Our Southern Highlanders

Kephart, Horace, 1862-1931Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 470K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Our Southern Highlanders by Horace KephartAuthor: Kephart, Horace, 1862-1931,Language: English, Class: F206: United States local history: The South. South Atlantic States, Release Date: Mar 20, 2010

Editor's review

Our Southern Highlanders is Horace Kephart's firsthand account of life in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States. Drawing on years spent in the region, the author portrays mountain people's ways of living, means of making a living, folk beliefs, and oral traditions in finely observed detail, making the book valuable both as local history and as humanistic observation. Its narrative bears the clear imprint of its era: it opens a window onto southern mountain society in the United States and serves as a reference for understanding rural social change and mountain culture. For readers interested in American regional culture, folk documentation, and life close to nature, the book offers solid and vivid primary material. It is best read alongside historical background, with a critical eye to the author's perspective and the limitations of his time, to appreciate both the documentary significance and the narrative appeal of the text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in southern mountain culture and folk documentation in the United States
Readers studying American local history and rural social change
Readers who enjoy documentary humanistic observation and life close to nature
Learners seeking to broaden their reading of English-language nonfiction

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced fictional plots and strong narrative conflict
Readers sensitive to expressions of period limitation in historical texts
Those expecting a systematic academic framework and contemporary research data

Reading tips

Begin with the opening general description of the mountain environment to establish the geographical and living background.
Read chapter by chapter by theme, taking notes on folk details and the author's observational perspective.
Look up dialect and archaic terms as needed to better understand the context of mountain life.
After reading, compare with other American local history materials to identify the text's period imprint.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is this book mainly about?

It is the author's observational record of life among the people of the southern Appalachian Mountains, covering their daily livelihoods, ways of dwelling, folk beliefs, and oral traditions. A work of American local history and humanistic documentary, it serves as an introductory text for understanding rural society in the region.

Can I understand it without a background in American history?

Yes, but it is advisable to first learn the basic geography and history of the southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Looking up archaic terms and dialect as you read will make the author's observations and narrative easier to follow and help you recognize the text's period limitations.

Is this book suitable as academic research material?

It can be used as a reference text for local history and folk observation, but it is the author's personal observational record rather than a systematic academic treatise. When citing it, compare and evaluate it against contemporary research and other historical sources; it should not be relied on as the sole basis.

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About the author

Kephart, Horace, 1862-1931 Author · American · 1862–1931

Horace Kephart (1862–1931) was an American writer and librarian. He devoted sustained attention to outdoor life and mountain culture. His representative work, Our Southern Highlanders, records the life of the people in the southern Appalachian region of the United States, combining firsthand observation with humanistic reflection. His other book, Camping and Woodcraft, addresses outdoor enthusiasts, covering camping skills and woodworking and reflecting his interest in practical crafts and a life close to nature. With a background in library science, Kephart paid attention to the organization of materials and accuracy of detail in his writing, and his style is plain and close to everyday experience. Because public information is limited, details of his life and a complete bibliography remain to be further verified; only one of his works is currently held in this collection.