The Kentucky Humanities Council began New Books for New Readers because Kentucky’s adult literacy students want books that recognize their intelligence and experience while meeting their need for simplicity in writing. The first ten titles in the New Books for New Readers series have helped many adult students open the window on the wonderful world of literacy. At the same time, these New Books, with their plain language and compelling stories of Kentucky history and culture, have found a wider audience among accomplished readers of all ages who recognize a good read when they see one. As we publish the eleventh book, we thank our authors and our readers, who together have proved that New Books and the humanities are for everyone.
This volume was made possible by a gift from Martin F. Schmidt and the Martin F. Schmidt/Kate Schmidt Moninger Fund and by alumni of the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Humanities Council: Michael C.C. Adams, A.D. Albright, Philip Alperson, Philip P. Ardery, Andrew Baskin, Ina Brown Bond, George Street Boone, Jeanette M. Cawood, Madge Chesnut, John R. Combs, Nancy DeMartra, Nancy Forderhase, Jo Anne Gabbard, Janice C. Gevedon, George C. Herring, David D. Lee, Robert H. Miller, M. Janice Murphy, Paul Oberst, Josephine Richardson, Samuel Robinson and the Lincoln Foundation, Virginia Stallings, Richard Taylor, Marianne Walker, and Edwin T. Weiss.
We are grateful for the advice and support provided to us by the University Press of Kentucky and for the cosponsorship of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. The Kentucky Humanities Council thanks all of our friends and supporters who for the past ten years have shared our commitment to the important role that reading books plays in the lives of the people of our Commonwealth.
Virginia G. Smith, Executive Director
Kentucky Humanities Council