Appalachian Health: Culture, Challenges, and Capacity edited by F. Douglas Scutchfield and Randy Wykoff

Even if you hate books that collect a bunch of essays by professors apparently trying to get tenure, you may actually really appreciate this book that at first glance may look like just another of these. To begin with, it really does serve the needs both of those seeking an introduction to a new field and those who have already garnered considerable expertise. The subject is put in context, not just sprung on the reader, beginning with an essay by Ron Roach, the Director of the Appalachian Center at East Tennessee State University, providing an overview of the region so all the readers understand the context of what follows. And - get this! – Ron’s essay is the only one by a single author. Wow. No one-author wonders. I mean collaboration is the name of the game for this book, often teaming up an academic with a government or public health worker. This provides not just greater substance, but also greater perspective, to the essays. And the wrap-up essay has four authors – the co-editor