* From John in Shenandoah County, about The Spine of the Virginias

Congratulations!  I have just completed reading The Spine of the Virginias.  I found it very interesting, and right in tune with people, culture and contemporary issues in the region.  Your language is straightforward and very readable.  I often felt like I was in the room with the people you were speaking with. 

As a resident of Shenandoah County who married a woman from southern West Virginia (Mingo County - adjacent to McDowell County and quite similar), I believe you made a good selection of the range of issues, personalities and outdoor experiences that exist here.  I, too, have hiked, camped, driven and toured in this area and have come to appreciate it very much.  I, too, am aware of some of the tremendous educational, environmental and political realities of this area.  The Spine explores these things with a neutrality and completeness that is entirely lacking in contemporary journalism.

I always heard the formation of West Virginia was not according to proper application of law and procedure, and suspected that parts of that state really were stolen from Virginia.  Thank you for shedding light on a strange American political story that has always been hidden by the more dramatic and well-known aspects of the Civil War.