A classic Foxfire book - but not necessarily a great pleasure read, more something to dip in and out of to get a deeper and more accurate feel for Appalachian storytelling traditions.

I think that this is a really interesting read. If you like folktales then this is an excellent source of so many cool ones! I expected something a little more academic, but I think that was my own fault, for not doing enough research. But I will say I was pleasantly surprised! I love the dedication to collecting and telling these stories from a specific region and sharing them with the general public. And I love the fact that they went out of their way to speak of everyone in a very humane way. Often times, people from the south get categorized as 'rednecks' and 'hillbillies' in an attempt to discredit anything of value they have, and I'm pleased about them going out of their way to portray people with out stereotype or spectacle.

This book is classic Foxfire. The archives of original interviews and other items in the files were used for this book. It features storytelling classics and sayings. As an Appalachian girl myself I grew up with some of the stories and am aware of how they were used to make a point, entertain, or explain. The beginning of the book told an incredible story of the history of Foxfire, the museum, and many of the original struggles and triumphs. It was a good remembrance of those books I loved so much in the 70s. I got an ARC digital copy of this book for the review and would recommend that readers buy the hard copy. For some reason reading a Foxfire book digitally is just wrong. Enjoyed the blast from the past and this book is reminder of all the good things in the original books. T.J. Smith does a good job in this book, just as in the others, of entertaining the reader and he himself is masterful at telling the story of Foxfire origins. Thanks to all involved in Foxfire for saving these parts of the now almost lost Appalachian culture.
Thanks #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review #NetGalley#FoxfireStory.

I am a Foxfire junkie. To prove it, I’m one of two followers on an Appalachian noir Spotify playlist. I’m sure the person who made that playlist wonders who I am. In all seriousness, the world needs Foxfire. The dedication to preserve the culture of Appalachia shines in this anthology of stories. This book is a warm and smoky campfire (and everyone knows those are the best kinds of campfires).

Foxfire Story is a retrospective collection of oral tradition stories from the archives of the Foxfire Fund. Released 28th April by Knopf Doubleday on their Anchor Books imprint, it's 336 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

I grew up with the Foxfire books and fell in love with the culture and resourcefulness of the people interviewed and immortalized in the pages of the collections. Besides springing from a noble ideal (to preserve and document the rapidly disappearing culture and traditions of the Appalachian mountain area), the books were deeply interesting and full of old-fashioned, no-nonsense methods of growing and preserving food, crafting, and living, which resonated deeply with me. (I grew up in the 70s and the 'back to the land' movement was in full swing).

This collection contains stories and interviews in the same vein as the original series. It wasn't entirely clear to me (and I have not checked thoroughly), but I believe these stories and interviews weren't previously published and are gleaned from the archives. This collection is full of stories and interviews rich in humor and wit, some pathos, charm, intelligence, and a lot of faith. The photography is, as in the rest of the series, in black and white, and used sparingly but well.

This is a worthy addition to the series, despite the change in content - this collection doesn't contain any recipes or crafting content but includes stories and interviews over decades.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

For its value as a book about storytelling, for all that I learned, and for the glimpse into Southern Appalachia and its history that it afforded me, Foxfire Story gets 5 stars from me.

I requested this book out of a love of oral storytelling and folklore, and I'd started to develop a particular interest in the storytelling of the Appalachian region. This book is not just a valuable recording of history and culture but it's also a useful reference. In fact, I would recommend it as a reference rather than a leisurely read. There were many phrases in the book that I hadn't come across elsewhere and I particularly loved some of the ghost stories.
Overall Foxfire is a good reminder to lovers of storytelling on how it shapes and is shaped by a communal identity. I will be looking for more compilations in the future!

This is from a collection of the Foxfire Books. The Foxfire books were stories usually from senior citizens taken orally starting in 1972. The stories were about the past and people that they remembered or something they had done themselves. Most of the stories are funny. I remember when these books were published and people were crazy for them. If you like Appalachian stories you will love this book.

Foxfire Story gives a brief history of the Foxfire’s reason for being. The book is divided into sections with labels like Old time Expressions and Folk Tales. I enjoyed particularly the part about Songs and also about Folk Beliefs. In fact, out of curiosity, I looked on YouTube for some of the songs and listened to them. The folk beliefs reminded me of the stories I heard from my grandparents.
I have one main take-away from this book: the importance of storytelling in our own lives. This book reminds me that we should share our own family histories and folklores with the younger generations so they have a sense of family identity.
I recommend Foxfire Story to people curious about the Foxfire archived stories and those who have a desire to read the fascinating accounts gathered by the student journalists.
Thank you #FoxfireStory and #NetGalley for an advanced eARC of this book.

In the interest of being honest, I probably made a mistake in requesting this book, but the title had the word fox in it and I just really couldn't help myself. I wanted to be fair to this collection of stories and put in the work to read it in its entirety, I just had no idea how long reading <em>Foxfire Story: Oral Tradition in Southern Appalachia</em> would take.For reference, it took a <em>really long time</em>.

A collection of stories that had been told orally at first before a group set out to hear and finally write them down, <em>Foxfire Story</em> is incredibly informative. And I just couldn't get into it.

I think the book does, generally, do what it sets out to do. Which, namely, is to preserve the stories from the area of Southern Appalachia. What it really struggled to do, however, was hold my interest. The stories themselves are quite dense and this isn't the kind of book you typically pick up because you're looking for a good read to keep you entertained. Rather, it's something to develop your knowledge and understanding of an area and the people who lived there.

In essence, there's nothing wrong with that. But I do think you have to be going into reading a book like this with a genuine interest in that particular aspect of storytelling. Unfortunately for me and for the book, that's not really what I went in looking for. And so I spent much of my reading of these stories more bored than anything else. And I felt kind of bad for that.

Ultimately, I think what this book does is great. I just don't think it was really my taste.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

My first official Foxfire book—been hearing great things for years. 3.5 stars.

This one’s full of good stuff (recollections, anecdotes, stories of pranks, and, of course, some ghost stories thrown in), but it really seems to hang its hat on storytellers and the art contained therein.

Can’t say enough good things about the Foxfire series and what it’s done to help preserve a small section of Appalachian history.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and Anchor for the advance read.

This is a wonderful collection of stories from the southern appalachian. It was filled with ghost stories and legends. I loved it. It is a wonderful history as well. I would reccomend this book to anyone interested in folk lore.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Another excellent entry in the Foxfire series, focusing on the methods of story-collecting that young ethnographers did to gather the materials for the series, and in-depth bios on the storytellers. Full of folklore, ghost stories, and stories about life in the Southern Highlands.

A mix of new material pulled from the Foxfire interview archives from 50 years ago. I enjoyed the similes, songs, mythical Cherokee tales, and the memoirs of the influenza epidemic of 1918, which made me reflect on the resilience of southern Appalachian people and their resilience in times that are unimaginable today, in the days of flu shots. The interviewees remembered relying on neighbors—who set firewood and food on their front porches—to keep them alive.

The tales with folklorist annotations such as those by Barbara Duncan made a handful of stories much more profitable for the reader and provide much needed context for what would read just like the other odd and random musings in the book. Some of these stories, rendered verbatim in Georgia dialect, were dense and impenetrable even for me, a native Appalachian whose grandmother came from that area.

If these stories were very engaging, would they not have been published decades ago? Many are clunky and weird and difficult to understand. If I couldn't make head or tail of some of these anecdotes, I can't imagine how the average reader will respond. This new pass through the archives to glean more material for publication might have been mostly a bad idea.

As the descendant of folks from southern Appalachia, I was looking forward to reading this. Overall, I found it to be interesting from a scholarly perspective, but it was by no means easy casual reading; rather, it was a collection of short anecdotal stories from various residents. I am glad it exists, but it's not the sort of thing I'd curl up on the couch and read.

lore, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture

At last! A Foxfire book I can keep for myself! We bought and used the early volumes (can't remember if it was 12 or 14) and then the kids spirited them off and what were left migrated with a grandson or two. Those were the early ones that made camping with the Revolutionary War reenactors so much easier to adapt. This one gives the history of the Foxfire movement in Southern Appalachia and the important work of preserving the old ways and how the oral histories were gathered and written down. Many of the legends, folktales, beliefs, and more are included. I love it and am glad that I get to keep it and reread.
I requested and receivedlore, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture

At last! A Foxfire book I can keep for myself! We bought and used the early volumes (can't remember if it was 12 or 14) and then the kids spirited them off and what were left migrated with a grandson or two. Those were the early ones that made camping with the Revolutionary War reenactors so much easier to adapt. This one gives the history of the Foxfire movement in Southern Appalachia and the important work of preserving the old ways and how the oral histories were gathered and written down. Many of the legends, folktales, beliefs, and more are included. I love it and am glad that I get to keep it and reread.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!a free ebook copy from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!

I have read all of The Foxfire books. This is a great way to learn the history and the way of life life for the mountain folk who were born and raised there. So much history is in this series along with good common sense solutions to living This book has a lot of legends and old ghost stories. I did get bogged down in all the comparisons such as: poor as a —churchmouse, mean as a- striped snake etc.