Recently, I have become more interested in the Appalachia region in the Southern United States. What many of us have come to know as “coal country” is a region with a long story, often underrepresented in discussions about poverty and greed in America. The people of this region are sometimes the butt of jokes with images of “backwoods hillbillies” from the movie ‘Deliverance’ coming to mind. However, the true story of Appalachia and in particular the Cumberland region in Kentucky is an American tragedy with residual effects that continue to this day. The late Henry M. Caudill (1922-1990) looked into the lives of the miners and the region that have called home. And what he reveals in this book is sure to open the eyes to many and confirm for others, beliefs they have long held about coal country.
Caudill begins by revisiting Lyndon Johnson’s famous visit to the Paintsville, Kentucky in April, 1964. The visit was used to support Johnson’s “war on poverty” in America. More than fifty-five years later, poverty still exist and in many parts of Appalachia, there are no jobs, doctors and sources of hope for its people. They do the best they can with what they have. The sad truth is that for decades, they have been taken advantage of, ignored and forgotten. The story of the Cumberlands is a textbook example of profits over people and is nothing short of mind-boggling.
Before reading this book, it is necessary to abandon any pre-conceived notions about Appalachia. You have to approach the material with an open mind free from any bias about “mountain people” or any other term used to describe the people of the Cumberlands. Caudill takes us back in time to the original settlers in North America and traces their path from the coastal cities to the Appalachian mountains. It is a good lesson in history and will help readers understand how and why the region came into existence. Undoubtedly life was rough, far rougher than in big cities but the people of this region are accustomed to it. In fact, as I read through the book, I had to marvel at how they adapted to the rigidness of life in the mountains. To survive there required true grit and an iron will. That is all is on display here and the author does not sugar coat anything. The descriptions of mountain life are graphic and some readers might recoil at some sections.
As to be expected, coal enters the story and it is at this point that the region is transformed completely and the story develops its tragic course. The arrival of the coal companies and other business to the region offer at first the possibility of prosperity for the people of the Cumberlands. But as we learn through Caudill’s words, there was much to be seen that was carefully hidden from the people, a majority of whom lacked basic literacy skills. I simply cannot find the words to describe the shock that I felt as I learned about the level of manipulation by businesses as they reaped enormous profits at the expense of the common folk. I am certain that you too will shake your head in disgust at the actions of corporations in the Cumberlands. And sadly, this was just one of a long list of revelations about the reality of life in Appalachia.
Mining is dangerous and dirty business, and it is not long before automation enters the story. For the miners of Appalachia, it proved to be a death kiss and caused the demise of coal, a fuel which has been replaced in many parts of America by cleaner and more efficient sources. The integration of automated technology and decline of coal combine to form the book. During the 2016 United States Presidential election, Donald Trump promised to “bring coal back”. His words were promising for the legions of miners hoping to be put back to work to earn for their families. But there was much about coal that Trump did not say and the truth about its demise can be found in this book, directly from the Cumberlands. And while there are plenty of articles online today regarding coal, the words here predate many of them by several decades. The decline of coal is a story that the locals know all too well but for many of them, there is little semblance of a way out of the gripping poverty that can be found all around them.
The decline of coal, flight of professional young men and women and the emergence of clean sources of power, permanently changed the lives of those in the Cumberlands and Appalachia. There would be no return to the days of the past and moving forward, the future was uncertain. Today the future is still uncertain for those in Appalachia. At the time Caudill wrote this book, he did not have the availability of social media or the internet. What he saw and experienced was unknown to many Americans. Appalachia was seen as a hidden region full of backwards people who had no use for outsiders. The reality is quite different and as Caudill shows, it is a complicated place created by exploitation yet sustained by government assistance. It is also paradox in a country that can spend billions in foreign aid but find itself either unwilling or unable to help its own citizens.
I had always wondered why Appalachia developed the way that it did. I found the answers to my questions are far more in this deeply moving account by Henry Caudill. If there is anything I could change about the book, I would have included an index and/or list of references. Dates and events can be cross-referenced without question but an index would have given the book even more of an authentic feel. Nonetheless, it is presented as an autobiography and Caudill was highly familiar with the region having traveled there himself. He also discloses that he has been there to visit family. Having finished the book, I have a new understanding of the miners and their plight. And as I sit comfortably in my home in New York City, I remind myself that the struggle to survive for people throughout Appalachia continues. Time will tell if there is indeed a brighter day for them. It is said that the past is prologue. This book should be read prior to any discussion regarding Appalachia and the issue of coal. Many years have passed since it was published but the information contained within remains relevant.
ASIN: B0774XHYT3
I was browsing through recommendations on Amazon when this book caught my attention. As one would expect, the words Civil War stuck on the cover. However, the name LeRoy Wiley Gresham (1847-1865) did not sound familiar at all. My interest peaked and I decided to see why the book had earned a five star rating. And to say that it is a hidden gem would be an understatement. It is indeed special and the author did a remarkable job of putting it all together.
In American folklore, there are two families whose names are recognized as being part of what is arguably the longest running feud to have ever taken place in the United States. The Hatfields and the McCoys have become ingrained in the American experience and the alleged feud between the two families has been re-told through films, documentaries, websites and books. In 2012, the History Channel released a multi-part miniseries about the feud starring Kevin Costner as William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield (1839-1921) and the late Bill Paxton (1955-2017) as Randolph “Ran’l” McCoy (1825-1914). The series is highly rated but just how accurate was it? And were the Tug Valley in West Virginia and Pike County in Kentucky, really that deadly in the late 1800s? Thomas E. Dotson is a descendant of both families and here he rescues history and sets the record straight about what really did happen between the years of 1882 and 1888. And what he reveals will undoubtedly change the way you view the “feud” between the two famous families.
America often has an uncomfortable relationship with its past. The dark moments in the founding of the nation are sometimes left out of history books and never discussed in conversation. Native Americans are either viewed with empathy or disgust, typically depending on the observer’s knowledge of history. Alcoholism, depression and economic instability have continued to plague Native American reservations, given as a token gesture by the United States Government. In Hollywood, they have often been presented as wild savages determined to murder Americans, only to be repelled by heroic soldiers and cowboys seeking to preserve the union. The reality however, is that there is much about the Native Americans of North America that remains largely unknown. In the State of New York where I reside, virtually nothing is taught about the Lenape Indians who owned what is today the Tri-State area, in addition to other vast territories. In the South, the once mighty Cherokee nation owned land, lived under their own rules and were content with life before the arrival of new nation, created following the independence of 13 colonies from British imperialism. Today the Cherokees are an afterthought for most, but at one time, they ruled large parts of what became the future United States of America. This is their story and that of the infamous “Trail of Tears”, that would permanently change the lives the Cherokee Indians.
I have often wondered why my uncle and many other veterans that I have met, were sent to Vietnam. He and others never speak of the war, choosing instead to internalize their memories and feelings. But from the few things about being Vietnam that my uncle has told me, I cannot image what it was like to be fighting a war in a jungle 13,000 miles away from home. Today he is seventy-two years old and his memories of Vietnam are as sharp today as they were when he left the country to return home. And there is a part of him that still remains in Vietnam, never to leave its soil. He is one of five-hundred thousand Americans that served in a war that claimed fifty-eight thousand lives.
Every summer, my parents make their annual visit to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center in Ledyard, Connecticut to continue learning about the Pequot Indian tribe who lived in what is now the State of Connecticut. They are one of the many tribes that called North America home prior to the arrival of European settlers and the creation of the United States. Today, they can be found largely on reservations having been forced off of the only lands they knew to make way for a country that had liberated itself from British colonization. Far too often, their plight is ignored and history books have traditionally re-written the history of the foundation of the United States of America. This book by the late Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown (1908-2002) challenges everything we thought we knew about our country and the scores of people often referred to simply as “the Indians”.
When I think back on the history classes I attended in elementary school, high school and then college, I remember that it seemed as if it took forever to go through any topic. And that says a lot for someone like myself who has always loved the subject and still does. For most people, history is beyond mind-numbing and often revisits events in the past to which most people do not give a second thought. But as we are often reminded through history, we need to know our past in order to reach our future. In comparison to the history of Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, the United States is a very young nation that has been in existence less than three hundred years. Incredibly, in that short amount of time on the world stage, some of the most memorable events in modern history have taken place in North America and had reverberating effects across the planet. If we were to study American in its entirety, that would be a course that would last a couple of years at least. But what happens when you cram that history into a book that is three hundred nine pages long?
On September 9, 1971, inmates at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, staged a revolt in protest of the treatment they received by prison officials and the living conditions employed therein. Several days later, New York State Troopers regained control of the prison after approval from Governor Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979). The siege had tragic consequences and ended with the deaths of nine hostages and twenty-nine inmates. The fallout from the retaking was swift and to this day the story of Attica is considered the worst prison uprising in American history. The riot caused sharp division among people with some believing in the inmates’ actions and others supporting the State of New York. In fact, among Rockefeller’s most ardent supporters was President Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994) who would himself resign in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal. The riot and its aftermath were so powerful that even Hollywood became interested and produced the television series Attica (1980) starring Morgan Freeman and Against the Wall (1994) starring Samuel L. Jackson (1948-) and Kyle MacLachlan (1959-). Both film productions earned award nominations and the stars in each film would go on to have successful careers in Hollywood. However, the questions always remain, how much did the producers get right, how much did they get wrong and how much did they leave out? Further, how much do we, the public know about one of New York State’s darkest days?
Between August 5 and August 9, 1945, the United States Air Force changed the course of history when the B-29 pilots dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today, more than seventy years later, the debate regarding whether President Harry Truman (1884-1972) was right to give the final order to drop the bombs rages on. The images taken in Japan following the bombings are still shocking even today and upsetting for many viewers. And for many others, the concern remains that the world could once again see a nuclear weapon used in warfare. It is commonly believed that August, 1945, was the only time atomic weapons had been used in combat. But what actually constitutes “use”? That is a question Daniel Ellsberg addresses in this chilling and eye-opening account his time as a nuclear war planner. Some readers may be familiar with Ellsberg’s name due to his surrender, trial and the dismissal of all charges related to the Pentagon Papers which revealed the mistakes and poor judgment that allowed the United States to go to war against North Vietnam. In fact, Ellsberg’s papers were the target of the crew of burglars that would go on to be discovered at the Watergate Complex. Their arrest and the cover-up by Washington helped lead to the resignation of Richard Nixon. Incredibly, Ellsberg has outlived many of the major figures from that era and what he has accomplished, learned and ultimately disclosed are facts that should concern and be known to every American.
You must be logged in to post a comment.