West Virginia Books

This is a beautiful book full of vintage photos of Bluefield during days longed for today. The well-written history accompanying these photos helps create an understanding of the history of this largely coal-driven city. I have purchased numerous copies of this book to give as gifts and all who have received it have been delighted! My copy is already well-worn and provides a new glimpse into the heart of small town America each time I look through it.

Seems to me that there is a lack of good books written about the free men on the Ohio River frontier. And by free men, I do not mean the tribalists nor the military men who killed "in the name of freedom." There were some hunter/trappers who simply lived freely in the woods, men like James Sherlock and Adam O'Bryan, but it seems like authors never choose them to write about. You can get glimpses of them in books like Glenn Lough's NOW AND LONG AGO and like Lucullus V. McWhorter's volume here.

There are some excellent novels about the free hunter/trappers who lived later in the Rocky Mountains and on the plains, but there is no eastern frontier equivalent to, say, Vardis Fisher's THE MOUNTAIN MAN, upon which Robert Redford's JEREMIAH JOHNSON was based. A few others spring to mind, all later and west of the Mississippi.

Here is Lucullus Virgil McWhorter on historical Ohio Valley trapper Adam O'Bryan:

"When asked how he came to seek the wilderness and encounter the perils of sufferings of frontier life, he answered that he liked it and did not mind it a bit and in further explanation said that he was a poor man and had got behind hand and when that's the case, there is no staying in the settlements for those varmints, the sheriffs and constables, who were worse than Indians..."

"That after the King's Proclamation for all the settlers and surveyors to remove east of the big ridge from off the western waters, there was no white people on the west side except those who had run away from justice, and they were as free as the biggest buck a-going, and after the peace of sixty-three, it was all quiet in the backwoods..."

"He said that they lived quite happy before the Revolution, for then there was no law, no courts, and no sheriffs, and they all agreed pretty well, but after a while the people began to come and make settlements; and then there was a need for law; and then came the lawyers and next the preachers and from that time they never had any peace any more, that the lawyers persuaded them to sue when they were not paid, and the preachers converted one half, and they began to quarrel with the other half because they would not take care of their own souls, and from that time they never had any peace for body or soul, and that the sheriffs were worse than the wildcats and painters and would take the last coverlet from your wife's straw bed or turn you out in a storm, and I tell you, mister, I would rather take my chances and live among savages than live among justices and lawyers and sheriffs who, with all their civility, have no natural feeling in them..."

I just recently discovered this book when a friend loaned it to me, and I can't wait to order my copy. This is a nice reference book that will stay on my coffee table from April to September. I do a lot of canoeing/fishing on the rivers in the summer, and this book has already led me to a lot of great floats that I didn't know about, even though I'm a native West Virginian. It's not going to tell you what to expect around every bend, but it does list the more notable areas of each river, including the dangers and problems you may encounter.

The first section of the book has basic information on canoeing and kayaking, terms and definitions, dealing with locals, phone numbers and other sources of information, and more (Much of this is written in a humorous way, reminding me somewhat of Pat McManus).

The book then lists each river basin, and after a short description of the area and a little history, it breaks it up into sections. The layout for each section is as follows:

1.TABLE - Contains capacities and ratings of the section including rapid classes, river gradient, water volume, scenery rating, time of trip, and river level.

2.MAPS - List of the names of the USGS maps and county maps that cover the section area.

3.DESCRIPTION - Describes the river, the scenery, and any other noteworthy aspects of the trip.

4.DIFFICULTIES - Notes any dangerous areas or other problems you may encounter along the way.

5.SHUTTLE - Suggests put-in and take-out spots or if there are any shuttle services provided.

6.GAUGE - Notes locations of river level gauges, phone numbers to call for river level information, or just basic references to gauge the level of the river for navigability. (I especially like this. Many times it goes something like, "If there are three stones showing on the so-and-so bridge, you should have no problems from point A to point B." This is nice since so many of our rivers have isolated sections that are nearly impossible to scout.)

If you live in West Virginia and want to canoe or kayak, or if you are planning a trip here for some river sports, this book is a great buy for the money.

As a child, I always enjoyed going on vacation to the East Coast and passing through so many small towns in our oldest states. You can see courthouses, factories, churches, schools, and other buildings that, despite the business or indifference of those who pass through them, have a story to tell.

Lola Miller has captured those stories.

The Old Central City portion of Huntington, WV was in danger of being lost until this work appeared and ensured the preservation of this national treasure. It chronicles the city with a personal perspective through hundreds of photographs with insightful commentary. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to spend an afternoon escaping to an old Virginia town.

Chairman Bud Shuster's novels have run the gamut, from the tender growing up story of "Double Buckeyes" to the tragic relationship of "Secret Harvest." In "Chances" Shuster explores the world of the pioneers of the modern computer industry and their often rags-to-riches roots. Shuster, a computer industry pioneer himself, is on sure ground and delivers a novel one can read again and again. His best work yet, only to be surpassed by his memoirs should he choose to publish them. Kudos to Shuster!

Dolly Nasby has done it again! After reading her Harpers Ferry book, I was on the lookout for any other books by her. She combined the visual appeal of archival photos with excellent use of factual material. In addition, she covered many of the important points that pertain to Charles Town -- the connections to the Washington Family, the Race Track, the Treason Trials, Black History, local people and their positions, everything! After reading her book I feel I have a good understanding of Charles Town, both from yesterday and a feel for it today. I can't wait to see if she does any other books!

This is a great pictorial book chalk full of historic photographs of Clarksburg, West Virginia. The text and photo captions are clear and informative. I found "Clarksburg - Images of America: West Virginia" an incredible resource and highly recommend it to any enthusiast of Americana, Photography, History, and Sociology... and for anyone and everyone who likes pictorial books!

Between 1910 and 1930, one million people moved into the coal fields of central Appalachia. The biggest concentration of the half of them who were African Americans moved into West Virginia's southwestern counties, especially McDowell county where my mother was born a Black miner's daughter. Yet, when folk think of West Virginia and the Appalachians, these Black folk are ignored or forgotten. When people think of the battles of the coal miner's union, they neglect the question of Black folk. Likewise, to understand African American history properly, it is important to understand the struggles and life experience of such significant sections of the black proletariat like these Black miners, the Black autoworkers of Detroit, or the Black steel workers of Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Chicago.

Trotter provides an exhaustive study of the whole process of Black proletarians moving to West Virginia's coal fields, the construction of Black communities, and the lives of African Americans in the mining camps and mining towns. He presents a very good picture of the conflicting forces involved including the mine owners and the state and local governments they controlled, white American and immigrant miners, the bureaucrats who ran the UMWA, as well as the black middle class that grew up in West Virginia.

What interests me is the way he shows that the mine companies increased segregation and racism in West Virginia in an attempt to stem the unity of Black miners with white miners in the many battles that took place over unionization. He is also quite good at showing that the rising African American middle class came to serve the interests of the mine owners and the white ruling class in attempting to dampen the militancy of Black miners on both the working class and black rights fronts.

What is interesting is the glimpses Trotter gives of the potential power of Black miners in West Virgnia. He gives one instance where an African American was lynched were hundreds of Black miners marched on the coal camp where the lynching took place.

It is unfortunate that his study ends in 1930 so he does not cover the successful battles in the 1930s by the UMWA that organized many of these miners and provided one of the basis for the mass organizing campaigns of the CIO.

This is the most useful guide to collectable china that I have found. It is not only an exhaustive reference guide to Homer Laughlin's "Virginia Rose", but provides much information about other types of china as well. This book provides details and information that you can't find elsewhere.

The end of slavery in the French Caribbean is a story that has many facets. This book looks at one of the smaller islands (Guadalupe) and tracks its progress as it tries to free itself from the grips of slavery. Dubios tells a very good story and it is well written. The book focuses on Guadalupe but also gives a sense of what is happening in the entire British and French Caribbean. Dubios in his other books really provides a complete picture of what is occurring in the Caribbean and they are all recommended.