Far Appalachia: Following the New River North (Unabridged)

In this powerful, passionate chronicle, the beloved host of NPR's All Things Considered and best selling author of Piano Lessons takes us on a river journey through the heart of Appalachia - a journey shared by pioneers and preachers, white-water daredevils, bluegrass musicians, and an unforgettable cast of vivid historical characters.

Noah Adams has Appalachia in his blood. A native of eastern Kentucky, he comes to the headwaters of the New River not just in search of adventure but to better understand this own unique heritage. Following the New River from its mile-high source on North Carolina's Snake Mountain to its West Virginia mouth, Adams travels by Jeep and by bicycle, by foot and, most thrillingly, by white-water raft to explore the history, natural beauty, and fascinating characters waiting around every bend and turn.

Distilling history from legend, Adams tells of men and women whose lives crossed the New River before him, including Daniel Boone, fleeing his farming family in search of wilderness, and Cherokee Indians, driven west on their Trail of Tears. Along the way Adams paints a luminous portrait of a land and a people as richly vital and complex as America itself. With Adams' hushed, intimate tone, Far Appalachia mesmerizes and haunts like the bluegrass music that still rings through the mountains and valleys in which it was born.