The Feud: The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story
*Starred Review* More than a century after the violence ended, the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys still evokes images of snaggletoothed rustics with a gun in one hand and a jug of moonshine whiskey in the other. The recent dramatized series on the History Channel attempted to present a more realistic view while regenerating interest in the affair. King, who served as an advisor on that series, goes much further in this well-written, superbly researched, but depressingly grim chronicle. The two families lived in relative harmony for generations astride the Tug River, which forms the current boundary between Kentucky and West Virginia. The families traded with each other and even intermarried. The roots of the conflict, according to King, are found in the political and military tensions generated by the Civil War. After the war, the tensions quickly escalated into violence, which intensified as economic factors, family loyalty, and outside interference complicated matters. King paints an unrelentingly sad portrait of families locked in a tragic struggle from which even moderating members seemed unable to withdraw. This is an outstanding reexamination of a mythic but all too real and savage story. --Jay Freeman