Smoke and Silence:
The Lives of Ol’ Mort
Smoke and Silence: The Lives of Ol’ Mort is a folk epic memoir built from memory, myth, and the stories passed down across generations in eastern Kentucky. Told in the voice of Mort’s great-great-grandson and rooted in tales shared by Mort’s grandson, this is the story of a man who lived hard and loved quietly—who survived a world war, outran federal agents, raised his family from the land, and became something larger than life.
God’s Oddling:
The title of this book, God’s Oddling, comes from something my father used to call me. For years he called me “oddling” because I had gone away to college and become a writer, and because I didn’t smoke the tobacco we grew or drink the mountain liquor brewed nearby. I was recovering from my heart attack when my father died. During those last days he often visited me at my house, and he still called me “oddling.” … —Jesse Stuart, Greenup, 1960
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
JSF at 606-326-1667 or jsf@jsfbooks.com
ONLINE SHOPPING: While our physical storefront remains closed to the public, we are continuing daily operations with in many cases same-day processing of online book purchases. Please considering SHOPPING THE JSF ONLINE.
Find a book …
Use this search field for quick results!
Allan Eckert’s Winning of America Series
This Jesse Stuart Foundation best-selling series details accounts of frontiersmen and Native Americans and many dramatic events of the time period. Many years of research went into this popular series that also tells the story of wilderness America itself, its penetration and settlement.
Shop any of the 6 books in the series below, or BUY THE WHOLE SET!
Jesse Stuart Junior Books
Shop this popular book set for the young reader!
Latest JSF News
The Thread That Runs So True
In the 1940s and 1950s, books opened my mind to the big world beyond my poor Appalachian home. When I was a little boy, my grandmother, Clara Moore Clark, would walk to town with me so that I could check out books from the Bedford County Public Library. I still remember my astonishment when the librarian said I could check out three books. I always looked through the baseball [...]
JSF honors and promotes the City of Ashland
I moved to Ashland in 1985, and I have provided executive leadership for the Jesse Stuart Foundation for the past 40 years. During that time, the JSF has received dozens of state, regional, and national awards. For example, on Saturday June 2, 2007, I accepted Morehead State University’s prestigious Appalachian Treasure Award on behalf of the Jesse Stuart Foundation. It was a momentous occasion, as it was the first [...]
God’s Oddling, the Story of Jesse Stuart’s Father
Jesse Stuart’s mother, Martha Hilton Stuart, died May 11, 1951. Three years later, on December 23, 1954, Jesse’s father Mitchell (Mick) died. As Mick lay on his death bed, he reflected: “I’ve been lonesome without Sal for nearly three years and I’d like to see her again. I don’t mind sleeping in Plum Grove clay beside the only woman I ever loved. We had our ups and downs. She [...]
Night Comes to the Cumberlands
When Harry Caudill, a recipient of the Purple Heart, returned to Kentucky after serving as an infantry soldier during World War II, he resumed his studies at the University of Kentucky. Later, he graduated from law school and returned home to Whitesburg, Kentucky, to practice law. His deep commitment to improving the quality of life in eastern Kentucky took him into the political arena, and he served in the [...]
Billy C. Clark, the chronicler of the Big Sandy Valley
Billy C. Clark began life in storybook fashion. On December 29, 1928, Bertha Clark, who was pregnant with her seventh child, went to Huntington, West Virginia, to shop for second-hand clothes for her six children. While shopping, she experienced labor pains. Quickly gathering her purchases, she boarded a streetcar and headed home. One thought occupied her mind: she was determined that her child would not be born a “foreigner.” [...]