of the politics of yesteryear. Besides my own feelings about the book, I have even seen a photograph of President Jimmy Carter reading this profound work. It is recognized by many as a great literary triumph. Is it only for West Virginia residents? I don't think so. It should be in every library. It is not a high-powered politicial expose' -- it's an interesting investigation of a time gone by. It also chases the antics of three "TOUGH BOYS" who commit a variety of political crimes.

I had no trouble following the text. Apparantly Klinger was expecting something different. I think it's ...uh ... profound in its sensitivity to the subject. I will never look at the Kennedys, or mountain politics, the same way. A GREAT BOOK! ----- BUY IT! ENJOY IT! One of the best books of the year. -- Chuck Taggert

Seldom do I find a literary work that I personally re-read do to the detail or color; however, this is a work that was worthy of a second look due to its subject matter and slant toward humor .

I am packing things up -- including my 10 year old cat and litterbox -- and moving to southern West Virginia where all the action is!

-- Conley

I read this book because I am originally from West Virginia and I have heard of these kind of political shannigans all my life. Vote buying and whiskey for votes. But this book is much more than a look at the slime-side of political life in my home state. The book is grandeous in how it covers a great deal of nearly-forgotten history, explaining vivedly about what it was once like to grow up in a poor rural region with no education or hope of any kind of formal schooling. People, like these Tough Boys, grew up and pulled their lives together through various means, including politics ---dirty politics. Golly, this is one heck of a book! It was a pleasure to read it and I recommend it highly to anyone from anywhere. May we all be Tough Boys!

I am a little dismayed at the one poor review this book has received. Wow, I have heard nothing but good things about this book, and I have personally re-read it twice already. The author had to include biographic information to portray the making of a Mountain State political boss. Raymond Chafin, who is described as a simple, uneducated person who grows in political power, eventually hobknobs with JFK, Teddy, and Kennedy campaign big-wigs in 1960. Raymond's style of politics -- vote buying, strong-arm tactics, and free liquor for votes -- seems to be the Kennedy family's strategy, too. Through underhanded steps, JFK wins West Virginia during the primary-of-all-primarys and shows himself to be a viable candidate for president. Only problem, is he bought the election, cash on the barrelhead. Ouch!

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I have already purchased two additional copies for family-members. Bravo Tough Boys! BRAVO!

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.

Like other Delorme atlases, this is nicely detailed - though like other atlas, it can be annoying to use when you have to move from one page to another to follow a route. We also purchased (on Amazon) a Martinsburg - Charles Town - Eastern West Virginia road map that would be a better choice if you are looking for something to use while driving around Eastern West Virginia.

Once again this series of maps has been outstanding. The ease in reading and applying the info to the road is way above par. And for railroad enthusiasts, this is the only map published with railroad details that are current and precise.

This book provides complete and thurough topographical maps for the entire state of West Virginia. If you enjoy hiking, fishing, camping, exploring in this great state, you need this atlas. At first I was surprised at the details provided in this book. I was able to find even the smallest of streams and geographical features. Now, after using it so many times, I would be surprised if a stream is not on this map.

The bottom line is that you need this atlas if you enjoy the West Virginia outdoors.

This atlas fills a void because it gives a very clear picture of the terrain as well as roads. I like having these atlases along to give the context for hiking excursions, as well as showing the back road ways to get there. The section on special sights to see in WV is very helpful as well. There is no substitute for more detailed topographical maps for actual hiking trails, but this atlas is a necessart intermediate step between topos and road maps.

I bought this West Virginia Map and Gazetteer in order to help my husband and I find our way through WV. We're most interested in the topography - elevations, rivers, creeks, etc. I would recommend using this book map in conjunction with a regular road map, because there isn't quite enough detail for smaller roads, but it's a great place to start.