"Inscoe has done a great service to Appalachian studies by pulling together under one cover such a balanced and well-integrated collection."
Journal of Appalachian Studies
"An exciting, insightful look at what actually went on among race in Southern Appalachia."
"These essays contribute not simply to the understanding of race in the southern mountains but also to core issues such as the question of the region's 'otherness' and its complexity and diversity."
North Carolina Historical Quarterly
"This excellent collection continues the important process of debunking the myths about the mountain South and bringing the more complex and interesting history of the region to light."
"Succeeds in complicating the concept of Appalachian 'distinctiveness' and the question of race.... Should be of interest to all scholars of American history."
"Provides the reader with a well-informed starting place for understanding race relations in the mountain south."
"This collection should immediately emerge as the most convenient and most fruitful starting point for any scholar wishing an introduction to the topic of race relations in the mountain south"
"If readers unfamiliar with this enormously important topic wish to pursue it, they will find Appalachians and Race the best place to begin."
The essays... remain essential readings for students and scholars interested in the history and constructed memory of antebellum Appalachia...
"The essays jar common and long held assumptions about racial relationships in southern mountain societies."
Arkansas Historical Quarterly
"Sheds light on a subject that has been ignored by most scholars. This carefully crafted and lucidly written volume uncovers numerous aspects of the regions concept of 'otherness' as well as its complex and diverse history, economy, and culture."
Northern Kentucky Heritage
"Valuable both for specialists studying Appalachia, the South, or race relations who need a handy survey of top recent work and also to anyone who wants a compact introduction to a wide range of excellent scholarship."
"Serves as ample demonstration that historians should be wary of oversimplification and stereotypes when characterizing the complex relationship between Appalachians and race."
Journal of Southern History
"To read this book is to see the Southern mountains in a new way, as a place shared by white people and black people. This collection, with a fine introduction and first-rate essays, shows us a history of Appalachia that is sobering, heartening, and surprising."
"Students of literature, drama, and film will benefit from the book's charitable evaluation of Appalachia's contemporary representations....This book will be a boon to readers interested in easily accessing some of the region's most important scholarship."
Ohio Valley History - W. Brent Jones
"Earns a place on any list of basic readings in Appalachian history."
Georgia Historical Review
"In example after example, this fine collection of essays illustrates that tough as the battles for abolition and the struggle to overturn legal segregation were, the changing of attitudes continues as the most difficult challenge of all."
Race, War, and Remembrance in the Appalachian South will be a very worthwhile resource for a better understanding of the wartime period in Appalachia.
"These articles shed new light on our understanding of the racial attitudes of mountain folk and how they changed before and after the Civil War."
"Relatively little work has been done on racial matters in Appalachia.... An important anthology."
"In addition to expanding our knowledge of black mountaineers, these essays address a major issue in Appalachian studies—Appalachian exceptionalism, the degree to which the region is distinct."
The chief strength of the essays lies in their meticulous focus on the impact of slavery and the Civil War on the people and the region of southern Appalachia.
The Journal of Southern History
"The cumulative result of this collection is a more complete and accurate view of race relations in southern Appalachia.... Synthesizes important work and challenges many of the misconceptions about mountain slavery that were created by local-color movements and outsiders."
"An exciting, insightful look at what actually went on among races in Southern Appalachia"
"What makes the point collectively, and what ultimately charms the reader, is Inscoe's wonderful eye for stories.... For Inscoe, stories are not simply the most revealing and rewarding illustrations of Appalachian history. They are guideposts to understanding how that history became tangled up in the thickets of memory by the twentieth century."
Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
"Sheds light upon a significant part of southern culture and history that has been largely neglected by scholars. An essential purchase for academic collections."
"These essays dispel many long-held beliefs about African-Americans in southern Appalachia."
"Presents a major contribution to scholarship in Appalachian studies as well as in southern race-relations generally."
"Challenges long-standing assumptions about race as a force in Appalachian history and suggests several avenues of inquiry for a better understanding of this much-maligned American region."
""An exciting, insightful look at what actually went on among races in Southern Appalachia"" -- Voice of the Mountains
""An excellent collection of essays."" -- Appalachian Heritage
""Challenges long-standing assumptions about race as a force in Appalachian history and suggests several avenues of inquiry for a better understanding of this much-maligned American region."" -- Alabama Review
""Earns a place on any list of basic readings in Appalachian history."" -- Georgia Historical Review
""For a university press to take the unusual step of releasing a book of a historian's articles and essays is quite a tribute to the respect that John Inscoe has garnered in the scholarly community. This demonstrates the importance of not only the focus of his research but also the insights he has to offer on those topics and the knowledge he has amassed."" -- Appalachian Heritage
""If readers unfamiliar with this enormously important topic wish to pursue it, they will find Appalachians and Race the best place to begin."" -- Filson History Quarterly
""In addition to expanding our knowledge of black mountaineers, these essays address a major issue in Appalachian studies -- Appalachian exceptionalism, the degree to which the region is distinct."" -- Civil War History
""In example after example, this fine collection of essays illustrates that tough as the battles for abolition and the struggle to overturn legal segregation were, the changing of attitudes continues as the most difficult challenge of all."" -- Modern Mountain
""Inscoe has done a great service to Appalachian studies by pulling together under one cover such a balanced and well-integrated collection."" -- Journal of Appalachian Studies
""Inscoe has done a tremendous service by compiling all of these essays in one accessible collection."" -- Ohio Valley History
""Presents a major contribution to scholarship in Appalachian studies as well as in southern race-relations generally."" -- Durwood Dunn
""Provides the reader with a well-informed starting place for understanding race relations in the mountain south."" -- Appalachian Heritage
""Relatively little work has been done on racial matters in Appalachia.... An important anthology."" -- Choice
""Serves as ample demonstration that historians should be wary of oversimplification and stereotypes when characterizing the complex relationship between Appalachians and race."" -- Journal of Southern History
""Sheds light on a subject that has been ignored by most scholars. This carefully crafted and lucidly written volume uncovers numerous aspects of the regions concept of 'otherness' as well as its complex and diverse history, economy, and culture."" -- Northern Kentucky Heritage
""Sheds light upon a significant part of southern culture and history that has been largely neglected by scholars. An essential purchase for academic collections."" -- Tennessee Librarian
""Students of literature, drama, and film will benefit from the book's charitable evaluation of Appalachia's contemporary representations....This book will be a boon to readers interested in easily accessing some of the region's most important scholarship."" -- W. Brent Jones, Ohio Valley History
""Succeeds in complicating the concept of Appalachian 'distinctiveness' and the question of race.... Should be of interest to all scholars of American history."" -- H-Net Reviews
""The cumulative result of this collection is a more complete and accurate view of race relations in southern Appalachia.... Synthesizes important work and challenges many of the misconceptions about mountain slavery that were created by local-color movements and outsiders."" -- Material Culture
""The essays jar common and long held assumptions about racial relationships in southern mountain societies."" -- Arkansas Historical Quarterly
""These articles shed new light on our understanding of the racial attitudes of mountain folk and how they changed before and after the Civil War."" -- Slavery and Abolition
""These essays contribute not simply to the understanding of race in the southern mountains but also to core issues such as the question of the region's 'otherness' and its complexity and diversity."" -- North Carolina Historical Quarterly
""These essays dispel many long-held beliefs about African-Americans in southern Appalachia."" -- Lexington Herald-Leader
""This collection should immediately emerge as the most convenient and most fruitful starting point for any scholar wishing an introduction to the topic of race relations in the mountain south"" -- Robert Tracy McKenzie
""This excellent collection continues the important process of debunking the myths about the mountain South and bringing the more complex and interesting history of the region to light."" -- Anniston Star
""To read this book is to see the Southern mountains in a new way, as a place shared by white people and black people. This collection, with a fine introduction and first-rate essays, shows us a history of Appalachia that is sobering, heartening, and surprising."" -- Edward L. Ayers
""Valuable both for specialists studying Appalachia, the South, or race relations who need a handy survey of top recent work and also to anyone who wants a compact introduction to a wide range of excellent scholarship."" -- Virginia Magazine
""What makes the point collectively, and what ultimately charms the reader, is Inscoe's wonderful eye for stories.... For Inscoe, stories are not simply the most revealing and rewarding illustrations of Appalachian history. They are guideposts to understanding how that history became tangled up in the thickets of memory by the twentieth century."" -- Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
Inscoe (history, U. of Georgia) compiles 18 essays sampling the neglected, diverse African American experience in the mountain South in the 19th century, including their pre- and post-Civil War labor force role; Jim Crow oppression; Black activism; migration in and out of the region; cultural influences; and the racial attitudes of White highlanders. Includes illustrations of Appalachian Black life. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
