When the first edition of this book appeared, it was a New York Times best-seller. This second edition differs from the first in that it is paperback, not hardback, that instead of a cd in the inside back cover, it refers the reader to a Spotify playlist, and it has a new three-page Afterword. Co-author Fiona Ritchie was born and educated in Scotland and came to the United States where she worked in broadcasting and presented a Thistle and Shamrock Concert Tour before returning to Scotland where she continues to promote traditional music and is host of a weekly Thistle and Shamrock program that is broadcast in the United States on National Public Radio. Her co-author is Doug Orr, President Emeritus of Warren Wilson College where he founded the Swannanoa Gathering of music workshops. Those two are the perfect partners to pull off this splendid book that features 43 musical artists that exemplify the way that traditional music has jumped the pond. “Essential . . .A gorgeous gift book.”The New York Times. “Ritchie and Orr strike all the right chords in this pleasantly tuneful survey.”—Publishers Weekly. "A story remarkable for its breadth and depth, conveying the drama of Scottish emigration via Ulster to Appalachia, by a people who clung to the music and song they held dear, and bequeathed it to America. It is for us to keep our eyes and ears open to see how this river carries on."—Scottish Life Magazine. "If you love Appalachian music; if you're Scots-Irish and wonder about your roots; if you're curious about the words and traditions of the music and how many miles and years the songs have traveled to get here, this handsome book is your most trusted servant, your indispensable encyclopedia and your entertaining Bible."—Charlotte Observer. "Except for my family, there is nothing I love more than being a part of the 'living tradition' captured in this book."—Rosanne Cash. “Ritchie and Orr have created a beautiful book filled with poetic prose, stunning images, and anecdotal gems from some of the most revered figures in Celtic and American music.”--West Virginia History. “Filled with maps, woodcuts, paintings, and photographs of impossibly picturesque Scottish and Irish locales, the book is a treasure trove of imagery and information. Music lovers, prepare to be transported.”—BookPage. “Represents an extraordinary feat of research, together with copious interview material. . . . a joy to read from cover to cover, it also rewards just dipping in and out.”--fRoots
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, a 2021 Second Edition of a 2014 release. 357 pages with a Foreword by Dolly Parton, an Index, Bibliography, Notes, Discography, Notes on Illustrations, Resource Centers, A Contextual Timeline, a Glossary of Less-Familiar Musical Terms, and mostly full-color photographs on practically every other page. An 8.5” X 11” trade paperback.