Book description
" Among the darkest corners of Kentucky's past are the grisly
feuds that tore apart the hills of Eastern Kentucky from the late
nineteenth century until well into the twentieth. Now, from the
tangled threads of conflicting testimony, John Ed Pearce, Kentucky's
best known journalist, weaves engrossing accounts of six of the most
notorior accounts to uncover what really happened and why. His story
of those days of darkness brings to light new evidence, questions
commonly held beliefs about the feuds, and us and long-running feuds
-- those in Breathitt, Clay Harlan, Perry, Pike, and Rowan counties.
What caused the feuds that left Kentucky with its lingering reputation
for violence? Who were the feudists, and what forces -- social,
political, financial -- hurled them at each other? Did Big Jim Howard
really kill Governor William Goebel? Did Joe Eversole die trying to
protect small mountain landowners from ruthless Eastern mineral
exploiters? Did the Hatfield-McCoy fight start over a hog? For years,
Pearce has interviewed descendants of feuding families and examined
skimpy court records and often fictional newspapeputs to rest some of
the more popular legends.
""If you are pursuing interesting stories of Kentucky's
past; if you are seeking an entertaining mythology; if you find the
evolution of oral history fascinating or are just curious about feuds
in Eastern Kentucky, then read John Ed Pearce's Days of
Darkness." -- Lexington Herald-Leader" --
John Ed Pearce worked on the staff of the Louisville
Courier-Journal for forty years and was a widely published columnist.
He was co-recipient of a Pulitzer Prize in 1967.
