Connect With Us
Facebook-f X-twitter Youtube Instagram

Book Reviews

CURRENT Book Reviews

Kentucky Clay: Eleven Generations of a Southern Dynasty

While Bateman’s work delineates her genealogy filled with the famous Clays and Cecils of Virginia and Kentucky, this is as much an intimate introduction into a “famous first family.

Working Girl Blues: The Life & Music of Hazel Dickens

“Working Girl Blues” is a biography contained in a discography. Follow a young woman of Appalachia growing up and out of a male-dominated culture to hone her craft in a male-dominated music industry.

A Vegetable for a Laugh

Seventy-five years ago Abingdon, Va.’s Barter Theatre opened its doors for the first time. The Barter has just published “Will Work For Food,” a retrospective of its humble beginnings. The following is excerpted from its first chapter.

Book Excerpt: On Earth’s Furrowed Brow

Tim Barnwell interviewed has interviewed those living in the western North Carolina mountains for more than a quarter of a century...

Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”

To say that reading this book raised my consciousness would be a misstatement because I was introduced to issues I didn’t even have a consciousness about.

Current Issue

Kentucky Clay: Eleven Generations of a Southern Dynasty

Kentucky Clay: Eleven Generations of a Southern Dynasty

While Bateman’s work delineates her genealogy filled with the famous Clays and Cecils of Virginia and Kentucky, this is as much an intimate introduction into a “famous first family.
Working Girl Blues: The Life & Music of Hazel Dickens

Working Girl Blues: The Life & Music of Hazel Dickens

“Working Girl Blues” is a biography contained in a discography. Follow a young woman of Appalachia growing up and out of a male-dominated culture to hone her craft in a male-dominated music industry.
Actors rehearse at Stonewall Hill, part of the former Stonewall Jackson Institute campus and another early dormitory for the Barter players.

A Vegetable for a Laugh

Seventy-five years ago Abingdon, Va.’s Barter Theatre opened its doors for the first time. The Barter has just published “Will Work For Food,” a retrospective of its humble beginnings. The following is excerpted from its first chapter.
David Messer, resting from tilling field, 2003. Indian Grave Gap, Madison County, N.C.

Book Excerpt: On Earth’s Furrowed Brow

Tim Barnwell interviewed has interviewed those living in the western North Carolina mountains for more than a quarter of a century...
Barbara Kingsolver takes a look at locavores.

Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”

To say that reading this book raised my consciousness would be a misstatement because I was introduced to issues I didn’t even have a consciousness about.
VIEW MORE

Departments

At Coopers Rock State Forest, new Stargazer cabins invite guests to look up through skylights and telescopes.
Country Roads

Even Closer to Almost Heaven

New Stargazer cabins at Coopers Rock State Forest offer a skyward escape in the mountains of West Virginia.

June 29, 2026
©Duncan Seaman
Country Roads

A Mountain Tradition Turns 90 

Visitors flock to Galax, Virginia, each summer for the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, a days-long celebration of Appalachian music.

June 29, 2026
Synchronous Fireflies
Creature Feature

The Light Fantastic

Fireflies are struggling with the effects of artificial light.

June 29, 2026

CALENDAR OF EVENTS