Published in 1933, this book offers a truly consequential, essentially one-of-a-kind, look at the impact of technological change in Appalachia. The author starts by sharing the emotional reaction he had to the time he spent studying his subject in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky and ends with a chapter devoted to his sentient response in terms of seeking solutions to the problems he had viewed. In between are four powerful sections, starting with an appraisal of the changes the 20th century has brought to the mountains and then to an appraisal of the character and daily lives of the people. That is followed by three chapters about the union struggles of the era, followed by two chapters that focus on the work of Quakers to ameliorate conditions. This book truly stands alone in its sweep and sentiment in conveying the tenor of its times. Seventeen additional dramatic photos like the frontispiece one pictured below.
New York: Macmillan, 1933. 248 pages. Hardback without a jacket.