Knox County Public Library invites the public to a discussion of Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll at noon on Wednesday, September 26 in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium. The discussion will be led by Amy Steadman, Collections Development Manager at ETSU's Center of Appalachian Studies and Services.

Ramp Hollow offers the reader a sensitive portrayal of Appalachians and their self-sufficiency with small-scale farming, foraging and hunting, along with distilling and trading. Stoll recasts the story of Appalachia as a complex struggle between mountaineers and profit-seeking industrialization that came from outside the region. His original investigation—ranging widely from history to literature, art, and economics—questions our assumptions about progress and development, and exposes the devastating legacy of dispossession and its repercussions today.

"Ramp Hollow focuses on the Appalachia of the past, and modern attitudes about an area of America that many feel they can write about, but rarely define with the attentiveness it truly deserves," Steadman says. "I look forward to delving more into a place that has loose geographic lines and even looser cultural histories."

Amy Steadman earned her master's degree in Museum Studies from Eastern Illinois University and in Information Science from the University of Tennessee. In her 20 years of working in museums and libraries, she has worked with diverse collections and is currently Collections Manager at the Reece Museum (link is external), part of the Center of Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University. She has taught Historic Preservation, Collections Management, and Museum Studies classes at Tusculum College and at East Tennessee State University.

Books Sandwiched In is generously sponsored by the Friends of Knox County Public Library. Bring a sandwich or pick up something at a downtown restaurant. Drinks are available for 50 cents.