Far Appalachia: Following the New River North

by Noah Adams

Reviewed by Rick Van Noy

Hardcover - 256 pages (April 10, 2001)
Delacorte Pr; ISBN: 0385320108

List Price: $23.95

In Far Appalachia Noah Adams, co-host of NPR's "All Things Considered," has gone "far" to the New River's headwaters in the mountains of North Carolina to travel north through Appalachia. He begins his book by invoking the image of how the region and river look on maps, and he gives cartographic coordinates for each location that becomes a chapter heading. Then, after giving the bird's eye view, Adams descends into the local landscape and river itself, weaving stories and particulars told by inhabitants with his own research and travel narrative.

In his last book, Piano Lessons, Adams wrote about learning to play the piano. In this book he's learning to travel, in a way to really get to know a place: paying attention to guides, talking with biologists about species, learning from locals about the vernacular landscape, and savoring the music and culture. He also mixes his modes of transport--boat, bike, plane, jeep, foot--so he might see it in all the ways possible.

As a book about travel, it seems written mostly for those not from the region who might want visit. The fact that he feels the need to correct the Deliverance stereotype says as much. Yet, through his attention to the region's rich heritage and beauty, Adams is also writing for those of us who live near the New, as if to tell us how lucky we are. Readers will find pleasure in recognizing familiar people, places and landmarks narrated in an easygoing, unassuming style. However, he gets at least one name wrong. It's Pepper's Ferry Bridge not Pepper Bridge. Another issue I'll quibble with (because of where I live): in the "Radford University" chapter Adams describes not Radford but a trip with a naturalist through a forest in eastern Kentucky, where the author is from.

By relating stories of his own home and tracing his family's history, Adams intends to show his connection to the region. Still, he is "new" to the New, and much of the energy of the book comes from his sense of "discovery." And while the book goes "far," it does not go too deep, save for when he takes us into Hawk's Nest Tunnel and describes the men who filled their lungs for an uncaring corporation. But then again, the New, while steeped in heritage, isn't a deep river in most places. Its tranquil appearance belies its power, and it carries you swiftly along. So does Adams's book. The New got its name because it wasn't on early maps. Explorers kept discovering a "new" river. There's just enough current here to make you want to discover the New all over again.