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"In Kentucky Memories: Reflections of Rowan County, Jack Ellis has demonstrated an awareness of the important role of local history. During the past century-and-a-half, the human population of this amoeba-like area, carved out of Fleming and Morgan Counties, has matured into an Appalachian folk, cultural, economic, educational, and medical center. Literally scores of people have contributed both positively and negatively to the history of this community, and each of their acts in some form or another should remain as a record of their presence and activities. In the same way, every important human act documenting the past should should be passed on to future generations as a foundation for its presence and actions." — Dr. Thomas D. Clark HARDCOVER By Jack D. Ellis -
No part of American history is more exciting than the 1770s, when Europeans first settled west of the Appalachian mountains in the land now known as Kentucky. Simon Kenton’s story is synonymous with the story of that era. His life of excitement, adventure, and danger on the frontier made him one of the leading heroes of that time and, eventually a Kentucky legend. By Thomas D. Clark -
The mountain is a lonely place. Welcome to Sourwood, a small Kentucky town inhabited by men and women unique and yet eerily familiar. Among its joyful and tragic citizens we meet the crafty, spirited Caleb and his curious younger brother; Pearl, a suspected witch, and her sheltered daughter, Thanie; superstitious Eli; and the doomed orphan Girty. In Sourwood, the mountain is both a keeper of secrets and an imposing, isolating presence, shaping the lives of all who live in its shadow. Strong in both the voice and sensibilities of Appalachia, the stories in Miss America Kissed Caleb are at turns heartbreaking and hilarious. In the title story, young Caleb turns over his hard-earned dime to the war effort when he receives a coaxing kiss from Miss America, who sweeps into Sourwood by train, "pretty as a night moth." Caleb and his brother share in the thrills and uncertainties of growing up, making an accidental visit to a brothel in "Fourth of July" and taming a "high society" pooch in "The Jimson Dog." These stories invoke a place and a time that have long passed―a way of living nearly extinct―yet the beauty of the language and the truth revealed in the characters' everyday lives continue to resonate with modern readers. By Billy C. Clark -
In the little Appalachian town of Sourwood, life at the end of the Great Depression may have been tough, but it was rich beyond compare. Building on a distinguished body of work celebrating and preserving mountain culture, renowned writer Billy C. Clark once again revisits his boyhood during a bygone era. By Way of the Forked Stick offers four fictional stories drawn from the author's childhood experiences of the 1930s—tales that vividly convey the down-home spirit of a lost way of life. By Billy C. Clark -
Greenup County, bordering the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky, is rich in history and culture. Settlers first arrived in the mid-1700s and carved farms from hardwood forests. Lucy Virgin Downs, the first white child born west of the Alleghenies, lived in Greenup County, as did Jesse Boone, brother of Kentucky icon Daniel Boone. The 20th century brought industrialization and economic diversification to the historically agricultural area. Ashland Oil, a Fortune 500 company, maintained corporate headquarters in Greenup County. Two steel mills, a large rail yard, an excellent hospital, and a number of surface mines also provided employment to many people who continued to work their family farms, too. This economic progress was mirrored in every aspect of country life as education, health care, and recreation all improved dramatically. Today Greenup County’s history is appreciated by both longtime residence and cultural tourists. James M. Gifford serves as chief executive and senior editor of the Jesse Stuart Foundation, a regional publishing house. Dr. Gifford’s coauthors, Anthony and Suzanna Stephens, are eastern Kentuckians. The authors gathered photographs from dozens of personal and library collections.SOFTBACK By James M. Gifford, Anthony and Suzanna Stephens -
The protagonist of this novel is heroic, majestic, a born leader, a devoted husband and proud father. He is destined to be long remembered by whoever reads about his life. He is a great auk. By Allan Eckert -
This nature novel, by following the hatching and lifetime experiences of the last know wild passenger pigeon, chronicles the life, natural history, and ultimate extinction of this species which was once the most abundant bird species in North America. The last wild bird was killed in 1900; the last captive bird died in 1914. By Allan Eckert -
A biography of Jesse's father, Mitchell Stuart - a rural man who could not read or write. But Mick Stuart had learned the important things in life from the hills around him. He began his work before daylight, and stopped only when his family, his farm, and his animals were cared for. Jesse Stuart tells how his father taught him the unalterable values of right and wrong, love of family, and love of education. By Jesse Stuart -
It is a calm September evening in the Kentucky hill town of Blakesburg. Suddenly, the sky is filled with light, brighter than the moon. Thus, Jesse Stuart sets the stage for the small town citizens who have decided Judgment Day has come upon them in this rollicking novel. By Jesse Stuart -
Jesse Stuart and Joe Clark's photographic essay of the town Lynchburg, located where the Blue Grass country meets the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Known for the Jack Daniels distillery, the townspeople are loyal to their employer and to each other. But they are also "close-to-the-land" people who farm, raise livestock, and enjoy diversions which have nothing at all to do with the distillery. For the most part, it is their lives outside of working hours that Clark and Stuart have chosen to reflect. Photographs by Joe Clark Foreword by Jesse Stuart -
In twenty not-so-tall tales about rural politics in the South in rougher and tougher days, Jesse Stuart reminds us afresh that there's nothing new about political skull-duggery. The fact that he puts such labels as the Little Party and the Big Party or the Greenoughs and the Dinwiddies on the candidates doesn't mean they aren't the same old Republicans and Democrats you know so well-the wonderful folks who put Watergate on your TV screen. HARDBACK By Jesse Stuart -
Come Back to the Farm is a collection of sixteen stories which reflect Appalachia at its essence; most often they are gentle in tone, but they portray the pioneer spirit, the self-reliance, and the humor of the hill people of Stuart's Kentucky homeland. HARDBACK By Jesse Stuart -
Life is not easy for the hill people of Eastern Kentucky. But these hills are their home . . . a home of clear sky, tangy air, and brown earth. Here are stories and poems about these warm-hearted people, written by Jesse Stuart, one of America's great story-tellers. By Jesse Stuart -
Here are twenty-one tales from Kentucky’s inimitable and beloved storyteller, Jesse Stuart. Full of high, rambunctious humor, quick-paced as a maple tree against an October hill—these stories are Stuart in his best form—the form that has made him one of most widely read authors in America. Read here about the man who coveted a steam shovel and stole it piece by piece, or about the celebrated eating contest between Sam Whiteapple and the game rooster, or about the hill farmer who wanted to clear and farm one last spot of new ground before he died. Although he has a sharp eye for human foibles and infirmities, Stuart never fails to write of his people with affection or to see that justice is done them. By Jesse Stuart -
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Jesse Stuart's honest, earthy writing about the southern hill folk he knows so well has made him one of America's foremost authors of fiction. Here are twenty of his best stories that spring up from the pungent soil of Kentucky, told in his plain but highly colorful style. Stories about the Stuart family and neighbors from his beloved W-Hollow, all packed with Kentucky characters of all sorts and sizes. SOFTBACK By Jesse Stuart -
Written by a beloved American author who grew up in the foothills of the Appalachians, these twenty-one short stories explore the daily lives and activities of Kentucky mountaineers. Life, animate existence, absorbs Jesse Stuart. Never is it more vital than when juxtaposed with death, hence the contrasting motifs of life and death permeating his work. In this book, Stuart tells the stories of the hills and the men who live there. They “curse the mountains,” but love them too, he says. Existing in dimensions of real geography and elaborate imagination, Stuart moves easily between autobiography and fiction and often does not bother to distinguish one from the other. Greenup County, Kentucky blends into Greenwood County, and W-Hollow in both fiction and fact is subject to the proprietorship of the bard of Appalachia. By Jesse Stuart -
A unique and personal book bound for its own kind of immortality. Head o' W-Hollow has a permanent if modest historical value. Jesse Stuart has a "rattrap memory" for turns of speech, and he has given a socio-historical record of daily life in his remote world — now so much less remote and more changed. By Jesse Stuart REVIEWS "Stuart's first book of short stories remains haunting, powerful, and humorous." "A unique book, bound for its own kind of immortality." — Robert Penn Warren "The most honest writing that has ever been done about Kentucky mountain people." — The Nation -
Jesse Stuart Junior Book This is the story of a teenage girl, Joy Burton, who finds a lame albino fawn in the forest. Joy, a victim of polio, feels great compassion for the injured fawn and tenderly nurses him back to health. Inspired by her pet’s recovery, Joy becomes convinced that the operation her doctor proposed for her will be successful and that she will someday be able to walk without crutches. SOFTBACK By Jesse Stuart -
Presidents have been visiting Kentucky since 1819 arriving by horseback, carriage, train, steamboat, bus, and airplane. Presidential Visits to Kentucky: 1819-2017 details more than 120 occasions when the President of the United States came to the Commonwealth. It chronicles when the president came, why, where he went, and who he saw as he made history. HARDBACK VERSION By Wayne Onkst -
With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin’ a beloved bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South. This time he’s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his family’s table through the worst of the Great Depression; a moonshiner who drank exactly one pint for every gallon he sold; an unregenerate brawler, who could sit for hours with a baby in the crook of his arm. In telling Charlie’s story, Bragg conjures up the backwoods hamlets of Georgia and Alabama in the years when the roads were still dirt and real men never cussed in front of ladies. A masterly family chronicle and a human portrait so vivid you can smell the cornbread and whiskey, Ava’s Man is unforgettable. SOFTBACK VERSION (259 PAGES) Rick Bragg -
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God’s Oddling is a book I wanted to write all my life. It is about my father, Mitchell (Mick) Stuart, who was unable to read or write anything except his own name. He was a great man — great in spirit and great in his influence upon others. I loved and respected him. When I set out to write this book I discovered that I had been writing it all my life, for I had already published poems, stories, and articles about my father. The title of this book, God’s Oddling, comes from something my father used to call me. For years he called me “oddling” because I had gone away to college and become a writer, and because I didn’t smoke the tobacco we grew or drink the mountain liquor brewed nearby. I was recovering from my heart attack when my father died. During those last days he often visited me at my house, and he still called me “oddling.” It was then, just before he died, that I realized my father was one of God’s oddlings, not me. He was a proud, independent gentleman who made his own decisions and went his own way.—Jesse Stuart, Greenup, 1960
HARDBACK VERSION Jesse Stuart -
Lyrical prose and warm watercolor illustrations bring a "certain part of the country called Appalachia" alive for young readers. Two award-winning artists, forever touched by their experiences growing up in this unique landscape, have teamed to create a quietly powerful and beautifully crafted portrait of life in a timeless place. SOFTBACK VERSION By Cynthia Rylant -
In Hidden Heroism, Robert Edgerton investigates the history of Afro-American participation in American wars, from the French and Indian War to the present. He argues that blacks in American society have long-suffered from a "natural coward" stereotype that is implicit in the racism propagated from America's earliest days, and often intensified as blacks slowly received freedom in American society. For instance, blacks served admirably in various wars, returned home after their service to short-term recongnition, and then soon found themselves even more seriously entrenched in a racist system because they were perceived as a threat to whites. This was true, Edgerton argues, until the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam, though the stereotypes have not been fully eradicated. In this book, Edgerton provides an accessible and well-informed tour through this little-known, but significant aspect of race in American military history. SOFTBACK VERSION By Robert B. Edgerton -
The Appalachian Trail is America’s most beloved trek, with millions of hikers setting foot on it every year. Yet few are aware of the fascinating backstory of the dreamers and builders who helped bring it to life over the past century. The conception and building of the Appalachian Trail is a story of unforgettable characters who explored it, defined it, and captured national attention by hiking it. From Grandma Gatewood—a mother of eleven who thru-hiked in canvas sneakers and a drawstring duffle—to Bill Bryson, author of the best-selling A Walk in the Woods, the AT has seized the American imagination like no other hiking path. The 2,000-mile-long hike from Georgia to Maine is not just a trail through the woods, but a set of ideas about nature etched in the forest floor. This character-driven biography of the trail is a must-read not just for ambitious hikers, but for anyone who wonders about our relationship with the great outdoors and dreams of getting away from urban life for a pilgrimage in the wild. HARDBACK VERSION Philip D'Anieri -
Fully illustrated color hardback of this timeless classic. HARDBACK VERSION By Christian Birmingham -
It is the mid-1700s, and England’s colonists in North America are eager to explore and settle the forest frontier west of the Appalachian mountains. This is the setting of the new book (2021), “Blood and Treasure.” The guide to this epic narrative is America’s first pathfinder, Daniel Boone – not the coonskin cap-wearing caricature of popular culture, but the flesh-and-blood frontiersman and Revolutionary War hero whose explorations would become the stuff of legend. HARDBACK VERSION By Bob Drury and Tom Clavin -
SOFTBACK VERSION By Wilma Dykeman -
SOFTBACK VERSION By Wilma Dykeman -
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This thorough ethnological study is both scholarly and highly readable. In it the author objectively traces the roots of one of America’s more obscure peoples, the Melungeons. SOFTBACK VERSION By Bonnie Ball -
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 -
Doc, My Tiger's Got An Itch: The True Story of a Kentucky Hill Country Veterinarian Who Occasionally Runs Away With The Circus HARDBACK VERSION By John G. Martin -
A charming, heart-warming Christmas taleabout the power of family, tradition, and love. In 1875, Owen Thomas, a poor Welsh coal miner, falls in love with a beautiful London actress, Jessica Lavery. He builds her a cottage in his village, and enchants her with the promise of the holidays they'll share after they marry. According to his special Thomas family tradition, the Christmas tree must always be outside, where it can look up to God. Owen carves her an angel to go on top of their tree, with lavender eyes like hers, a token more meaningful to her than any engagement ring. When Jessica breaks off their romance, Owen, broken-hearted, wraps the angel in his mother's shawl and brings her to America. There, she looks down over five generations, witnessing peace and war, triumphs and tragedies, reminding all who see her that Christmas is the time when families and sweethearts can come together, laughter and goodwill can lighten even the heaviest burden, and magic fills the earth. By Jane Maas -
If you were a Christmas tree, what kind of tree would you be? A mighty tree or a tiny tree? A city tree or a country tree? A tree with curious features or a tree made just for creatures? Voyaging from cities to plains and in renderings of things miniature to grand, Wendell and Florence Minor lead young readers on an imaginative journey across America in tribute to one of our most beloved symbols — the Christmas tree. By Wendell and Florence Minor -
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Boxed Set: Five bestselling beautiful stories of love and faith ~- The Christmas Secret
- The Christmas Promise
- The Christmas Hope
- The Christmas Blessing
- The Christmas Shoes
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By Garrison Keillor
