Letter from an Empty Valley

Book excerpt: Ten highly crafted essays examining the impact of Post Industrialism on life in Appalachia, Ireland and New England. In lyrical prose, richly informed with an unique sense of place, the central myths of Post Industrialism are deconstructed and the bankruptcy of it’s associated fetishes—Information and the Global economy—are revealed. The reader is treated to intimate descriptions of daily life in Appalachia, Ireland and New England, with emphasis on the vital importance of the natural world. From life in a dying coal town to the impact of electronic media and tourism on Irish traditional culture, these essays explore some of the frightening and disowned realities of post industrial society and remind us of the vital link between Nature and the human psyche. They underscore what we forget at our peril—that our well being is based not on technology, but on forces which we neither understand or control.