Synopses & Reviews
Spirits of Just Men tells the story of moonshine in 1930s America, as seen through the remarkable location of Franklin County, Virginia, a place that many still refer to as the "moonshine capital of the world." Charles D. Thompson Jr. chronicles the Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935, which made national news and exposed the far-reaching and pervasive tendrils of Appalachia's local moonshine economy. Thompson, whose ancestors were involved in the area's moonshine trade and trial as well as local law enforcement, uses the event as a stepping-off point to explore Blue Ridge Mountain culture, economy, and political engagement in the 1930s. Drawing from extensive oral histories and local archival material, he illustrates how the moonshine trade was a rational and savvy choice for struggling farmers and community members during the Great Depression. Local characters come alive through this richly colorful narrative, including the stories of Miss Ora Harrison, a key witness for the defense and an Episcopalian missionary to the region, and Elder Goode Hash, an itinerant Primitive Baptist preacher and juror in a related murder trial. Considering the complex interactions of religion, economics, local history, Appalachian culture, and immigration, Thompson's sensitive analysis examines the people and processes involved in turning a basic agricultural commodity into such a sought-after and essentially American spirit.
Review
"This informative, engaging work wonderfully reveals the culture and colorful history of a region with intimate ties to the illegal production and distribution of alcohol during 'Prohibition.'"--Booklist "Thompson brings the area to life, offering a portrait of a place that the government forgot, a blue-collar town run amok with barefoot children and well-armed men. . . . A meticulous, exhaustive history of moonshining, poverty and Blue Ridge culture."--Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A well-researched and well-written study and a thought-provoking portrait of 1930s Appalachia."--Library Journal
"This fascinating book convincingly argues the importance of national policy in creating and sustaining what has been perceived as a regional phenomenon. Thompson refutes easy stereotypes and instead gives us a well written and well researched account of what Edith Wharton called 'the hard considerations of the poor.'"--Ron Rash, author of Serena: A Novel
Review
"A fascinating narrative of how mountain farmers responded to the challenges of making a living during hard times. Charles D. Thompson Jr. animates his rich and vivid story of the moonshine business in the 1930s with memorable characters and unique voices."--Patricia D. Beaver, coeditor of Tales from Sacred Wind: Coming of Age in Appalachia
Review
"A wonderful book! Nobody has ever brought more passionate interest, love, and real connection to a subject than Thompson, whose roots run deep in Franklin County. His examination of the economics of 'blockading'--or moonshining---is fascinating. And his evocation of the lost community of Endicott, its people, and its whole way of life is very moving. A native of southwest Virginia myself, I sat right down and read this book straight through, like a novel, with little shocks of recognition and pleasure all the way."--Lee Smith, author of Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger
Review
"A well-researched and well-written study and a thought-provoking portrait of 1930s Appalachia."--Library Journal
"Thompson’s book is eye-opening not only about the illicit liquor trade but also about the big stage on which moonshining occurred. He paints a rich picture of life in Virginia’s mountains in the 1930s. . . . Moonshining has been written about before. But it’s unlikely any previous treatment compares to Thompson’s in doing justice both to the business and its setting in a certain American time and place."--Washington Independent Review of Books
Review
"An exceptionally passionate, sensitive, and complex analysis of Great Depression-era life in rural Virginia."--The Journal of Southern History
"An informative and entertaining account of one of Appalachia's most enduring symbols, the moonshiner."--Virginia Magazine
Review
"A well-researched and well-written study and a thought-provoking portrait of 1930s Appalachia."--Library Journal
"Worthy of the attention of both scholars and an interested public."--The Historian
Review
"An exceptionally passionate, sensitive, and complex analysis of Great Depression-era life in rural Virginia."--The Journal of Southern History
"Spirits of Just Men is an example of microhistory at its best."--H-Net Reviews
Review
“Shenandoah is a beautifully written portrait of a history-haunted landscape: wistful, wild, and enchanting, like the best of autumn hikes through Shenandoah National Park.”—Tony Horwitz, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
Review
“The juxtaposition of delight with the land and the haunting of Shenandoah’s history is beautifully written, giving us the feel of the park and the lure of knowing its past.”—Katrina M. Powell, author of The Anguish of Displacement: The Politics of Literacy in the Letters of Mountain Families in Shenandoah National Park
Review
"Eisenfeld writes about Shenandoah the way Annie Proulx writes about Wyoming or Edward Abbey about the deserts of the Southwest: pristine, unsentimental, eloquent prose."—Kirkus
Review
"Anyone with an interest in national parks or the history of the state of Virginia or travelers to Shenandoah or Skyline Drive will appreciate this book."—Rachel Owens, Library Journal
Review
"[Shenandoah is a] richly textured look at the human drama of creating one of the jewels of the national park system."—Rachel Jagareski, Foreword Reviews
Review
"
Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal . . . beautifully captures the mountain people and the official vendetta that made them refugees from their own land."—James Bovard,
Washington Times
Review
"Menard's book represents a worthwhile addition to the study of urban bossism because it deals with a smaller city."--Robert S. LaForte, Choice
Review
and#8220;This is a story of the growing-up of Omaha. . . . The whole story here is an extremely well-documented narrative.and#8221;and#8212;Francis Moul, Omaha World-Heraldand#160;
Review
and#8220;[Menard] has captured the essence of Dennison and how he operated. . . . Menardand#8217;s fine and provocative book raises interesting questions about not only the goals but the nature and methods of operation of political bosses with a western background.and#8221;and#8212;Larry H. Larsen,
Nebraska HistoryReview
"A thoroughly researched and well-written account."--Paulo E. Coletta, retired, United States Naval Academy
Review
and#8220;A fascinating story of politics in the early part of the twentieth century. . . . A significant contribution to scholarship.and#8221;and#8212;Donald J. Senese, director, National Center for Presidential Research
and#160;
Review
"[River City Empire]and#160;is a meticulously researched book. . . . Urban historians and political scientists should find much value in both the factual materials Menard presents and in his interpretations of them. Certainly residents of Omaha and those with ties there will find the study fascinating."--Frederick M. Spletstoser, Great Plains Quarterly
Synopsis
For fifteen years Sue Eisenfeld hiked in Shenandoah National Park in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, unaware of the tragic history behind the creation of the park. In this travel narrative, she tells the story of her on-the-ground discovery of the relics and memories a few thousand mountain residents left behind when the government used eminent domain to kick the people off their land to create the park.
With historic maps and notes from hikers who explored before her, Eisenfeld and her husband hike, backpack, and bushwhack the hills and the hollows of this beloved but misbegotten place, searching for stories. Descendants recount memories of their ancestors “grieving themselves to death,” and they continue to speak of their peoples displacement from the land as an untold national tragedy.
Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal is Eisenfelds personal journey into the parks hidden past based on her off-trail explorations. She describes the turmoil of residents removal as well as the human face of the government officials behind the formation of the park. In this conflict between conservation for the benefit of a nation and private land ownership, she explores her own complicated personal relationship with the park—a relationship she would not have without the heartbreak of the thousands of people removed from their homes.
Synopsis
More than any other political boss of the early twentieth century, Thomas Dennison, and#8220;the Rogue who ruled Omaha,and#8221; was a master of the devious. Unlike his contemporaries outside the Midwest, he took no political office and was never convicted of a crime during his thirty-year reign. He was a man who managed saloons but never cared for alcohol; who may have incited the Omaha Race Riot of 1919 but claimed he never harmed a soul; who stood aside while powerful men did his bidding. His power came not from coercion or nobility but from delegation and subterfuge.and#160;
Orville D. Menard chronicles Dennisonand#8217;s life in River City Empire, beginning with Dennisonand#8217;s experiences in Colorado mining towns. In 1892 Dennison came to Omaha, Nebraska, where he married and started a family while solidifying his position as an influential political boss. Menard explores machine politics in Omaha as well as the man behind this machine, describing how Dennison steered elections, served the legitimate and illegitimate business communities, and administered justice boss-style to control crime and corruption. The microcosm of Omaha provides an opportunity for readers to explore bossism in a smaller environment and sheds light on the early twentieth-century American political climate as a whole.
About the Author
"This fascinating book convincingly argues the importance of national policy in creating and sustaining what has been perceived as a regional phenomenon. Thompson refutes easy stereotypes and instead gives us a well written and well researched account of what Edith Wharton called 'the hard considerations of the poor.'"--Ron Rash, author of Serena: A Novel
"A fascinating narrative of how mountain farmers responded to the challenges of making a living during hard times. Charles D. Thompson Jr. animates his rich and vivid story of the moonshine business in the 1930s with memorable characters and unique voices."--Patricia D. Beaver, coeditor of Tales from Sacred Wind: Coming of Age in Appalachia