About this title: Journalist Dennis Covington documents the case of Glenn Summerford, arrested and tried for murdering his wife with rattlesnakes. On Sand Mountain, Covington found he discovered the similarities between himself and the devotees of snake-handling, strychnine-drinking religions so quickly it was disturbing to him. This book was voted by the "Voice Literary Supplement" one of the 25 Favorite Books of 1995.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Addison Wesley Publishing Company
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780201622928ISBN:0201622920
Description: New in new dust jacket. Pristine condition unused and unmarked book. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. 240 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. 0140254587 24159 PB: spine cupped, text clean, cover has light shelf wear-allow up to 21 business days for standard USPS media m ai l. wt1lbpf. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780140254587ISBN:0140254587
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. UNREAD copy with light shelf wear. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 272 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Publishing
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780201622928ISBN:0201622920
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. This book is in very good condition. The binding is tight. Some of the pages have light underlining in pencil. The dust jacket is in very good condition with bumps and scuffs. read more
Edition: Illustrated
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Addison Wesley Publishing Company
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780201622928ISBN:0201622920
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Spine straight, binding tight, no reader/remainder marks, EX-LIB w/typical stamps/stickers, covers/pgs flat w/sharp corners, minor shelf wear. 240 numbered pgs., Audience: General/trade. Photos or other information available by e-mail. Daily orders/e-mail responses. E-mail confirmation of shipment. Check our feedback. read more
Edition: Fourth Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, New York
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780201622928ISBN:0201622920
Description: As New in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Clean and tight with light wear to the unclipped dust jacket. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 1996-03-01
ISBN-13:9780140254587ISBN:0140254587
Description: New. New paperback book with publisher's inventory mark. We ship 6 days a week, generally within 24 hours; single CDs and DVDs upgraded to 1st class! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Addison Wesley
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780201622928ISBN:0201622920
Description: Good++ in Good jacket. Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall; Signed by Author Type: Ex-Library Inscribed and signed by author on first page. Dj. in brodart, price clipped, light shelfwear. Book has usual library markings, card holder pulled off back inside bd., 240 very good, clean, tight pages. Unmarked. read more
"This book surprised me. I expected it to be yet another piece of academic condescension, in which the author vaunts his natural superiority over these backwoods, bible-thumping snake handlers. But that wasn't what I got at all. Rather, just like Dennis Covington, I was sucked in to this fascinating, strange realm of snake handlers. I was touched by his sincerity, humbled by his ability to lay himself bare before his readers, and moved by his quiet, genuine depiction of the people he met. Deftly, beautifully written."
""Feeling after God is dangerous business. And Christianity without passion, danger, and mystery may not really be Christianity at all."
And so we go, with Dennis Covington into the heart of Southern Appalachia to try and catch a glimpse of that furious and awesome Holy Spirit that calls for men and women to take up snakes, drink from mason jars full of home-brewed poison, and place their hands on hot stoves. They speak in tongues and cast out demons, for them this physical life is only a mirage; the promise of ever-lasting life or an eternity of damnation are what drives them towards salvation. In some ways these people are easily written off as backward hillbillies, ignorant and crazy, but before you close the book, you're not so sure. Through his own search for meaning and a family history, Covington is able to convey that sense of longing for the mysterious, the elation of witnessing the miraculous. You might not be able to stomach their political views, their church doctrine, or identify with their poverty, but nonetheless Covington paints them in inspired strokes. Which isn't to say he overlooks their flaws or the danger they put themselves and others in. Yet, there is something mesmerizing to be found in their passion and willingness to surrender themselves to a higher power. A beautiful book, equal parts terror and allure, its' vision of Southern Appalachia and the characters who populate her, is a haunting ode to family, faith, and our desire for meaning which often manifests itself in dangerous and awesome forms."
"Salvation on Sand Mountain is a story of snake handling and strychnine drinking, of faith healing and speaking in tongues. It is also the story of one man's search for his roots--and, in the end, of his spiritual renewal. Writer Dennis Covington came to this ecstatic form of Christianity as a reporter covering a sensational murder case; Glen Summerford, pastor of the Church of Jesus with Signs Following, had been accused of attempting to kill his wife with rattlesnakes. There, in a courtroom filled with journalists and gawking spectators, Covington felt the pull of a spirituality that was to dominate his life for the next several years. Attending Summerford's church out of curiosity, he soon forged close friendships with some of the worshippers, began attending snake-handling services throughout the South, and eventually took up snakes himself. 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"
"Salvation on Sand Mountain is loaded with characters that fit every stereotype you've ever heard of backwood Southern Appalachian mountain folk, so extreme you have to check the book cover several times to make sure this isn't fiction. Covington gracefully side steps the predictable exhibitionist freak show and instead expounds on the history, humanity and passionate belief of people most America have called trash for a very long time.
Are you a believer? a non-believer? So is Dennis Covington. Covington's willingness to explore the actual spiritual experiences in his investigation, not just the obvious spiritual hedonism of snake handling but the soul searching and desperate God-searching makes this book a MUST READ. Covington is smart enough to cut off the obvious dismissals - the snakes are tame, the people are insane, it's all a show - with fairly thorough explanations so the pure mystery of mystical American religion, long dead in our present culture, can be savored.
The book traces the history of the Scotch-Irish migration into America. A short introduction to the old world, borderland practices of clan and ancient ritual are placed as a backdrop to the new world poor white culture. I would have liked a more thorough history of the traditions and transition but I think that's just personal preference. The real story of the book is spiritual exploration."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
