"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
With subject matter this lurid, Salvation on Sand Mountain could have been a Southern-fried curiosity and little more. Covington goes far deeper. Tracing the snake handlers' roots in regional history, in the deep spiritual alienation of mountain people from the secular modern world they have so recently joined, Covington is more than just sympathetic to the snake handlers; in a profound way, he considers himself one of them. His reasoning is sometimes flawed--when he attempts to find snake handlers in his own family's past, for instance, the result is belabored and unconvincing--but there's no doubt that Covington's heart is in the right place. He's also not without his own brand of sly gallows humor, as in this conversation with the elderly Gracie McAllister: "She'd swore she'd never handle rattlesnakes in July again. She'd been bit the previous two Julys. 'I decided I'd just handle fire and drink strychnine that night,' she said. Good idea, I thought. It always pays to be on the safe side."
Covington eventually breaks with the snake handlers, but comes away from the experience a changed man. "Knowing where you come from is one thing, but it's suicide to stay there," he writes. An American Book Award winner and finalist for the National Book Award, Salvation on Sand Mountain is a nuanced, compassionate portrait of an unforgettable spiritual journey. --Mary Park
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. . Seller Inventory # 52GZZZ00DAO5_ns
Book Description Condition: New. . Seller Inventory # 5AUZZZ0016YL_ns
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780306818363
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 0306818361
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia 0.65. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780306818363
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # 0306818361
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6408833-n
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580101385
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0306818361xvz189zvxnew
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9780306818363