Death in Briar Bottom: The True Story of Hippies, Mountain Lawmen, and the Search for Justice in the Early 1970s
On July 3, 1972, twenty-four hippies from Clearwater, Florida, set up tents and settled in for the night at Briar Bottom, a public US Forest Service campground in western North Carolina. The impromptu campout was a pit stop for the group on their way to a Rolling Stones concert in Charlotte. Early that evening, they drank beer, smoked marijuana, and listened to rock music as they anticipated the good times that lay ahead. Near midnight, the county sheriff showed up with six deputies, allegedly responding to a noise complaint. They were armed with pistols and five sawed-off 12-gauge shotguns, one of which discharged, killing a young man named Stanley Altland. To this day, no one has been held responsible for the tragic incident, though it happened in front of over a dozen eyewitnesses.



Timothy Silver writes the true story of Altland's death and its aftermath, using archival research, interviews with surviving Clearwater campers, and newly unearthed FBI files. A mix of true crime, southern history, and personal storytelling, this book shows how, in the dark of night at a remote mountain campsite, the killing of an innocent man epitomized the suspicion of young people and violence toward the counterculture that gripped the nation in the early 1970s.
1145250609
Death in Briar Bottom: The True Story of Hippies, Mountain Lawmen, and the Search for Justice in the Early 1970s
On July 3, 1972, twenty-four hippies from Clearwater, Florida, set up tents and settled in for the night at Briar Bottom, a public US Forest Service campground in western North Carolina. The impromptu campout was a pit stop for the group on their way to a Rolling Stones concert in Charlotte. Early that evening, they drank beer, smoked marijuana, and listened to rock music as they anticipated the good times that lay ahead. Near midnight, the county sheriff showed up with six deputies, allegedly responding to a noise complaint. They were armed with pistols and five sawed-off 12-gauge shotguns, one of which discharged, killing a young man named Stanley Altland. To this day, no one has been held responsible for the tragic incident, though it happened in front of over a dozen eyewitnesses.



Timothy Silver writes the true story of Altland's death and its aftermath, using archival research, interviews with surviving Clearwater campers, and newly unearthed FBI files. A mix of true crime, southern history, and personal storytelling, this book shows how, in the dark of night at a remote mountain campsite, the killing of an innocent man epitomized the suspicion of young people and violence toward the counterculture that gripped the nation in the early 1970s.
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Death in Briar Bottom: The True Story of Hippies, Mountain Lawmen, and the Search for Justice in the Early 1970s

Death in Briar Bottom: The True Story of Hippies, Mountain Lawmen, and the Search for Justice in the Early 1970s

by Timothy Silver

Narrated by Andre Bellido

Unabridged — 6 hours, 7 minutes

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Death in Briar Bottom: The True Story of Hippies, Mountain Lawmen, and the Search for Justice in the Early 1970s
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Death in Briar Bottom: The True Story of Hippies, Mountain Lawmen, and the Search for Justice in the Early 1970s

Death in Briar Bottom: The True Story of Hippies, Mountain Lawmen, and the Search for Justice in the Early 1970s

by Timothy Silver

Narrated by Andre Bellido

Unabridged — 6 hours, 7 minutes

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Overview

On July 3, 1972, twenty-four hippies from Clearwater, Florida, set up tents and settled in for the night at Briar Bottom, a public US Forest Service campground in western North Carolina. The impromptu campout was a pit stop for the group on their way to a Rolling Stones concert in Charlotte. Early that evening, they drank beer, smoked marijuana, and listened to rock music as they anticipated the good times that lay ahead. Near midnight, the county sheriff showed up with six deputies, allegedly responding to a noise complaint. They were armed with pistols and five sawed-off 12-gauge shotguns, one of which discharged, killing a young man named Stanley Altland. To this day, no one has been held responsible for the tragic incident, though it happened in front of over a dozen eyewitnesses.



Timothy Silver writes the true story of Altland's death and its aftermath, using archival research, interviews with surviving Clearwater campers, and newly unearthed FBI files. A mix of true crime, southern history, and personal storytelling, this book shows how, in the dark of night at a remote mountain campsite, the killing of an innocent man epitomized the suspicion of young people and violence toward the counterculture that gripped the nation in the early 1970s.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

“Thoroughly researched . . . . An intriguing perspective on a lesser-known case. This book proves that history can repeat itself in unexpected ways, and not everyone is eager to revisit the past.”—Library Journal


“A gritty true crime . . . . By finding the universal dimensions in a local tragedy, Death in Briar Bottom shows how a true crime story from the past says a lot about persistent national problems.”—Foreword Reviews


“Silver explores the collision of values that are exemplified in the confrontation of Altland and his Florida friends with their hippie culture and the values personified by the Yancey County Sheriff’s Department. . . . [R]ecommended to all libraries that collect items about crimes in North Carolina or the 1970’s in North Carolina.”—North Carolina Libraries


“Silver’s material about the [1960s and 1970s]’s politics . . . is . . . necessary for younger readers.”—New York Journal of Books


“Part true crime, part deep cultural analysis, Death in Briar Bottom offers a detailed and deeply personal retelling of a killing in deep Appalachia in the early 1970s. Timothy Silver combines excellent research, historical elements, and compelling interviews to bring this story to life.”—Amanda Lamb, author of No Wake Zone and Love Lies



“Tim Silver has provided a strong, gripping addition to conversations surrounding the justice system in the United States and its intersection with the counterculture, as well as American life more broadly, in the 1960s and 1970s.”—Jared Phillips, University of Arkansas

Product Details

BN ID: 2940191065625
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Publication date: 11/26/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
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