"BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE is a serious study of the area from northern Virginia and the West Virginia panhandle to northeast Georgia and northwest South Carolina. The book covers the area's history, folklore, and culture."--KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL, May 1998

BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE provides "a basic overview of some aspects of local traditional culture as practiced by some members . . . of the Blue Ridge's people."--THE MOUNTAIN TIMES (Boone, N.C.), August 1998

BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE is an "extremely valuable work."--THE ORANGE NEWSLETTER (Northern Ireland), April 1998

BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE "should appeal to nonspecialists"; author Ted Olson "devotes the heart of his very readable book to describing the verbal folklore, customary folklife, and material culture of the [Blue Ridge] region."--THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL REVIEW, October 1998

"Part history, part field guide, part travelogue, BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE is a fine introduction to the physical setting and folk culture of the storied region that makes up the southeastern extremities of the Appalachian Mountain range."--THE JOURNAL OF MISSISSIPPI HISTORY, 1999

Ghosts Along the Cumberland was an excellent book.It was very informative about many old traditions and folklore in Kentucky.I am from Kentucky and some of these practices and beleifs are still used today,mainly by the older people.I first read this book when i was very young and it has some really great ghost stories not to mention the history and the culture of people from this area.This is a great book for anyone who just likes a good scary ghost story or someone who has an interest in the history and culture of the people of Southern and Eastern Kentucky.I whole-heartedly recommend this book for just a campfire ghost story to someone doing research on these regions of Kentucky.

This book uses first-hand interviews and anecdotes to paint a picture of the superstitious and imaginative nature of rural America, particularly that part of America which has not been touched or moved to any great degree by the hand of progress or industrialization. This is excellent bedtime reading, full of bizarre and strangely disturbing images, like scenes from a half-remembered dream, premonitions and warnings from beyond this world. A well-organized text makes this a fun and informative read, perfect for anyone with a love of American folklore and a good ghost story. Highly recommended

Lynwood Montell's book is an excellent study that uses oral history and folklore research techniques. Montell demonstrates that oral history and the study of folklore can be used to ascertain answers to important questions that pertain to historical analysis and the study of culture. He examines stories about murders and killings in southcentral Kentucky, analyzing them for common themes and implicit assumptions about violence and retribution. He concludes that the high incident of violence in the area can be understood, in part, by looking at the stories to reveal attitudes about a "subculture of violence" within the region. Although Montell cautions the reader against overgeneralizing from his work, his research suggests that the high incident of violence in this region of the South can be understood by identifying areas in which violence is considered an acceptable means for resolving certain types of disputes. It is to Montell's credit that he demonstrates how to interpret the texts he collected in order to develop these types of conclusions. Furthermore, his analysis of the stories suggests resources for interpreting violence in other communities. The book is well-written and provides an excellent model for similar types of research projects.

Montell's book The Saga of Coe Ridge, A Study in Oral History, highlights local Kentucky and Appalachian history, telling a fascinating story about a 90 year old African American settlement in SW Kentucky. Montel uses oral histories and local folklore to integrate and document actual commmunity and historical sources and events, providing an intriquing story as well as an excellent example of how to incorporate qualitative interviews into both an entertaining and academic text.

Montel uses the art of oral history to entertain and educate within a historically accurate framework, showing the often overlooked history of Black Appalachians and their history after the Civil War to the present.

Ghosts Across Kentucky really brings to life the folklore and beliefs of the residents, past and present, of Kentucky. I was really fascinated by the new variations of ghost stories that I had heard while growing up. Some stories made me quiver with delight while others made me snicker to myself, remembering the tales my great-grandmother told. It is full of hauntings, spooks and things that go bump in the night. If you are new to ghosts stories, or an old pro, this book is a must have. I will share the stories with my children's children in the years to come and they will never be outdated.

This book gives a lot of insight into what goes through the minds of Kentuckians when you say ghost. The book gives a variety of examples of ghost stories from all over the Commonwealth of Kentucky and it is written to draw them into each and every story. And after you finish the book, you feel the need to keep looking over your shoulder no matter where they go.

This book is part of the "Folklife in the South" series published by the University Press of Mississippi. Along with volumes on the folklore of South Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, Carolina Piedmont, and the Ozarks, McGregory's book provides historical sketches and ethnographic descriptions of an area that is largely neglected in studies of American's regions. The author succeeds in providing an interesting social history of the area that reaches from Florida's Panhandle into neighboring areas in Georgia and Alabama. Her discussion of contemporary forms of traditional culture that share common historical links provides an interesting overview of ways in which activities such as rattlesnake round-ups, gospel-sings, storytelling, and yard art are related to wider patterns of history. The book is primarily descriptive, and the texts of stories, songs, rhymes, and tall tales are interesting. McGregory also provides good descriptions of Sacred Harp sings, local festivals, and other community-based forms of recreation. Although written for a non-scholarly audience, the book includes analysis and interpretive commentary, and there are ample references for further study. The book provides an interesting point of view in that African-American history and culture are brought into the foreground throughout the writing. It would have been stronger if McGregory had brought a more specific focus to the work and beefed up her commentary in her afterword that provides a conclusion.

I first discovered this book, when it was a required reading for folklore class I had in college. This book not only includes information about what happened in Kentucky in the past, it also includes a lot of customs of the present day. One chapter focuses on hangouts and customs of young people in Kentucky, including cruising and string racing. Montell also includes a lot of pictures. I was amazed to see some pictures of people and places from my own county. Although I prefer Montell's other books (like Ghosts Along the Cumberland) that focus on particular folk stories, this was still interesting enough for me to read.