"The Law Of Pine Mountain" by Phillip K. Epling--Book Review

This book was referred to me by a friend after I had inquired about information about Bad John Hall, the former gun-happy police chief of Wheelwright, Kentucky, which is a whole other story.  The book was written by someone named Phillip K. Epling and the edition I have in my possession was printed by what I assume was a vanity press created by the author known as E & E Publishing Company, Elkhorn City, KY 41522. 

But I have also found other editions of the book under imprints including Overmountain Press McClain Printing, and Reformation Publishers.  The book is about a man named John Wright, known widely as both Bad John Wright, Devil John Wright and several other nicknames related to his ability with a gun and willingness to use it. He was born in 1844 and died in 1931 at the age of 86 which was a very ripe old age for a gunslinger in the early twentieth century.  He had a reputation for honesty despite his well known propensity for killing other men. He served several years as  a deputy sheriff in Letcher County Kentucky along with one term as a magistrate.  He was often used to hunt down wanted men and one story in this book claims he once chased a horse thief out of Kentucky, across the Ohio River into Ohio, then back across the Ohio into West Virginia, all the way into Virginia, and then killed the man and recovered the high priced race horse not far from Cumberland Gap before bringing the horse back to the rightful owner.

The book is poorly written, highly fictionalized, and questionable as to truth. I am sure it also had some influence in the ongoing defamation of Appalachian people as gunslingers, killers, and other less desieable elements of civilized society.   But, if you are into reading about  legends of the Appalachian mountains, especially those legends which involve such men, you might find the book worth reading.  For me the best, and most likely most accurate story in the book concerns the fact that Bad John Wright was a cousin to a man who was known as The Kentucky River Giant, Martin Van Buren Bates, who was nearly eight feet tall, married a woman of equal size from Nova Scotia, spent their lives traveling with circuses, and retired to Seville, Ohio where they are buried.  The book claims that Wright spent a few years traveling with his cousin and working in the circuses before returning to Cynthiana, Kentucky, where he married his own wife, Martha Wright.  After a few year in Cynthiana, the Wrights returned to Letcher County for most of their lives but he is buried in Wise County Virginia.

In addition to the weaknesses I have listed in the preceding paragraph, the edition of the book which my friend loaned me also contains several photographs and a letter written by Martha Wright which appear to have been copied on some low quality, older version of a copier which rendered them virtually useless for a reader.  But if you are dying to know more about Bad John Wright, you might enjoy the book. 

"Li'l Donnie: A Political Satire" by Bill Best--Announcing A New Book Release

Within the past few days, retired Berea College Professor Bill Best has released his latest book, "Li'l Donnie: A Political Satire" and that release has been perfectly timed to coincide with the steadily worsening double headed crises of the Corona Virus and the steadily worsening economy both in the USA and worldwide.  It is also timed to have maximum potential influence on the upcoming election.  Bill is the author of several works of satire including "The Tragedy Of Platitudinous Piety" about the Jim Jones cult. 

He is also the author of two important works about saving, propagating, and preserving Appalachian heritage food crops and is, perhaps, the nation's best expert on heritage tomatoes.  He also served as the editor of a wonderful book called "100 Years of Appalachian Visions".  On or about the day the TRAITOR Donald Trump came down the escalator in Trump Tower and announced his mistaken belief that he was fit to become the leader of the free world, Bill began taking notes for "Li'l Donnie" and completed it about a month ago.  The book discusses in cogent, satirical, and often hilarious terms the many crimes of TRAITOR Trump.  This is a book which every American should read before voting in the 2020 presidential election.  The book is available by mail directly from Bill Best and an autographed copy is only $15.00 which includes shipping via Media Mail.

In this book, Bill Best has managed to create a little "good trouble" to quote the late Congressman John Lewis, and in these times America needs all the "good trouble" we can generate.  Bill has lived up to the glorious history of political satire in this book and also complied with several admonitions from some of the most important satirists who have ever lived.  George Orwell said "In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."  In this book, Bill Best has told the truth about the crimes which were committed by TRAITOR Trump in order to be sitting in the undeserved and hopefully temporary position which he currently occupies.  George Orwell also said, "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."  I have no doubt that Bill Best has told the few million misled Americans who still believe the lies and ignore the crimes of TRAITOR Trump some things they do not want to hear but they sure as hell  need to hear it.  Mark Twain, perhaps America's best satirist, said "There are basically two types of people.  People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things.  The first group is less crowded."  Bill Best had taken his place in that second, less crowded group many years ago with his previous works as a satirist, educator, and heritage crop expert.  With "Li'l Donnie", Bill leaves no doubt that he still belongs in that second group.

Before I leave you with my heartfelt advice to buy and read a copy of "Li'l Donnie, I should make the following disclosure in the interest of total honesty: I wrote the Afterword for the book.  But that has little or nothing to do with the importance of the book and I also state for the record that I do not receive a penny for the few pages I wrote in it even if it eventually tops the best seller lists all across the country.  I contributed the Afterword because Bill Best offered the opportunity to do so and I respect him greatly.  I also have always lived by another admonition to Always Stand Up, Speak Up, and Speak Out, and if Bill Best was willing to give me an opportunity to do so about TRAITOR Trump I was sure as hell going to make an honest effort to do my part.

The book, autographed and mailed by USPS Media Mail is available for $15. 00 from:

Bill Best

1033 Pilot Knob Cemetery Road

Berea, KY 40403

"Getting The Spirit And Other Writings" by Vernon Abner--Book Review

I located this book on a used book website after being advised of its existence by my friend, Bill Best, who taught the author, Vernon Abner, when he was a non-traditional student at Berea College after having grown up in Jackson County Kentucky and spending time in the US Navy. Bill Best also wrote the Preface to the book and is listed as the photographer although the book is illustrated with drawings by Jon Howson.  The book was published by Kentucke Imprints in Berea, Kentucky, a small privately owned publisher which went defunct upon the death of the owner.  The book is small but well worth locating and reading a copy.  It is divided into three sections labeled Fiction, Poetry, and Philosophy.  The fiction section is composed of six pieces of writing, four of which are clearly short stories and two others which teter somewhere between clearing being fiction and possibly being essays.  The true short stories are the best writing in the book and, in and of themselves, make the book worth reading.  Two of the stories, "Getting The Spirit" and "Did The Fleas Get To College?" feature a pair of teenage pals in early to middle twentieth century Appalachia who love a good practical joke and are masters at playing those jokes on others.  There are moments in both these stories which are laugh out loud hilarious.  After reading these stories, I felt I knew the author pretty well.  He was born in 1937, about 14 years before me; but, we grew up in the same sort of situations in many ways in rural Eastern Kentucky and it seems that we had the same kind of sense of humor.  Both these stories involve the boys efforts to inflict vermin on others who can be said to have been somewhat of authority figures over the boys.  That is all I want to say about these stories because I don't want to ruin your fun if you locate a copy of the book.  They will have you rolling in the floor just as does the father of one of the boys in the title piece.  

The Poetry section is composed of three poems which are readable but not above average.  These poems and the entire third section, Philosophy, clearly show that it would have been a wonderful thing if Vernon Abner had been able to attend college directly out of high school and been exposed to a handful of good instructors of literature and writing.  Vernon was a highly intelligent, humorous, and caring man who wrote well but his lack of extensive writing experience weakens his work in a manner that would have been eliminated if he had benefited from strong writing instructors in his teens and twenties.  Sadly, he also died at only 52 and is buried in his native Jackson County.  His memorial on Find A Grave contains an epitaph I have never seen on a tombstone before.  It reads simply "It Is Unexplainable".  As a regular Find A Grave volunteer contributor, I have entered more than 3,000 memorial on the website, contributed more than 600 photographs of memorials to it, and I have walked through cemeteries in more than 25 states ranging from Pennsylvania to Arizona and Wisconsin to Florida and I have never seen that particular epitaph on a tombstone before.  I would love to know the story behind it.  The Philosophy section of the book is composed of 19 short essays on a wide ranging set of topic.  They are all worth reading; sometimes funny, but never as funny as the short stories; thoughtful; erudite; and many of them make it apparent that the author's knowledge was attained in an old fashioned manner which valued experience far more than education.  

If you can ever locate a copy of this book, buy it, read it, preserve it, and pass it on to someone or some institution which will preserve it for future readers and researchers.  I have worked in the past for nearly three years in Jackson County Kentucky where Vernon Abner lived most of his life.  It is likely that I have met people who knew him but I was never aware of that.  I wish I had met Vernon Abner.  I know that we could have shared a laugh, a few stories, and maybe even a good supper of squirrels, gravy, fresh peas from the garden, good homemade cat head biscuits, and washed it all down with a glass of cold buttermilk before we started telling more stories and sharing a few belly laughs. 

"Appalachians Speak Up" compiled by Irmgard Best--Book Review

This wonderful book was compiled and produced by Irmgard Best in 1972 and reissued in 1973 in an updated version which, it is my understanding, she used in her Appalachian Studies classes at Berea College.  This book also served as a primary impetus for her husband, my friend Bill Best, to produce his later book, "100 Years Of Appalachian Visions", which I discussed in the post at the preceding link. This book will be very difficult to locate but it can be done.  I found my copy on one of the national used book websites.  If you decide you are actively interested in reading and owning it, don't pass up the first copy you find because you may well never find another.  The book is comprised of essays, poetry, and a rare piece of fiction from both some of the most well known experts of Appalachia and Appalachian Culture as well as some pieces from native Appalachians whose names will not ring a bell for anyone other than their occasional relatives.  The book was produced by Irmgard Best in a stapled paper format with a heavier paper for the covers and what I believe to be 20 pound paper for the 215 pages of paper content.  Due to the stapled format, do not expect to find a copy in "Fine" or "Very Fine Condition".  Count yourself lucky if you find one at all.

The book contains a one page introduction by Irmgard Best and a combination of essays, fiction, and poetry from about 25 people including some of the leading figures in the early development of Appalachian Studies.  The list includes Don West, Loyal Jones, Cratis D. Williams, Emma Miles, Wilma Dykeman, and Jim Wayne Miller.  For me, the most interesting piece is an early version of the essay which later became one of my favorite books, "Appalachian Values" by Loyal Jones.  I have written extensively on the topic of this work and Loyal Jones even blessed me with a copy of his forty year retrospective on that book which he wrote by request for the administration of Berea College. At the time Loyal Jones gave me that copy of his recent essay, he also suggested that I write my own response to it which is found at the link above.   The essay in Irmgard Best's book gives the scholar who is familiar with the Jones book an interesting insight into his thought processes concerning "Appalachian Values" as both he and the book aged. You can also go to the link on the bottom of the front page of this blog called "Links To Other Sites About Appalachia" and find links to two essays I co-wrote with Dr. Heather Ambrose, Ph. D., one of my former professors, about "Culturally Appropriate Counseling In Appalachia: The Need And How To Address It" and "Clinical Supervision of Counselors In Appalachia: A Culturally Appropriate Model".  Those essays are on the permanent online data base for professional counselors of the American Counseling Association and are frequently cited and quoted by other Appalachian professionals. They are based almost totally on the work in Loyal Jones' book. 

An essay by Wilma Dykeman called "The Professor And The Hunter" is also one of my favorite pieces in the book.  Without going into a long winded discussion of the essay it describes the relationship between a local mountain hunter in the Smoky Mountains and a professor from outside the region who worked in that area for many years and culminates in the hunter searching in the mountains for the professor until he was able to locate his body.  It is a powerful piece of writing and ties in strongly to works on Appalachian Culture and Values, especially those related to sense of duty, loyalty, and friendship.   There is also a quite interesting essay by Cratis D. Williams called "Mountaineers Mind Their Manners" which can serve as a great introduction to the work of the man many credit with being the most important early figure in the field of Appalachian Studies.  I have also written extensively recently on this blog about the work of Cratis D. Williams.  I strongly recommend "Tales From Sacred Wind" by Cratis D. Williams both for its authenticity and its humor. 

Admittedly, some of the essays in this book can be said to be a bit dated today due to the fact that the book is almost fifty years old.  But the book, and every essay in it are well worth reading if you are a student of Appalachia and Appalachian Culture.  I hope you can find a copy either in a good library with a focus on Appalachian Studies or locate your own copy on a used book site.  If you get your hands on a copy, please be sure when you are done with it that you make certain it is preserved for posterity by passing it on to a younger student of the region or to a library which will commit to preserving it.