West Virginia Books

Ghosts and Other Plays is a seminal series of plays that combine humor with scathing social critique. Ibsen was not afraid to tackle weightier themes and taboos, in order to shock his audience out of their complacency. These plays demonstrate Ibsen's loathing of hyprocrisy, soulless institutions, the mandates of society which cause suffering (ie. Christianity). He has also been perceived as the figurehead for the emancipation of women from their traditional "place." That is not to say Ibsen is of dire seriousness or dry. His plays move quickly, the events in "Ghosts" for ex. occurring in less than a day. Ibsen is a great playwright whose works remain relevant and vital, in a consumerist society where people still remain afraid to defy cultural norms.

If your interested in West Virginia politics (or politics in general) you might find this book interesting and useful. James R. Forrester is a very well educated man with lots of experience in this field. He was my politics professor at West Liberty State College.

The Handywoman Stories link together to paint a picture of the lives of people in West Virginia's Appalachia from pre WWI forward. Their lives are spare, sometimes wretched, but the people meet their problems straight on. Coberly delivers quirky, humorous, generous and, for the most part, believable characters. The book left me with a warm feeling and a chuckle for Coberly's handywomen of West Virginia.

This book is an engaging first person account of the exploits of a rather daring Confederate foot soldier. The book is lifted from a series of newspaper articles John Blue wrote over 30 years after the War for Southern Independence ended. Blue does not get into the political and social issues of the day, but recounts in a straigtforward and interesting style the struggles of a soldier, including his experience as a prisoner of war and escapee. This book is particularly interesting to those familiar with the geography of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and the corridor through Brocks Gap into West Virginia where Blue grew up in site of what is still known as Hanging Rock.

the essays contained within Finkelman's books are well written and well argued, just watch out because they contain an anti-Brown slant. These works are far from impartial and for a history text, some of them don't follow the traditional road to research of primary source, secondary, and so and so forth. The text is excellent if are looking to read good essays, but they are not impartial.

This book, while it is primarily based on info provided to the author by the person or person's descendents being referred to at any time, is a treasure trove of common ordinary info and a peek into the lives of an generation long gone. You can obtain a lot of little known info on the area, as well as have some "blanks" filled in by being given a direction to further your research. A must have for anyone researching their Braxton County West Virginia ancestors.

"An excellent guidebook for those seeking to learn where information on certain surnames can be found in the South."--Car-del-Scribe (August 1991).

I'm buying another copy of this book, to keep. I've loaned my first copy to many people and I don't know where it went. I just hope it is being passed on to others. Being a native West Virginian I find the story very entertaining. Many ideas seem would seem ordinary to me except that my twenty years in the Air Force gives me a larger prespective. It seems to me that the power of common sense is getting to be an uncommon virtue. tfs

The Little Girl Dressed in Blue is the story of a little girl who grew up in the town where I live. Her family, like most at the time, struggled to make ends meet. The little girl in an effort to have some spending money and also to help her family with groceries, became a paper boy (girl)at a very early age. The story relates to all of her experiences as a paper boy. When she was hungry, she would wander into a pool hall and they would always feed her, as well as look after her. She tells about getting up early to get to the paper office so she could see the paper press run. It is a great story, an easy read. I would think everyone who grew up in that era, could identify with her.

The Making of Harpers Ferry National Park is a solid overview of the development of a historical site and shifting tides of park management practices. The occasional political sermons, however, are gratuitous.