The French Broad

Rivers of America #50

by Wilma Dykeman

Wilma Dykeman spent six months in the early 1950's, driving with her husband through the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee to research this book. She spoke with local farmers and loggers, visited libraries and newspaper offices, and read numerous accounts of the history of the French Broad River bioregion. The result is a very solid history of the region, spiced with plenty of local color. Although her prose is at times dry, and although her attempts to include quotations and jokes from local people sometimes come off as awkward, her fidelity to the people who are the subjects of her book is unwavering, and she makes numerous insights about the region's history and future which remain true today. The chapter, "Who Killed the French Broad?" is particularly prophetic; no doubt Ms. Dykeman must be happy in her Newport, Tennessee, home to see that the river runs cleaner than it did back in 1955, when the book was first published. A classy book by a classy woman.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History, Book Club

371 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Wilma Dykeman Stokely was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction whose works chronicled the people and land of Appalachia.

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories about a fascinating region.

[LeeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a bit rare to find a book that can give you the history of a place, and at the same time provide a sense of the atmosphere and the culture through the ages. Dykeman tells stories and provides little vignettes of each time period that really capture the essence of life in the area through time.

She also writes exceptionally well, and while some writers use descriptive language that can let you see a place in your mind's eye, she has a talent for applying that to people so that you feel as if you have actually met the folks whose history she tells.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lived in the southern Appalachians for nine years. This is a wonderful history of the area, centered around the iconic French Broad River. Starting with native Cherokee and progressing to the 1950's, each chapter adds to the story.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book, it's a great history of an area and a people. It starts with the earliest recorded European explorers and follows the people and the country of Western NC and Eastern TN up until the days of Carl Sandburg. The book was written by Asheville native Wilma Dykeman and published in 1955 as part of a series of 50 books about famous American rivers, of the 50 five were honored by the Library of Congress, including this one. The stories are so endearing, it makes you feel as if you had walked through the mountains and talked to these folks yourself. It's also a little sad when she talks of pollution and springs that have run dry, I can only hope the rivers are being cared for a little better now.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of local history. Well written, and very interesting. Definitely deepens my appreciation of my local area. Well worth the read, and I absolutely suggest this book to anyone living in, or interested in WNC, or Eastern TN.

[Ginger K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Impossible to review. It is so of the time it was written. I am annoyed by the trite cliches about mountain people. I want to cut her so much slack because of the time and context when she was writing. And, she is a local hero and an important Ashevillian and I want to respect her as that.

Ultimately I enjoyed the first rough half of the book - little bit of natural history and more distant human history - but couldn't stick with the second half which was all "local color" and nostalgia and too-cute characters.

[Bruce Mulkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading if you live in southern Appalachia, especially Western North Carolina or East Tennessee. Written by Wilma Dykeman, The French Broad, was published in 1955 as part of the Holt Rinehart Rivers of America Series. Dykeman is sometimes credited with saving the oldest river in the world--the French Broad River.

[Kale Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book. Ms. Dykeman is a superb storyteller and writer. Bought the book after vacationing near Gatlinburg and was intrigued by the history of the area. She provides tremendous insight to the history of a part of the country with which I had zero knowledge, but also (and more importantly) to the people. Well worth the read.

[Michael Clifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book about the history of the French Broad river, its surroundings and its people. This book was written in the 1960s so one of the most interesting parts for me is how Asheville has changed in the last 60 years!

[Myra Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my sixth book in the Rivers of America series. I always say reading this series is like sitting on the porch in a rocker listening to an old friend tell about their home. Ms Dykeman is a wonderful writer who captures all the splendor and as struggles of this region. She knows the area well and conveys some much about it all. The NYT reviewer says, "sound, flavorsome Americana." History, flora and fauna, water lore, culture, religion, geology, I could go on and on. My favorite chapter is the last one, "The Chattering Children."

[Mirra Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will review later.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading about the area. I liked Dykeman's writing style. It is written mid-century, yet I found it an enjoyable read.

[Lauren Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely skipped some sections but will also definitely return to the book.

[Cinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic text on the French Broad watershed, its history and present-day (1950s) challenges. This was a wonderful resource for someone wanting to learn more about the region that I call home.

[Bram Pinkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy to read this just prior to the worst flood on record. But it served as a wonderful key to the geography and history of our new home.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great way of exploring the people and land of the Appalachia. Like many of these nature-writing books about the Appalachia, it all feels very personal despite the large amount of ground the book covers.

It is this personal-ness that highlights the most important part of the book, that is, that the people that have inhabited the Appalachia are just as important as the land. In fact, they are one and the same thing, and anything that impacts one will impact the other. This is what Dykeman seems to think makes the Appalachia unique, and this book convincingly demonstrates and explores that notion.

There are also some lovely bits of writing here. Both descriptions of the land and sections of storytelling stand out as better than most non-fiction and history writing.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

After working one summer on the FB, I figured I should approach the next summer knowin a bit more about the river. This woman is the real deal. She knows Agiqua. From Cherokee legends surrounding the river to startup enterprises that always seem to fail, this book covers it all. If you paddle the Broad you already know that river has soul, this book reveals just how deeply soulful the FB really is.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dykeman tells the history of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee by following one of its major waterways from beginning to end. She achieved a major triumph of early environmentalism by fighting and winning the right to include a chapter on the pollution of the French Broad river in this book.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

The French Broad by Wilma Dykeman (Rhinehart and Co. 1955) (917.68). The French Broad is a mountain river in North Carolina and Tennessee that drains the basin between the Great Smokies and the Blue Ridge. This is the story of the river and the people that settled its valleys. My rating: 7/10, finished 2007.

[Carol868 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting if you want to read the history of WNC in relation to the French Broad River's influence. Wonderful first half...lost interest after that and finished by reading between books that were more enjoyable.

[Matthew T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for micro american history. A must read if you visit or live in the region of THE FRENCH BROAD
The title of the book may give an incorrect impression of what you are going to read...get your mind out of the gutter and read some Western Carolina and Eastern Tennessee history!

[Tim Jarrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to understand the mountains and their people, you could do far worse than read this book. The chapter on Jesse James Bailey, only man to be sheriff of two counties in the same state and the man who gave my uncle his job, is worth the price of admission.

[Joy Pansiera · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing factual history of the Blue Ridge/ Smokey Mountain area in the days of the Cherokee.
So much great information. Hard for me to get thru after a certain point. I might try to get it as an audiobook to finish.

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining book whether you live near this river or not.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in North Carolina at my and Wilma Dykeman's college. Brilliant before it's time.

[Richard Evert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should be titled "The French Broad River."

Very informative & appealing.

[Annette]

Ten years ago sister Linda gave me Wilma Dykeman's The Tall Woman, and I enjoyed it so much. Now I've read this title for the College Walk book group, and it was such a pleasure! I've just started the Hillbilly Elegy, and I'm struck by the similarities of concerns.