This book is a companion to the two-part four-hour documentary to be shown on PBS in the fall of 2004. Over twenty-five photographs taken by Van Slider are featured in the book.

Some 23 million people live in Appalachia. This anthology is the companion to a two-part PBS documentary (currently scheduled to air in September - subject to change). In a time when the world has become the global village and America the global nation, there is one place where things are largely as they used to be. Protected by mountains, largely ignored by industry and developers, Appalachia is America's first and last frontier. Encompassing over 195,000 square miles in thirteen states, it possesses the least understood and most underappreciated subculture in the US. Published to coincide with the a PBS documentary narrated by Naomi Judd, The Appalachians will fill the void in books about the region, offering a rich portrait of its history and its legacy in music, literature, and film. The text includes essays by some of Appalachia's most respected scholars and journalists; excerpts from never-before-published diaries and journals; first-hand recollections from Appalachians like Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, and Ralph Stanley; indigenous song lyrics and poetry; and oral histories from common folk whose roots run strong and deep. The book also includes over 100 illustrations, both archival and newly created. The book contains over 180 photos and illustrations including 16 pages of color photographs. The Smithsonian has declared 2004 "The Year of Appalachia" and Mari-Lynn Evans, the film's executive producer, writes that the book and film provide "a multifaceted glimpse of the history of Appalachia; who came to the land, why they came, what they found, what they did, and why they stayed." Here is a wondrous book celebrating one our nation's richest native cultures.