Customer Reviews

LIFE IN THE LEATHERWOODS (Arkansas Classics)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally purchased this book as part of a southern history class in college. At semester's end, I chose it as one of the few books I would add to my permanent collection. This volume is filled with stories reminiscent of post-Civil War Arkansas Ozarks, seen through the eyes of a man who grew up in the pristine Leatherwoods. It reminds me so much of the Mark Twain stories we've all read in school, but means even more because the people are not just based on real individuals, they ARE real. I highly recommend it!

John Quincy Wolf depicts life in the Arkansas White River area in the late 1880-90's..It is very descriptive of how people lived and reacted to these environs; and easily and eagerly read. There is some duplication of parts of stories since some of the text is taken from newspaper columns written by the author over the intervening years.
But it is very interesting and gives good account of what life was like growing up in those times. I would recommend it.
Verne Garrison

This excellent book is a window into rural life in the late 1800s. The author describes early years on the banks of the White River in Arkansas, and most copies are sold at tourist shops in the Ozarks, but this fine book really describes rural life throughout America long ago when our ancestors attended one-room schools, wore home-made clothes, lost their parents during childhood, or landed their first job at the village general store. The author was a wonderful writer, and the book includes nice illustrations. The Civil War reminisces are something you'll never read in history books. The author was born just after the war, so his war stories are second-hand, but he describes the hardships of the women and children when the men were away at war, and the lawless Jayhawkers and Bushwackers who preyed on their own neighbors during the war. The book concludes with the author moving to town and commencing his career in banking at the turn of the century 1900. By the way, if you visit Calico Rock, the village of his childhood, it looks exactly the same except the road is paved, a bridge replaced the ferry, and the steamboats are gone.

Great book about growing up in the Ozarks. Wonderful pen & ink drawings.

Good quality and in in quick timing good job! Thank you for your hard work, it is very much appreciated!!