Mariner Media

A number of historians have held that antislavery activity died out in the South after the early 19th century. This was not completely true, as you will learn in Ripe for Emancipation. Neely Young’s extensive research has uncovered evidence of a continuing antislavery tradition in the so-called “Upper South” from the Revolution until about 1850.

This tradition of antislavery sentiment thrived most in the Appalachian regions of western Virginia, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and Kentucky. One of the centers of antislavery activity was Rockbridge County, Virginia, which supplied some of the leading figures in the Virginia and Upper South emancipationists’ movements. The people of Rockbridge were reluctant to join the Confederacy and when they did, it was not to defend slavery or even states’ rights but to defend their lives, homes, and property against northern invasion.

“Neely Young’s carefully researched book deftly explores the Rockbridge antislavery tradition during the decades prior to the Civil War. He places both the local reformers and their emancipation and colonization programs within a national context.  He also provides a much-needed corrective to the work of recent scholars who downplay the effort or assert that the local champions of the failed program cared little about the well-being of the slaves themselves.”
— Taylor Sanders, Professor of History, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia.

“This thoughtful, meticulously documented, and articulate exposition of the Southern antislavery movement from the founding of the Republic, up to the last decade before the Civil War, is essential to a genuine understanding of American history as it has been wrought by considerations of race. Ripe for Emancipation is a compelling book and a rewarding read, which lays bare the roots of American racial disharmony persisting to the present day.”
—George Warren, Director, Local History Museum, Lexington, Virginia.

The American Civil War continues to stir passion and fascination for many readers and historians. While there are hundreds of books about the war itself there are hardly any that delve into the mysteries of why a once united country at peace with itself and the world went to war—a war that has not been exceeded on this continent for its destruction or slaughter. Read this book and you will understand why Virginia seceded.

In Compelled to Fight the causes of the Civil War are examined through Rockbridge County, Virginia, a microcosm of antebellum Virginia and touches upon why this Union loving people in the most critical border state abandoned hope of compromise and cast their lot with the South. Rittenburg presents the who’s who of Lexington, VMI, W&L, Rockbridge County and the local events that led to ultimate secession. Compelled to Fight is 500 pages, illustrated and indexed.

"Exhaustively researched, painstakingly crafted, this is surely the most complete history ever done of a county in the Civil War era. Equally important, Rittenburg’s study challenges communities everywhere to look back at the hidden stories in their own evolution."
—James I. Robertson, Jr.

For All Our Days follows the life and times of Polly Curry--an artist, a mother, a widow and a saint--who, at the age of ninety-six, decided to write this fascinating tell-all personal memoir. Written at the urging of her extended family, the book takes the reader along her roller-coaster life, from coming of age in the 1920s to the hardships and travels of military life to finally finding faith at the age of seventy. Sharp-witted, Curry is a well-traveled woman with a sassy sense of storytelling that is sure to intrigue. Her epiphany of God has made the last twenty-six years of her life more fulfilling and led her to realize what a blessed life she has led. Curry should be commended for her courageous efforts in revealing her narrative. Smart, witty and fun, Curry's story is a heart-warming journey through time.

In Voices from the Hollow Philip Hirsh captures the heart of America's two world system - the privileged and the working class. With the eyes of a child and the wisdom of a grown man, Hirsh explores the prejudices, universal racism of the time, elitist attitudes, and the true wealth and richness of rural American life that captivated his senses and forever shaped his belief system.

Hirsh's writing style makes you feel as if he's in your living room telling the hilariously funny, sometime poignant, and often revealing stories. The cultural divide that defined his early life as a young boy, following his family from suburban New York City to the family horse farm in the heart of Appalachia, is the soul of the book. With a family like his, how could Hirsh escape becoming a psychiatrist? You will develop a new and greater appreciation for your own family reading this entertaining book.

A remarkable collection of stories, passed from father to son, then grandfather to grandchildren, recounting the adventures of this family at the turn of the 20th century as they ventured into the Canadian bush country of northern Ontario.

It is a fascinating look at the turn of the 20th century and how the family lived among Indians, fended off wild animals, used the rivers like highways, and carved a life. Within the pages are many wonderful period photographs and contemporary illustrations.

At home in the foothills of the east Kentucky mountains, Bart Amburgey continues to write down his warm mountain memories from the 1930s-1950s.

Bart also records other realities of survival in the east Kentucky mountains: "...If we carried a kerosene lantern, it would take too much time to turn off. The flashlight was very important to a moonshiner. They didn't want to be tracked if someone was watching."

Over in the Country is a memoir about Paul and Eula Simms, remarkable people who never considered themselves remarkable, a rich collection of stories from their life on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia during the first half of the twentieth century. In 1904 Paul bought a hundred acres of raw land, mostly rolling hills, but with enough level ground for a house and a garden. To make their farm prosper, he and his bride Eula Rakes brought their experiences growing up in the country, their eagerness to try new ideas and inventions, their willingness to work hard, and their determination to succeed. Almost as essential was the pleasure they took in good fun, good food, and a healthy sense of humor. The memoir tells stories about Paul and Eula before they married, their efforts to make the farm pay, their four children, kinfolk and neighbors, church and school in an isolated mountain community. The small self-sufficient farms of earlier America are gone. Stories such as these help us remember our grandparents and connect us to our past.

Do you believe in ghosts? Many people claim they don't - but then they stop to think for a moment and say, "Well, there was this strange thing that happened..." These strange things, whatever they are, really are all around us - whether we believe or not. Katie Letcher Lyle relates the stories of her friends and neighbors that are amazing . . .and true!

. . . Ending with a Flourish is a Festschrift - a collection of essays - honoring William A. Jenks, a member of the Washington & Lee Department of History from 1946 until his retirement in 1983. Jenks was the chairman of the department from 1970 to 1983. Dr. Jenks's reputation in history graduate departments in colleges and universities across the United States is legendary, as some of the most respected and noted scholars of the last 40 years in European history have come out of his classes. These essays offer observations on his style of teaching, his impact on the lives of his students, and on Bill Jenks himself.