The United States of Appalachia: How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture, and Enlightenment to America. By Jeff Biggers. (Emeryville, Calif.: Shoemaker and Hoard, c. 2006. Pp. [xviii], 238. $26.00, ISBN 978-1-59376-031-1.)
In this wide-ranging and well-written book, writer and radio correspondent Jeff Biggers wants to introduce readers to an Appalachia few people know. Prejudice and stereotypes, according to Biggers, have prevented Appalachian cultural and historical contributions from taking their rightful place in the grand narrative of American history. Of course, he is right. Practically every book on Appalachia opens with an extended discussion of how ...