Product Description

An oral history of the Depression-era South presents the voices of Appalachian citizens and discusses folk arts, homespun crafts, Appalachian lore, boarding houses, railroad building, and the WPA.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37802 in Books
• Published on: 1993-03-01
• Released on: 1993-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780385422765
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Although about a quarter of this collection of oral histories is devoted to folk arts and crafts, such as chair-making and gourd art, the focus in this Foxfire volume is on Appalachian history. The Talluhah Falls Railway's impact on the economy and daily life of Rabun County, Ga., gives the setting for interviews on railroad construction work and operation. Other sections consider the boardinghouses that flourished during Tallulah Falls's late-19th-century era of popularity as a vacation spot, and the building of the Fontana Dam. Interviews also explore Depression life--one man tells how his family got by through snitching apples and hunting possum--and the impact of federal programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, with its army-style camp, and dollar-a-day jobs in the Works Progress Administration. Although interviewees occasionally enliven the work with their anecdotes and irrepressible personalities, much of the writing and handling of the interviews is pedestrian, though admirable for high-school students. This volume is likely to interest primarily those who are seeking out material on Appalachia, the CCC or the WPA. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Continuing the popular "Foxfire" series begun by teacher Eliot Wigginton as a class assignment for the students of Rabun County High School in northern Georgia, this book retains the homespun wisdom and charm of the original ( LJ 3/15/72). The new volume attempts to give its collection of oral histories a unifying theme. Each topic focuses on the impact of change in the Appalachian region since the turn of the century. There is an excellent history of the Tallulah Falls Railway, as well as recollections of the Depression and federal assistance programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps. The book concludes with the series' customary coverage of regional crafts. Recommended for public libraries.
- Eloise R. Hitchcock, Tennessee Technological Univ. Lib., Cookeville
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher
Chock full of the wit and wisdom that has become the Foxfire trademark, this entirely new volume in the acclaimed, 6-million-copy best-selling Foxfire series is on oral history of Appalachian lives and traditions, homespun crafts, and folk arts.

Customer Reviews

WONDERFUL REFERENCE BOOK AND INTERESTING READ
The Foxfire books are a wonderful thing and we are so lucky to have them. Many of the ways, crafts, planting lore, animal lore, and as the book says "affairs of plain living" are preserved here. This particular volume includes oral histories of the Great Depression, CCC Camps and their impact on the local areaa and ecomomy, folk art, chair makeing, and of special interest to me, gourd art. This is a wonderful recording of life the way it was and probably never will be again. The book is quite well written and has faithfully recorded even the dialect of these wonderful people, from which so many of us sprung. That is a big part of the charm of these works. This book includes actual interviews with folks from that region of the country which I am sure are long dead now. Their knowledge would be completely lost without works such as this. Another generation or two and it will all be completely gone. This book will cetainly be of great interest to those, like me, who are interested in the depression era and in the CCC in particular. Thank goodness we have recordings such as this. Recommend this one highly.

An old 'hillbilly's' opinion
It's a great deal of fun to read about the historical needs and solutions of the Appalachian people that applies as well to my own history. There are great reminders of a simpler and maybe happier life.

Very historic and enjoyable
Both my husband and I enjoyed this book. He is from W.N.C. and enjoyed reading about areas near where he grew up. I liked it also, having lived there for four years.