"The contributors to Rural Life and Culture in the Upper Cumberland uncover stories and link famous personalities to the region as they explore this unique part of America." "Seventeen essays by prominent scholars such as Lynwood Montell, Charles Wolfe, Allison Ensor, and Jeanette Keith explore many facets of the history and popular and material culture of the region. Topics range from a history of Red Boiling Springs, the most famous vacation and spa town in the area in the early twentieth century, to the Upper Cumberland's significant contributions to the development of modern country and folk music. The contributors also discuss subjects as diverse as movies, architecture, folklore, religion, arts and crafts, literature, and even a thriving nudist colony, the Timberline Lodge."--Jacket.