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Title: A rollicking romp through a little-understood area
Review: Professors Birdwell and Dickinson have compiled and edited a delightful collection of essays that explore the cultural and historical roots of the Upper Cumberland. This area stretches from north to south in mid-Tennessee between Nashville and Knoxville where the mountains start to rise toward the Great Smokies. Anyone who thinks that the inhabitants are prototypes of The Dukes of Hazard will be surprised to read the truth about the music, history, crafts, culture, religion, and habits of a people proud of their heritage and sturdy as the mountains that surround them. The book encompasses Civil War lore, religious revivals, moonshining, music, farming methods, and many more insights into the lives and history of the area. It is at once scholarly and readable (those two characteristics do not always go together) and is a treasure of information for the student of Southern culture as well as an entertainment for the casual reader.
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