Customer Reviews

The Mountain, the Miner, and the Lord and Other Tales from a Country Law Office

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

 

 

I think this book is an excellent and accurate account of the stories and traditions of this area. Having been associated with south-eastern Kentucky all my life,I can attest to many of the characters and nearly all the places he mentions. Who of us with close ties to Appalachia hasn't heard of the wild politics of Kentucky mountain people, not just 150 years ago, but in recent years as well? His account of why life is as hard as it is for these people (and was for their ancestors) is right on target!

Mr. Caudill's stories about the people of the hills and their times had a few problems. As I was reading the book, I came across a story regarding my great-great grandfather and his demise. The story was told in the third person by someone claiming to be a grand-daughter of the person in the story. I did a little research of my own and found that the person used to tell the story was not a family member of the main person (my great-great-grandfather)and, in fact, was not related to our family at all. When I brought this story up at a family reunion, I was told the author "took creative liberties" with the story to make it a better story then it was.
In short, be careful what you read.

Regardless of whether these stories are biographies or bio-fictions, Mr.Caudill shows excellent writting skills in his
story telling. Sitting at the knees of story-tellers in the
south there was always some fiction thrown in with the truth.

Each story was as enthralling and detailed of the lives of
hard working mountain people as the next. With Mr.Caudill
being an attorney, some stories told the legal hardships people
endured.

I found it to be a quite exceptional book and I have dozens and
dozens of "Mountain People" books to compare it to. I did feel
like I was sitting on the porch, after dinner clean-up, with
a story teller. Yes, I enjoyed this book very much and I
would recommend it to anyone who likes to hear stories of the
Appalachian people. He zeroes in on particular counties around
the southeastern part of Kentucky and he mentions places that
some of us know all too well.

My absolute favorite short story in this book was the title
"The Mountain, The Miner and The Lord" which showed me great
strength, determination and grande love that we each should
practice. There are times when I feel weak, I think about that
particular story and it truly strengthens me with the "I can
do this" driven attitude.