Generations: An American Family

Rating:
Summary: Love it
Review: I am a densent of Aly Ledford he was my g.g.g.grandfother.I love my book,the Generations. would like for everyone to read it.

Rating:
Summary: THANKS TO THE AUTHOR!
Review: I am the Great-Grandson of Burnham & Addie, Grandson of Carl & Gerry, Son of Sue & Joe.

To John Edgerton - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for preserving the history of our family. I can remember you from Lancaster at Grandaddy's birthday years ago.

To Readers - An incredible story that you'll like to read - and one that I'm proud to be a part of.

Rating:
Summary: THANKS TO THE AUTHOR!
Review: I am the Great-Grandson of Burnham & Addie, Grandson of Carl & Gerry, Son of Sue & Joe.

To John Edgerton - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for preserving the history of our family. I can remember you from Lancaster at Grandaddy's birthday years ago.

To Readers - An incredible story that you'll like to read - and one that I'm proud to be a part of.

Rating:
Summary: If you love a good story, read Generations
Review: I discovered "Generations" a few weeks ago at a used book sale, read it immediately, and passed it on to my octogenarian grandparents. The book is an amazing tale of how one need not be old and feel old at the same time. The central characters, Burnam and Addie Ledford, are great examples of Appalachian people who have wonderful stores of generations of family fact and legend, proven and unproven.

As a native of WV, I have known many people whose age, alertness, and knowledge rivaled that of Burnam and Addie, but few had all three, and seldom did such couples survive to the ages achieved by Burnam and Addie without the death of one or the other.

I'm extremely glad that Egerton took the time to get to know Burnam and Addie. (Read the book and you'll see that it's based on hours and hours of interviews with the couple.) Because we usually take such resources for granted (or just ignore them) we don't appreciate what the likes of Burnam and Addie have until they're gone. And, obviously--but painfully--it's too late then.

It's clear from the other reviews on this site that the Ledford family appreciates Egerton's work. I'm writing this to show that others can appreciate the book as well. Anyone interested in re-hearing the tales he or she heard at grandparents' knees will love Burnam and Addie's stories, which take us back to their great-grandparents and the late eighteenth century--no mean feat when one considers that they lived into the 1980s!

Egerton's coverage of the topic is thorough and entertaining. I was enthralled except when he went into detail about the Ledfords' descendants in order to give a rare view of seven generations of such a family. I was not as interested in the descendants, but for those who are, that part is well done, too.

If you love a good story, read this book. I grew up listening to and appreciating old story tellers like Burnam and Addie. Here in my present urban setting, I know of no one who matches the story-telling skills of the old people I knew in West Virginia. I'm afraid the art is being lost, along with front porches, and shooting the breeze while watching fireflies and listening to crickets. I'm no Luddite, but I do hate to see the loss of resources like Burnam and Addie. Old storytellers will die, but someone can pick up the standard and carry on in their stead. My thanks to Egerton for recording all that they had to say.

Rating:
Summary: If you love a good story, read Generations
Review: I discovered "Generations" a few weeks ago at a used book sale, read it immediately, and passed it on to my octogenarian grandparents. The book is an amazing tale of how one need not be old and feel old at the same time. The central characters, Burnam and Addie Ledford, are great examples of Appalachian people who have wonderful stores of generations of family fact and legend, proven and unproven.

As a native of WV, I have known many people whose age, alertness, and knowledge rivaled that of Burnam and Addie, but few had all three, and seldom did such couples survive to the ages achieved by Burnam and Addie without the death of one or the other.

I'm extremely glad that Egerton took the time to get to know Burnam and Addie. (Read the book and you'll see that it's based on hours and hours of interviews with the couple.) Because we usually take such resources for granted (or just ignore them) we don't appreciate what the likes of Burnam and Addie have until they're gone. And, obviously--but painfully--it's too late then.

It's clear from the other reviews on this site that the Ledford family appreciates Egerton's work. I'm writing this to show that others can appreciate the book as well. Anyone interested in re-hearing the tales he or she heard at grandparents' knees will love Burnam and Addie's stories, which take us back to their great-grandparents and the late eighteenth century--no mean feat when one considers that they lived into the 1980s!

Egerton's coverage of the topic is thorough and entertaining. I was enthralled except when he went into detail about the Ledfords' descendants in order to give a rare view of seven generations of such a family. I was not as interested in the descendants, but for those who are, that part is well done, too.

If you love a good story, read this book. I grew up listening to and appreciating old story tellers like Burnam and Addie. Here in my present urban setting, I know of no one who matches the story-telling skills of the old people I knew in West Virginia. I'm afraid the art is being lost, along with front porches, and shooting the breeze while watching fireflies and listening to crickets. I'm no Luddite, but I do hate to see the loss of resources like Burnam and Addie. Old storytellers will die, but someone can pick up the standard and carry on in their stead. My thanks to Egerton for recording all that they had to say.