Appalachia's Path to Dependency

"A strong contribution to the economic history of Appalachia and the study of Appalachian culture."—Journal of Appalachian Studies

"Offers a comprehensive explanation for the persistence of economic dependency in southern Appalachia. . . . A provocative book that should stimulate further debate."—American Historical Review

"A powerful and reasoned argument for a new synthesis on the emergence of Appalachian dependency. . . . Summarizes much of the 'new rural history' and applies it to our understanding of Appalachian history. . . . Takes our understanding of the historical trends which shaped Appalachian dependency to a new level."—Ronald D Eller, author of Uneven Ground

"Steeped in the comparative history of economic development, Paul Salstrom . . . makes an astute, original and deeply researched analysis of the region's history, merging in a nondoctrinaire way the insights of both new-Marxists and neo-classicists. Anyone interested in how a once independent people became dependents on a federal largesse, and destructive to themselves as well as to the land, will find this study richly illuminating"—Donald Worster, Hall Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Kansas