Twilight in Hazard

Praise

“Twilight in Hazard paints a more nuanced portrait of Appalachia than Vance did…[Maimon] eviscerates Vance’s bestseller with stiletto precision.” —Associated Press

“Alan Maimon’s reporting on the Applachian town of Hazard, Kentucky is no sentimental or misguided elegy.  It is instead a searing and revealing account of what happens when jobs disappear, institutions collapse, politicians grandstand, and the very middle of America get hollowed out by greed and indifference.”— Bryant Simon,  Laura H. Carnell Professor of History at Temple University and author of The Hamlet Fire

“An empathic portrait of eastern Kentucky… Contending that Americans must ‘combat the notion that people and places are irredeemable’… Maimon’s sharp observations and personal stake in the subject make this a standout account of what ails rural America.” —Publishers Weekly


“Maimon writes with a journalist’s clarity and plainspokenness… A somber consideration of a broken region that saves the scolding for its leaders instead of its residents.”—Kirkus

“A must read for Kentuckians who love this commonwealth, and for any American who cares about this beautiful, tortured land and the people who inhabit this unique patch of earth.” —Chris Helvey, The State Journal

“Maimon’s Twilight in Hazard: An Appalachian Reckoning brings energy and an insight to a region that for so long has deserved so much more than a death song.” Lexington Herald-Leader

 
“Twilight in Hazard gives the great FX show Justified a run for its money, and then some.  A riveting read.” —Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls  

“Twilight in Hazard chronicles the decades of taking that Appalachia has weathered, but it also chronicles the strength and resiliency of the human spirit of those who have been left behind. This book is harrowing, angering, and, most importantly, true.” —Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home

“In tight, compelling prose, Twilight in Hazard takes us directly to the heart of one of America’s most serious problems: the decline of local news. This book, with its indelible sense of place, may break your heart but it may also strengthen our collective resolve to find solutions to this crisis before it is entirely too late.” —Margaret Sullivan, media columnist, The Washington Post and author of Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy

“Alan Maimon is right to make ‘An Appalachian Reckoning’ the subtitle of this wise, compassionate book, where truly ‘We gather in our memories and reckon up the cost.’ ” —Si Kahn, civil rights, union, and community organizer,  and cofounder of the Brookside Research Project, which supported striking UMWA coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky