-
Cruelly Murdered: The Murder of Mary Magdalene Pitts and Other Kentucky True Crime Stories: In this follow-up to Murder in Old Kentucky, Keven McQueen presents detailed and thoroughly researched true crime stories from Kentucky history, spanning in time from the state's early history to the Roaring Twenties. The stories include the case of the governor's son who was tried for murder five tmes and eventually pardoned by his father; Edward Hawkins, a murderer on the move with a pronounced taste for bigamy; the 1883 shooting of a promising young Louisville artist; the infamous 1887 murder of Jennie Bowman, a Louisville maid, by two burglars; and the abuse and murder of three-year-old Mary Magdalene Pitts of Greenup County by her father and a housekeeper, still one of Kentucky's most notorious crimes. SOFTBACK By Keven McQueen -
Laced throughout the litany of letters on this celebratory alphabet book is the meaning of Christmas with an Appalachian twist. Exploring the whimsy and worship of Yuletide in the mountains, each letter captures a glimpse of the traditions, food, and frolicking shared by family and friends. Incorporating a legend about the animals around the manger, a program with angels announcing God's glory, and choirs softly singing carols, this A-to-Z book for all ages will become a new Christmas tradition for families who gather around the tree each December. By Francie Hall Illustrated by Kent Oehm -
Traveling The Underground Railroad: A Visitor's Guide to More Than 300 Sites describes current private homes, churches, restaurants, and halls in the United States and Canada that once served as Underground Railroad sites, and includes contact information for tourism offices and historical societies. SOFTBACK VERSION By Bruce Chadwick -
How to Build Your Dream Cabin in the Woods: The Ultimate Guide to Building and Maintaining a Backcountry Getaway This ultimate resource includes photos, blueprints, and diagrams, and covers the steps to constructing the cabin you've always wanted such as:- Selecting a site
- Gathering construction materials
- Deciding on a design that is right for you
- Managing your property
- Building add-ons, including shooting ranges, an outhouse, or an outside fire ring
- Installing cabin security
- And more!
-
The late Harry M. Caudill saw the land and people of Appalachia with an unflinching eye. His classic, Night Comes to the Cumberlands, follows the long road traveled by the Southern mountaineer. By Harry M. Caudill -
In 1963, Harry M. Caudill published his now classic account of the reckless, deliberate despoliation of the Appalachian Plateau, Night Comes to the Cumberlands. Thirteen years later, in The Watches of the Night, Caudill continued the heartbreaking story of an incredibly rich land inhabited by a grindingly poor people whose problems, despite state and local aid and an unprecedented boom in coal, had worsened: the land was being stripped more rapidly than ever; the people’s traditional relationship with the land was being uprooted, and their old customs eliminated by standardization Both a narrative history and a polemic against greed and waste, The Watches of the Night hammers at “the profligacy growing out of the persistent myth of superabundance.” The author ponders an even darker future if the cycle of boom and bust is not broken. He writes: “Americans have never understood or respected the finely textured, little-hill terrain of the Cumberland Plateau.” Neither the farmers nor the miners who followed the early pioneers saw it as a place cherish. Through decades that have lengthened to nearly two centuries the land has fought back, sometimes with savage floods and always with persistent efforts to reforest. “But now times runs out and our “inexhaustible” resources have turned finite….The Kentucky Cumberlands are many things, but most of all they are a warning.” By Harry M. Caudill -
A collection of essays aimed at personal eternal areas rather than commentary on time oriented subjects. To Stuart, in these essays, it is okay to enjoy the reading and "get away from it all." By Jesse Stuart -
As early as 1654, English and French explorers in the southern Appalachians reported seeing dark-skinned, brown- and blue-eyed, and European-featured people speaking broken Elizabethan English, living in cabins, tilling the land, smelting silver, practicing Christianity, and, most perplexing of all, claiming to be Portyghee. Declared free persons of color in the late 1700s by the English and Scottish-Irish immigrants, the Melungeons, as they were known, were driven off their lands and denied voting rights, education, and the right to judicial process. The law was enforced mercilessly and sometimes violently in the resoundingly successful effort to totally disenfranchise these earliest American settlers. SOFTBACK VERSION By Brent Kennedy -
In 1780, the British launched a raid into Kentucky led by Captain Henry Bird to assist the Native Americans to reclaim their hunting grounds from white settlers. The raid targeted Kentucky's Ruddell's Fort and Martin's Station and captured approximately 350 white settlers comprised of men, women, and children. On June 26, 1780, the British and Native Americans marched the captives to Detroit on a 50-day march under brutal conditions, killing several of them along the way. The British marched 129 of these settlers, who were eventually released after the war of escaped. The remaining settlers held by the Native Americans were sold into slavery, adopted into a tribe, sold or eventually released. SOFTBACK VERSION Lewis D. Nicholls -
Out of stock
This young adult historical novel is based on an exciting and little known incident in the life of the famed Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone when, after being captured by Shawnee Indians and subsequently adopted into their tribe, he then escapes and returns to Boonesboro, only to find himself charged with treason and court-martialed. In a brilliant display of ability, Boone defends himself at the trial and gradually the truth about what really happened emerges. A fascinating glimpse of Kentucky's pioneer period as well as a penetrating look at frontier courtroom justice. By Allan Eckert -
The Winning of America Series: Book 5 of 6 With his unmatched ability to bring our vibrant early history to life, Allan W. Eckert now presents his latest saga of the battle for the North American wilderness. Here, in all its fascinating human drama, is the struggle to control the "gateway to empire" — Chicago Portage, the vital link between the East and the untapped riches of the west. Caught up in the turbulent sweep of events are two men--John Kinzie, a successful trader with a heroic taste for a new frontiers who fought to live in mutual respect with the Indians, and Tecumseh the Shawnee leader, a man of unparalleled wisdom and courage who would see his dream of a united Indian empire betrayed. As the British move toward the war 1812 both men and their people would be trapped in a tragic conflict that would threaten the land they so passionately loved. SOFTBACK & HARDBACK By Allan Eckert -
Appalachian Values is a series of essays written to counter the persistent negative stereotypes about Appalachian people. The stories used to illustrate various values are accompanied by powerful photographs of Appalachian people and settings. Covering values from our Early Appalachian forebears to today, the books speaks of freedom, religion, independence, self-reliance, pride, neighborliness, hospitality, familism, personalism, humility, love of place, patriotism, sense of beauty, and sense of humor. It gives a positive view of Appalachian culture that will serve students and a general audience, too. Essays by Loyal Jones Photography by Warren Brunner
