Talk:Harry M. Caudill

The new "Discussion" section
I moved the following material to the talk page for now; the bold text I have added. While I'm now interested to go read Mr. Caudill's book, I'm not sure Wikipedia normally includes "discussion" sections for editors commentary:


 * "Night Comes to the Cumberlands contains an amazing mix of historical fact and author's insights. Mr. Caudill's personal notes come from his own family ties, that he explicitly explains that early in the book.  Throughout, Mr. Caudill has woven together the overarching cultural and political activities of the times along with the day-to-day activities of the Cumberland people.  His language is consistently spare and easy to read, but the rich material he describes is inherently moving...even exciting. Here are 2 closing paragraphs of Chapter Three:"


 * "Perhaps in no other region of the United States except the Southern mountains were the lives and property of a great number of pro-Union civilians lost in the (Civil) war. In Pennslyvania, Kansas and a few other border areas the people were subjected to occasional Confederate forays, but those areas were comparetively rich  and the losses were soon restored.  But in the highlands much of the modest and slowly-built-up accumulations of three generations were destroyed, imporverishing virtually the entire population."


 * "Thus the curtain rose upon one of the most fantastic dramas in American History--the ferocious Kentucky mountain feuds. Their story has gone largely unchronicled, but in savagery and stark horror they dwarf the cattle wars of the Great Plains and, by contrast, make the vendettas of Sicily look like children's parlor games."

Comment: the formatting is mine, not the orginal editor's. --A. B. 23:54, 14 November 2006 (UTC)


 * When that text appeared, I figured it must have been copied from somewhere. "Night Comes to the Cumberlands" is his most famous book, but not his best.  He has a great empathy and respect in his other works, including the collections of East Kentucky stories he collected from local residents, but this particular one is scathing in its critique of the failures of the inhabitants themselves as regards their predicament.  He was a great educator, however, about the needless exploitation that outside companies (particularly the coal companies) inflicted on his region of the Appalachians, without putting much of anything back, and now stripping the very mountains away.  Badagnani 01:49, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Hi A.B. You wrote: "With the Caudill article, I was concerned about NPOV and general structure -- I just haven't seen amazon-style discussions in other authors' articles. Maybe the WikiProject Books folks might have some ideas on this -- I left a note there." In the Harry M. Caudill article, I had made a "discussion" section, not as a discussion between editors, but trying to move material I had not written into a new section -- the material did not have its own section and was floating around external links. So it really isn't necessary, unless cited by the original contributor. Thanks. Best. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc 18:24, 15 November 2006 (UTC) (talk)

As far as I can tell, this material was added by User:68.0.240.15 in the revision to the article on Harry M. Caudill: Revision as of 17:46, 15 November 2005. Agreed that it's a bit suspicious and uncited. It should be left out for now. Best. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc 18:42, 15 November 2006 (UTC) (talk)

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Harry M. Caudill
1) The following should be added after the first sentence under "Biography":

[As an attorney, Caudill earned the reputation as a lawyer of choice in southeastern Kentucky for miners and landowners seeking damages from the coal mining industry, engendering the animosity of the overwhelmingly dominant industry and its economic and political allies.

The legal practice was later superseded by endeavors of unreserved writing, speaking, and teaching. Sparking much publicity and controversy locally, regionally and beyond, he received both adulation and revilement, depending upon the views held by supporters or detractors of both coal industry practices and government policies.]

2) On the search suggestions, he appears as "politician". This should be changed to "author, environmentalist". He was not primarily a politician overall. [User:Hfcaudill|Hfcaudill]] (talk) 00:24, 21 June 2023 (UTC)

In his Appalachian history class
I took one of Harry Caudill's Appalachian history class in 1980 @ UK. 1) He gave us a copy of an article and implied that he wrote it, "How an election was bought and sold," although its authorship was attributed to "Harper's staff." I would like to find my copy.  2)  It seems to me that "Night comes to the Cumberlands," was the impetus for the War on Poverty, yet Caudill did not care for the results of the War on Poverty. 3) He did not mention anything about genetics and dumbing down of Appalachians.  He did provide a medical journal article by a doc, possibly at UK, who put forth that some Appalachians merely thought they were disabled, and became disabled by this thought. 4) He took us for a tour of a mine in Letcher County, Kentucky, that was owned by a person/company who Caudill said had advocated for federal mine safety laws, the owner testifying that "Dead men don't mine coal." Also on the tour was a Bingham (Barry?) from the Courier-Journal. HillbillyWoman (talk) 15:23, 7 November 2023 (UTC)

Location of Caudill’s Oral history & Folklore articles
I would like to read some of his oral history, interviews and folklore, such as that attributed to the basis of Pharaoh's Army. Any locations? HillbillyWoman (talk) 15:42, 7 November 2023 (UTC)