Seedtime on the Cumberland [Paperback]

Harriette Simpson Arnow (Author), Margaret Ripley Wolfe (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1995

The settling of southern Kentucky and middle Tennessee from pre-Revolutionary times to the beginning of the nineteenth century is described in everyday detail by Harriette Arnow, the author of The Dollmaker. “It is the art of pioneering rather than the acts of individuals in the westward movement that gives backbone to this book,” wrote historian Thomas D. Clark in the New York Times Book Review. “The author takes her reader along the early trails, onto the land, into the cabins, and even into the private lives of the people.”

 

Seedtime on the Cumberland won the 1961 Award of Merit from the American Association of State and Local History.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book will long stand as a classic picture of the frontier in middle and east Tennessee, a mine of information and a tribute to the makers of mid-America.”—Library Journal

(Library Journal )

“Arnow’s own roots are in the Cumberland country and her personal approach adds to her careful study of the Cumberland from 1780 to 1803—the period of seedtime, when the first wave of settlers crossed the mountains of western Virginia and the Carolinas, into the wilderness that opened up the West.”—Christian Science Monitor

(Christian Science Monitor )

“A work of great warmth and devotion, expertly done.”—Chicago Sunday Tribune

(Chicago Sunday Tribune )

About the Author

Introducing this Bison Books edition is Margaret Ripley Wolfe, a professor of history at East Tennessee State University–Johnson City and the author of Daughters of Canaan: A Saga of Southern Women.

Product Details

• Paperback: 449 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803259263
• ISBN-13: 978-0803259263
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,444,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic on the history of the Cumberland Valley, April 6, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Seedtime on the Cumberland (Paperback)

This is my favorite book on early life along the Cumberland Valley (Middle Tennessee and lower Central Kentucky), especially after getting past Chapter One, which is an imaginary narration of an "early adventure" which seemed unnecessary. That is a small complaint though. The book has some really interesting information on all aspects of settlement of the area and I highly recommend it! Many of the details described are applicable to pioneer life in other areas east of the Mississippi as well, I would think.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, March 17, 2010

By 

TxGen (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seedtime on the Cumberland (Paperback)

Both of the Arnow books on the settling of Southern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee are absolutely fascinating. They provide excellent background to any study of that area, as well as an adventurous context for understanding the courage and spirit of the pioneers who settled that wild country. I have read both more than once, and keep going back to them as favorites.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A monumental work, September 10, 2011

By 

Dixie Richardson "biographer of Baynard Rush ... (Indianapolis IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seedtime on the Cumberland (Paperback)

Harriette Arnow's works depict society on a human and individual level,
so personalized that her descriptions bring the reader right over the
thresholds of the homes of early settlers and into their everyday lives.
From these pioneer roots along the Cumberland, many of us trace our ancestry,
a people who were forged by hardship into a unique, particularly American
culture. From the dialects to dress, attitudes, practices, traditions,
Arnow covers every aspect of the frontier experience with insight, humor,
and exacting details. It's a page-turner and one of the last books I'd
ever want to part with from my own library.

~~Dixie Kline Richardson