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If you would like to participate in the book club, please RSVP to [email protected] so we know how many people to expect. Purchase the book in our shop or online: https://www.eshaverbooks.com/book/9781250329332
*With online check out: be sure to note that you are participating in the book club!
For everyone's enjoyment and to facilitate the best possible discussion, we also ask that all participants have read the book entirely.
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"Rednecks" by Taylor Brown
Rednecks is a tour de force, big canvas historical novel that dramatizes the 1920 to 1921 events of the West Virginia Mine Wars--from the Matewan Massacre through the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed conflict on American soil since the Civil War, when some one million rounds were fired, bombs were dropped on American soil, and the term “redneck” would come to have an unexpected origin story.
Featuring real-life and invented characters--men and women, adults and children, Black and white and immigrants from many countries who worked in the dangerous West Virginia coal mines--Rednecks tells a dramatic story of rebellion against oppression. Taylor Brown introduces crucial point of view characters: "Doc Moo" Muhanna, a Lebanese-American doctor (inspired by the author’s own great-grandfather) who serves the mining camps; Frank Hugham, a Black miner who helps lead the miners' revolt; Frank's mother Beulah, who fights to save her home and her son; and true-life folk hero "Smilin" Sid Hatfield, a sharp-shooting sheriff who dares to stand up to the “gun thugs” of the coal companies. These and other characters come fully to life in a propulsive, character-driven tale that’s both a century old and blisteringly contemporary: a story of unexpected friendship, heroism in the face of injustice, and the power of love and community against outsized odds.
Through inspired portraits of real-life characters including legendary union organizer Mother Jones, to dynamic battle scenes set in the West Virginia hill country, award-winning novelist Taylor Brown reimagines one of the most compelling events in 20th century American history.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
1921 Bull St, Savannah, GA 31401-8031, United States
