Newspaper feature writer and columnist John Blankenship has spent half a century gathering and documenting his life's work in the hills of West Virginia. This book showcases a selection of his best stories, granting the reader a window into the history of the mountains. "For those of us who are from Appalachia-those of us who still love it, and those of us who wish to continue living among the gentle people that settled in these hills-there are challenges to be met every day," the writer explains. "To understand the perils of past eras, it is necessary to examine the men and women who have toiled in tunnels of the mines and slogged along steep, forested summits."
Newspaper feature writer and columnist John Blankenship has spent half a century gathering and documenting his life's work in the hills of West Virginia. This book showcases a selection of his best stories, granting the reader a window into the history of the mountains. "For those of us who are from Appalachia-those of us who still love it, and those of us who wish to continue living among the gentle people that settled in these hills-there are challenges to be met every day," the writer explains. "To understand the perils of past eras, it is necessary to examine the men and women who have toiled in tunnels of the mines and slogged along steep, forested summits."