* 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.



* From Sally in Giles County, about The Spine of the Virginias

Good morning!! I just read the part about Sis and Ivan Puffenbarger's sugar camp fire. One minute I am excited because of their innovations, and the next I have tears in my eyes. Excellent storytelling! I wish I could read this book faster. It is so good!

* From Paul in Christiansburg about both books

It has been an embarrassing number of months since I saw you on the Huckleberry and promised to e-mail you with comments about Union, WV.  I loved reading Union, WV!  Wayne, until his redemption, epitomized the despicable, selfish, wasteful, thoughtless, hateful, right-wing, 21^st Century American.  We all know plenty of people just like him.  And, though I would like to be able to forget it, there's a counseling maxim that says the people we find most despicable probably remind of us of some repressed aspects of ourselves.  The story of Wayne's redemption was a hopeful one, and I liked that. 

Having lived in Virginia since 1974 and for a couple of years in the 60s, and having worked in the Welch to Lewisburg area for a year in 1981, I could relate easily to the characters and places you described in the book.  I loved the historical information and the environmental education you provided, too.

What prompted me to finally write to you is that (my wife) and I spent last Saturday night in Monterey, VA at the Highland Inn.  I had been through Highland County a couple of times about 20 years ago and thought it was beautiful, but never got around to going back until last weekend.  We really enjoyed hanging out in Monterey and driving around the surrounding area.  We went to the Highland County Fair on Saturday, and it was like stepping back into my childhood and being at the Guernsey County Fair in southeastern Ohio in the the 50s.  Just amazing and enjoyable!   I almost expected to find Aunt Bea's pickles there.  Anyway, on the way back to Christiansburg, we took US-220 south to Covington, then SR-18 south to Paint Bank.  We ate lunch there, and as we were walking through the General Store, we saw your display, and on it, The Spine of the Virginias.  I bought it, and I've been reading it this week.  I love it!  You beautifully describe places I know and provide interesting and inviting descriptions of places I haven't been.  Once again, I can so easily relate to the places and people.  I'm on p. 96.  I'll report back to you when I finish the book.

Thanks for your work.  I'll look forward to reading your next book!



* From Mike in Bethesda, MD, about Union, WV

Union, WV is a warmly written novel by a man who feels and touches those around him in such a good way.   As I've just finished it just moments ago, the death of one of the main characters saddens me to the point where I have serious pause about my own existence these 40+ years in the suburbs of Washington DC...and will most certainly pause every time I see this book in my bookcase.  

Personally I can relate all too much with the book's main character, in that I came from a broken home at 9 yrs of age and most of my early life was spent in ever-changing environments that rewarded the ability to fit in quickly and adapt.   This almost cloning ability, one of my greatest strengths, I see now has a flaw in who and what I am today.  The Wash. DC metropolitan community, like many (most, perhaps all?) major US communities have become such competitive environs and wrong in so many ways.   This is something I need to work on, just like the book's main character manages as he recuperates from his injuries. 

Union, WV opened my eyes to many decades of rich Appalachia history.  I recommend it to all for a further understanding of one of the richest sources of energy in North America (coal) that, sadly, the wonderful people there have not shared in the prosperity it gives the rest of us...but the rest of us have paid a very dear price for this rock gold.  Sadly, America's big cities have traded their humanity for fuel, and it is the incredible humanity that Union, WV shows and preserves so well.

Thank you Michael Abraham.

* From Linda in South Carolina, about Union, WV

Hey Michael, just finished your book Union, WV! I have to tell you I could not put this book down. I loved it! You must have done a ton of research and it really came through. It had everything I love - history, mountains, small towns and, of course, a great story. I really hated for it to end. :) Can't wait to get my hands on The Spine of the Virginias!