Yesterday's People: Life in Contemporary Appalachia

Rating:
Summary: A Dated Book Full of Sterotypes
Review: As a college student from Appalachia writing about my area, I found a suprising lack of contemporary research and writing on Appalachia, even in my Ivy League college's library. Yesterday's People, although written in 1980, uses books from the late 1800s and early 1900s for some of its sources. Comments include things like, "raised in a society of so much 'known', there is little stimulation--there is no desire or skill for meeting the new and different." and "Childhood seems to be only a waiting period until adulthood is attained, adolescence is in many ways the high point of life." While some of the sterotypes Weller speaks of in this book are generally true, I feel that there are too many misinformed opinions for this book to be of much worth. It is dangerous for this book to be an "outsider's" only source of knowledge on the beautiful and rich culture of Appalachia.

Rating:
Summary: A Dated Book Full of Sterotypes
Review: As a college student from Appalachia writing about my area, I found a suprising lack of contemporary research and writing on Appalachia, even in my Ivy League college's library. Yesterday's People, although written in 1980, uses books from the late 1800s and early 1900s for some of its sources. Comments include things like, "raised in a society of so much 'known', there is little stimulation--there is no desire or skill for meeting the new and different." and "Childhood seems to be only a waiting period until adulthood is attained, adolescence is in many ways the high point of life." While some of the sterotypes Weller speaks of in this book are generally true, I feel that there are too many misinformed opinions for this book to be of much worth. It is dangerous for this book to be an "outsider's" only source of knowledge on the beautiful and rich culture of Appalachia.

Rating:
Summary: Principles That Persist Over Time
Review: The principles presented in this book are not dated. They only seem dated because they have been passing through generations for so long. Generational poverty has been a part of Appalachian culture for centuries and it continues to be an enormous challenge. There are those who press through the oppression and dream but the majority of Appalachia is summed up beautifully in this author's presentation.

I have lived and worked my entire life in the area studied by the author. I can confirm his findings to be true and insightful. This book will inform the reader about a complex problem that is sure to span the ages.

Rating:
Summary: Principles That Persist Over Time
Review: The principles presented in this book are not dated. They only seem dated because they have been passing through generations for so long. Generational poverty has been a part of Appalachian culture for centuries and it continues to be an enormous challenge. There are those who press through the oppression and dream but the majority of Appalachia is summed up beautifully in this author's presentation.

I have lived and worked my entire life in the area studied by the author. I can confirm his findings to be true and insightful. This book will inform the reader about a complex problem that is sure to span the ages.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This is one of the finest books of its' genre. Applalacian poor whites are for the most part a secretive and difficult people. Their mores and folkways are a puzzle for some and unrecognised by most. This author has furnished a touchstone upon which everyone from social workers to public defenders can gain insight. The book was first recommended to me by a superintendant of a correctional institution after a particularly senseless and brutal murder involving an number of this type of individuals. Since then, I have bought several copies of this book, loaned them out and none have been returned.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Insight into the Appalachian culture
Review: Weller's book does an excellent job of portraying the subtleties, and sometimes things not so subtle, of the culture of West Virginia and of a large part of the rest of southern Appalachia. West Virginia is the only state almost entirely lying within Appalachia so it is a good representation of the region. All the other states in the region are no more than about one-third in Appalachia. The anecdotes about reactions to events ring true and are very revealing. As a native West Virginian I got new insights into the culture from which I came.