Travels with Foxfire by Foxfire Fund Inc

Travels with Foxfire by Foxfire Fund Inc ISBN-13: 9780525436294 Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Anchor Books Released: Aug. 14, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The new volume in the classic, million-copy-selling series celebrates the stories of men and women from across Appalachia. Since 1972, the Foxfire books have brought Appalachia to hundreds of thousands of readers. Travels with Foxfire, the sixteenth book in the series, once again captures the music, the history, and the food (and drink!) of the region, through the stories of men and women from throughout the region. Across more than thirty entries, we discover the secret history of NASCAR (it involves bootleggers), hear from perhaps the world's foremost expert on privies, and uncover old family recipes for Buttermilk Corn Bread, Apple Fritters, barbeque sauce, and more. A rich compendium of the collected wisdom of the artists, craftsmen, musicians, and moonshiners who call Appalachia home, Travels with Foxfire is a joyful celebration of a distinctly American culture.


My Review:
Travels with Foxfire is a collection of interviews with people who live in the Appalachia region. Most of these people were in their 60s or 70s, though some were younger. We're given a short biography of their life plus some stories they shared about a certain topic. The speaker often assumed that the reader was already familiar with what they were talking about. For example, the Southern Gospel performers never really explained what that type of music was, they just debated if its popularity was waning and told some funny stories from their performances. This book is more for people who want to reminisce about "You remember when...?" than for people interested in learning details about how people used to live.

The book included some people with odd hobbies, successful authors (including cookbook authors), hunters, herbal gatherers, artists, singers/writers, and people who had been involved in moonshine production, stock car racing, drive-in movie theaters, and water dowsing. Overall, the stories were interesting and amusing, but I'd hoped for something a bit more informative as well.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.