The Kentuckians

Rating:
Summary: The Kentuckians, Janice Holt Giles
Review: This is absolutely one of the finest books about the early pioneering in our country. Giles writes in a low-key manner, but brings vivid pictures to the mind as the reader follows the travels and travails of one of those pioneers as he makes his way through the wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains into the "wilds" of Kentucky and a new life. As a new-comer to Kentucky in my middle twenties, back in 1957, "The Kentuckians" was a great introduction to the strength and character of those earliest developers of this State.

My first meeting with Ms. Giles' novels actually came through her third novel in this particular series: "The Believers", wherein the granddaughter of those first settlers becomes involved with the Shaker Community in Kentucky. THAT was so beautifully written, that I HAD to go back to read about the protagonist's parents ("Hannah Fowler") and then on back to "The Kentuckians". Each book was better than the first!

And each book drew me in so closely to the people and places involved that I felt as though I was right there and each left me hating to leave their presence! If the Kentuckians ever is reprinted in hardback, I'll be the first in line!