Way Out in West Virginia: A Must Have Guide to the Oddities and Wonders of the Mountain
We say:  buy this book.  It's Jeanne Mozier's Way Out in West Virginia: A Must-have Guide to the Oddities and Wonders of the Mountain State.  The title says it all.  If you want to be in the know -- or to see for yourself - most, if not all, of the quirky, wacky, and unbelievable things West Virginia can lay claim to, this book has your name on it.Author Jeanne Mozier is known throughout the state as an astrologer and arts patron.  She is also the founder and owner of The Star Theater in Berkeley Springs, and a frequent judge at the Annual West Virginia Water Tasting Festival.  If you've met her, you know she knows all about quirky. . . Like when she hoped to identify Kirk Douglas' water, rumored to be at the Festival:" . . . I had no idea which of the identical looking fluids was the one Kirk Douglas used to brush his teeth every morning.  I searched for a clue.  None of them seemed to have even the slightest hint of a cleft chin, piercing eyes or the square jawed look of Spartacus."The chapter topics are great.  In "Adventure Driving", read about the wild and wooly curves in the state, as well as "The Badlands", the X-rated part of Route 60.  In "Local Foods", get clued in about more than just ramps, but also West Virginia's "state food":  " . . . Generally available for a dollar, it's a primary food group for struggling artists and students, and the only food I found worthy of a quest."  Figured it out yet?  It's the pepperoni roll.Parts of the book are a little less quirky, some are amazing and superlative.  Way Out takes a gander at West Virginia's:The Greenbrier, which was paid well for being the only hotel in the world with a contingency plan for the destruction of civilization;State forests, with trees covering 75% of the state, maybe West Virginia should be called "The Tree State";Great shopping, which for some West Virginians, the hand painted sign on a roadside market in the mountains announcing  COLD BEER - TANNING  - LOTTERY covers all the bases.Historic heritage, with George Washington America's first big land developer, and today's West Virginia his favorite piece of 18th century real estate.