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McGraw, Seamus.
THE END OF COUNTRY.
NEW copy, hardcover.
(Random House, 2011). 6x9. Reprint edition. Forward by Lee Smith.
Notes, bibliography, appendices, index, 305 pages.
~~~ The End of Country is the compelling story about the epic battle for control of one of
the richest natural gas deposits the world has ever known: the Marcellus Shale, worth more than one trillion
dollars. In a remote northeastern corner of Pennsylvania, an intense conflict begins, pitting the forces of
corporate America against a community of stoic, low-income homesteaders, determined to acquire their fair
share of the windfall—but not at the cost of their values or their way of life. Though the natural gas is extracted
through a controversial process known as hydrofracking, many couldn’t resist the offer to lease their land in
exchange for the promise of untold riches.
~~~ For years, this part of the world was invisible to all but the farmers, urban transplants, and small
landholders who called it home. But journalist Seamus McGraw, a native of the region whose own mother was
one of the first to receive a leasing offer, opens a window on a stiff-necked group of Pennsylvanians as they
try, with little guidance or protection from the state or anyone else, to balance the promise and the peril of this
discovery. Along the way, McGraw introduces us to a host of colorful characters, from a gas company land
agent with a Green Beret to a wizened quarryman with an old coonhound, a .22 rifle, and an unerring sense of
right and wrong who leads a personal crusade to police the gas company’s operations.
~~~
The cutthroat dash by petrodollar billionaires to secure drilling leases will make some poor residents rich, and
put the entire community at risk of having its land tainted by toxic chemicals and its water supply contaminated
by gas. Above all, it will test the character of everyone in the community as they fight against “the end of
country.”
~~~
Rich with a sense of place and populated by unforgettable personalities, The End of Country is a tale of greed, hubris, and envy, but also of hope and family—and the land that binds them all together.
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Waples, David A.,
THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY IN APPALACHIA:
A History from the First Discovery to the Tapping of the Marcellus Shale, 2d ed.
. NEW copy, trade paperback.
(Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012). 7x10.
89 photos, 3 maps, chronology, glossary, appendix, notes, bibliography, index, 377 pp.
~~~ The large scale, practical uses of natural gas were initially introduced by innovators Joseph Pew and George Westinghouse for the steel and glass industries in Pittsburgh, and local gas companies evolved from individual wells to an interstate supply network acquired by Rockefeller’s Standard Oil interests. Natural gas is now a prevalent part of American markets and with the production from the Marcellus shale is filling the critical void left by a lack of new coal, oil, and nuclear power facilities. This vital American enterprise began in the Appalachian states as an accidental and underestimated byproduct of the oil rush of 1859. This book explores the evolution and significance of the natural gas industry to the present day.
$45.00
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McCauley, Deborah Vansau,
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN RELIGION:
A History.
. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK.
(Urbana: Univeristy of Illinois Press, 1995).
Illustrations, essay on sources, notes, works cited, index, 584 pp.
~~~ From Booklist: In this remarkably comprehensive history of Appalachian Mountain
religion, McCauley argues persuasively that mountain religion is not so much a "counter" to mainstream
Protestantism and Catholicism as an equally central American religious tradition with equally deep roots
and radically different religious values--values including humility, tolerance, integrity, and consensus,
which are of particular importance today. She pictures a religious tradition in which the heart guides the
head, rather than the other way around, and she suggests that this is an approach from which American
Protestantism in particular could learn a great deal. The book will certainly be of interest to scholars of
Appalachian religion at all levels, and it should also be of interest to anyone who seeks a more
complete understanding of the American religious experience. It is a welcome corrective to the
tendency to equate denominational (and particularly evangelical) Protestantism with "the American
way." Though its detail may prove daunting to nonspecialists, readers who work through it with care
will find it to be well worth the effort.
$28.00
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Blaustein, Richard,
THE THISTLE AND THE BRIER:
Historical Links and Cultural Parallels Between Scotland and Appalachia.
. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK.
(Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003).
Photographs, bibliography, index, 182 pp.
~~~ Scotland and Southern Appalachia have always shared a strong connection. Many of
the first people to permanently settle in the Appalachian mountains came from
the Scottish highlands seeking religious and other freedoms. Many descendants of
those first settlers from Scotland still make their homes in Southern Appalachia
and attribute many aspects of their culture to their Scottish
heritage.
This book explores the parallels and connections between
Scotland and Southern Appalachia, with special attention to the interplay
between revivals of folk culture, native languages, and dialects in Scotland and
Appalachia since the 1970s. It covers contemporary Scottish and Appalachian
cultural movements, particularly the links between cultural revivals and
identity politics, and contains substantial references that increase its value
as an authoritative scholarly work on the convergence of the cultures.
$35.00
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Chepesiuk, Ron,
THE SCOTCH-IRISH:
From the North of Ireland to the Making of America.
. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK.
(Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2005).
Notes, bibliography, index, 182 pp.
~~~ The Scotch-Irish began emigrating to Northern Ireland from Scotland in the
seventeenth century to form the Ulster Plantation. In the next century these
Scottish Presbyterians migrated to the Western Hemisphere in search of a better
life. Except for the English, the Scotch-Irish were the largest ethnic group to
come to the New World during the eighteenth century. By the time of the American
Revolution there were an estimated 250,000 Scotch-Irish in the colonies, about a
tenth of the population. Twelve U.S. presidents can trace their lineage to the
Scotch-Irish. ~~~ This work discusses the life of the Scotch-Irish in
Ireland, their treatment by their English overlords, the reasons for emigration
to America, the settlement patterns in the New World, the movement westward
across America, life on the colonial frontier, Scotch-Irish contributions to
America’s development, and sites of Scotch-Irish interest in the north of
Ireland.
$29.95
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