No wonder this book has stayed in print so long. Wilma Dykeman (1920-2006) was Tennessee state historian much of her adult life as well as a sought-after public speaker, distinguished novelist and non-fiction author. Although Wilma came across as essentially a personage, always dressed and well spoken like an aristocrat, her strength was her empathy and respect for common people. In all of the talks I heard her give she included something that reinforced her opposition to class chauvinism as well as racism and sexism and environmental destruction. She and her son, Jim Stokely, were the idea people to write this book, and they did not disappoint.
Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, 1978. Trade paperback.