High Mountains Rising: Appalachia in Time and Place.

High Mountains Rising: Appalachia in Time and Place. Edited by Richard A. Straw and H. Tyler Blethen. (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, c. 2004. Pp. x, 240. Paper, $20.00, ISBN 0-252-0716-X; cloth, $40.00, ISBN 0-252-02916-X.)

Thirty-five years ago a confluence of activist and academic interests generated what came to be known as Appalachian studies or, more precisely, the exploration into the history and culture of the mountain South. Though the activist commitment that lay behind the original endeavor has become somewhat less prominent since then, Appalachian studies scholarship has flourished, matured, and largely succeeded in vanquishing stereotypes about the region. To survey the progress that has been made thus far, Richard A. Straw and H. Tyler Blethen have assembled a collection of original interdisciplinary essays written by some of the most prominent contributors to the field. The editors' stated goal is rather modest: to make Appalachia more comprehensible and accessible to undergraduate students unfamiliar with the region. Yet the volume offers much more than that to those who seek to understand Appalachia's past and its connection to the rest of the South and the nation.

Taken together the essayists highlight several common themes. First and foremost is the cultural diversity found in Appalachia, as various ethnic, racial, and religious groups have interacted over time to create distinct regional patterns, ranging from land use to music, folklore, language, and worship. Appalachian residents have also consistently demonstrated an ability to adapt to changes brought on by such developments as internal migration and out-migration, war, and industrialization. This resilience underscores a third theme, clearly and effectively described by many of the book's contributors: Appalachia, far from being the geographically isolated or culturally backward place created by local-color writers in the late nineteenth century and sustained by their literary and journalistic successors, has been inextricably tied almost from the beginning to larger market economies. Indeed, the main issue currently debated among modern Appalachian scholars revolves around the question of when capitalism came to the mountains.

Yet in affirming this well-established case against regional isolation, the essayists implicitly take on consequently difficult and fascinating questions about another thematic issue--the distinctiveness of the Appalachian experience. None of the authors argue for the uniqueness of the region. But to varying degrees all assert that there is something--traditions, practices, or attitudes (the label can hardly be precise)--that is identifiably Appalachian. In the introduction, Richard Straw suggests that the region can best be understood as a rural world whose people are closely connected to the land and family. It is not clear whether the contributors to this volume would entirely agree with that working definition. Indeed, several offer insightful perspectives on the inexact, continuously negotiated line between those characteristics that constitute an authentic representation of Appalachia and its heritage and those that have been manufactured by and for people who regard the land as little more than a setting for bluegrass, bonnets, and bib overalls.

Thus this volume, beyond its undeniable usefulness for undergraduate courses in Appalachian studies, also serves to demarcate the current state of the field. It conveys the message that Appalachia's cultural practices have been fluid, multicultural, and steadily evolving; that its economic development has been uneven and disruptive; that its exceptionalism has been uncertain but unmistakable; and that its history has been marked by mythology, ambiguity, and persistence. There is a place that can be called Appalachia, these essays collectively declare, and the authors pave the way for students and scholars to further investigate the kinds of questions that animated the field in the first place.

Ball State University

JOHN M. GLEN