Gifford and Kazee have relied on never-before-seen letters, first-hand accounts shared by family members and friends, primary documents graciously donated by individuals and organizational entities, newspaper articles, other Stuart biographies, his autobiographies, and their daily contact with Stuart and his work through the Jesse Stuart Foundation. This biography provides insight into how both Stuart's closest friends and most distant fans viewed him, without hiding his eccentricities. Some have called his work overly sentimental; other have called it valuable and brilliant. His place in literature is controversial, the tales he wrote about himself suspect. But the influence of his works and the importance of his works and the importance of his life made him a national icon, a hero to America's teachers, and a friend to the thousands of people he met and inspired.

REVIEWS

"James Giffords book on Jesse Stuart An Extraordinary Life, is an amazing book with truly great insight into the life and career of my favorite author, Jesse Stuart. Not only does the author provide details of an incredible life of his subject, but he also shows the reader details of Jesse's life and relationships that bring a new appreciation to who Jesse Stuart really was as a person. His detail on relationships, friendships, etc. are truly amazing at showing a side of Jesse Stuart that most would never have known about. He also shares insight into Jesse's wife and his family that I have never read about before and it really gave me an appreciation on the family dynamics and the closeness of this family.

Finally, if you are fan of Jesse Stuart or a fan of Appalachian Fiction or Appalachia history in general then you will truly appreciate all of the "never before seen" photographs that are included in this book. I did not count them, but there have to be more than 100 pictures that have been included.

The book is a great read and one that I simply could not put down once I began reading it last Friday and two days later I was finished and I enjoyed every single page of the book.

                                                                                                                                            Bob Jennings
                                                                                                                                   Blacksburg, Virginia

This is an absorbing book filled with insights to Stuart's character that are rarely, if ever, explored. Gifford presents an evenly-balanced account of the well known author. With a subject who was so full of contradictions and extremes, it must have been especially difficult to offer such a fair account. Interesting and well-documented, Jesse Stuart: An Extraordinary Life explores both personal and professional facets of Stuart's life.

Adding visual interest and "faces to names," the book is filled with hundred of photographs, many of which have never been published until now. Lots of them are from the Stuart family album.

Too diverse to completely describe here, rest assured that Stuart led a life full of meaning, pettiness, hostility, romance, country living, world travel, military service, military question, poor health, miraculous recovery, prejudice, open-mindedness.... Whether you're a fan of the writer or not you're sure to find his life story a fascinating one.

                                                                                                                           An Amazon.com Review