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Appalachia, Spirit Triumphant (a cultural odyssey of Appalachia) by B. L. Dotson-Lewis is a 261 page oversized coffee table book, uncut, unedited and in original dialect. This self-published book focuses on the southern Appalachian coalfields of West Virginia.
This book, transcending a century of Appalachian history, leaves nothing out. The stark reality of hard life in the southern coal camps is told through first-person stories, narratives, newspaper articles, award-winning photos by renowned photojournalist, Earl Dotter, all tied together with a narrative from the author, B. L. Dotson-Lewis, a life long resident of Appalachia. A beautiful cover for the book is a painting of an Appalachian mountain man by Connie West.
All the components which make up the unique lifestyle of the coal camps are on the pages inside this book including; first-person stories from men who went off to fight in the wars to return to the mountains to jobs as coal miners, facing another life as harsh as the war itself with "wildcat" bloody coal strikes, company housing and scrip. An oral history interview with health care professional, Dr. Donald Rasmussen, who has devoted his life to fighting black lung disease; an interview with a wife and mother of three small children, waiting for word about her husband, the children's father, is he alive or dead as one of the miners trapped in a coal mines on Hominy Falls, Nicholas County, WV, for ten days. An interview at the hospital with one of the survivors of the mine disaster. What are the survivors' secrets?
The southern coalfields of West Virginia remain a mystery; remote and isolated in spite of modern technology, roadways and an airport connecting to the outside world. Appalachia, originally settled as a farming region, took a drastic change with the discovery and removal of coal which helped to fuel the Industrial Revolution. This discovery transformed life into a hot bed of labor disputes. The struggle for unionization and desire for powerful positions within this organization resulted in murder and corruption.
Important historical events chronicled in this book are often summarized by writers, the majority are from outside the region. So much of the flavor is lost with this process. This one-of-a kind book captures the soul of the southern Appalachian coalfields though first person stories expressing their pain, heartaches, joys, deep abiding faith in God and the undying spirit of the people of the southern Appalachian coalfields.
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