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Search - List of Books by Harry M. Caudill

Harry M. Caudill (May 3, 1922, Whitesburg, Kentucky - November 29, 1990) was an American author, historian, lawyer, legislator, and environmentalist from Letcher County, in the coalfields of southeastern Kentucky.

He served in World War II and was elected three times as to the Kentucky State House of Representatives. He taught in the History Department at the University of Kentucky from 1976 to 1984.

A common theme explored in many of Caudill's writings is the historic underdevelopment of the Appalachian region (particularly his own home area of southeastern Kentucky). In several of his books (most prominently Night Comes to the Cumberlands, 1962) and many of his published articles, he probes the historical poverty of the region, which he attributes in large part to the rapacious policies of the coal mining industries active in the region, as well as their backers: bankers of the northeastern United States. He notes that such interests most often had their headquarters not in Appalachia but in the Northeast or Midwest, and thus failed to properly reinvest their sizable profits in the Appalachian region. Following publication of "Night Comes to the Cumberlands," President John F. Kennedy appointed a commission to investigate conditions in the region and subsequently more than $15 billion in aid was invested in the region over twenty-five years.

In his later years he became an active opponent of the rapidly growing practice of strip mining, which he believed was causing irreparable harm to the land and its people. He spoke out and published in many magazines about the subject.

He also produced several volumes of folklore and oral history, which he collected himself from residents of the area centering around Letcher County and Harlan County, Kentucky.

Caudill killed himself with a gunshot to the head in 1990, faced with an advancing case of Parkinson's Disease.The Harry M. Caudill Library located in Whitesburg, Kentucky, the main library of the Letcher County Public Library District, is named for Caudill.

Books By Harry M. Caudill   more

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Harry M. Caudill", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 18
Night Comes To The Cumberlands A Biography Of A Depressed Area
Night Comes to the Cumberlands A Biography of a Depressed Area
2016 - Night Comes to the Cumberlands a Biography of a Depressed Area [Classic Reprint] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781334682070
ISBN-10: 1334682070
Genre: Business & Money
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Watches of the Night
2010 - Watches of the Night (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781931672665
ISBN-10: 1931672660
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A Darkness at Dawn Appalachian Kentucky and the Future
2009 - A Darkness at Dawn Appalachian Kentucky and the Future [Kentucky Bicentennial Bookshelf] (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780813192871
ISBN-10: 0813192870
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Night Comes to the Cumberlands A Biography of a Depressed Area
2001 - Night Comes to the Cumberlands a Biography of a Depressed Area (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781931672009
ISBN-10: 1931672008
Genre: Nonfiction
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 4

The Saga of Jenny Wiley
1994 - The Saga of Jenny Wiley (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780945084457
ISBN-10: 0945084455
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Substores
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1

Slender Is the Thread Tales from a Country Law Office
1992 - Slender Is the Thread Tales From a Country Law Office (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780813108117
ISBN-10: 081310811X
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History
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The Mountain the Miner and the Lord and Other Tales from a Country Law Office
1989 - The Mountain the Miner and the Lord and Other Tales From a Country Law Office (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780813101958
ISBN-10: 0813101956
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Literature & Fiction
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 2

Slender is the thread Tales from a country law office
1987 - Slender Is the Thread Tales From a Country Law Office (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780813116112
ISBN-10: 0813116112
Genre: History
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Theirs Be the Power The Moguls of Eastern Kentucky
1983 - Theirs Be the Power the Moguls of Eastern Kentucky (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780252010293
ISBN-10: 0252010299
Genres: Business & Money, History
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The Watches of the Night
1978 - The Watches of the Night (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780316132190
ISBN-10: 0316132195
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The watches of the night
1976 - The Watches of the Night (Other)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780316132183
ISBN-10: 0316132187
Genre: Business & Money
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Dark Hills to Westward The Saga of Jennie Wiley
Dark Hills to Westward the Saga of Jennie Wiley (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780316132145
ISBN-10: 0316132144
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The Senator From Slaughter County
The Senator From Slaughter County (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780316132152
ISBN-10: 0316132152
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A Darkness at Dawn Appalachian Kentucky and the Future
A Darkness at Dawn Appalachian Kentucky and the Future [Kentucky Bicentennial Bookshelf] (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780813102184
ISBN-10: 0813102189
Genres: Business & Money, Nonfiction
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Mountain the Miner and the Lord and Other Tales from a Country Law Office
Mountain the Miner and the Lord and Other Tales From a Country Law Office [Kentucky Bicentennial Bookshelf] (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780813114033
ISBN-10: 0813114039
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History, Literature & Fiction
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Appalachian Christmas Stories
Appalachian Christmas Stories (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780945084631
ISBN-10: 0945084633
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Reference
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