Nothing accentuates the importance of a book in the literary cannon more than an anniversary edition, something practically unknown in the canon of Appalachian non-fiction. But few books so richly deserve such an honor as our one and only environmental history. This book is comprehensive. It begins with the first written portrayals of the region by members of the DeSota expedition who observed a mountain region inhabited by what are now called natives of the Mississippian culture. The next chapter considers the period of Spanish influence, then Cherokee, and then European frontier inhabitants. The next chapters concern Antebellum Appalachia and then the more contemporary landscape. “Where There Are Mountains is an impressively researched and persuasively argued environmental history of Appalachia. . . . It is a fresh and original piece of work.”-- Ronald L. Lewis. “[A] well-written narrative that is readily accessible to general readers. One can easily understand why this work won an award for outstanding writing on the Southern environments. . . . [T]his book remains the single best introduction to the subject for general readers and undergraduate students, so the paperback edition is welcome.”-- Mississippi Quarterly. The author, Donald Edward Davis, served on the faculty at Dalton State University for several years and is now an independent scholar residing in Washington, D.C.
Athens: The University of Georgia Press, a revised 2020 edition of a 2000 imprint. 320 pages with an Index, Bibliography, Notes, and photos. Trade paperback.