From the Introduction: Murderland... I had always regarded the Hatfield-McCoy feud with derision, at what I saw as the drunken antics of dim-witted psychopaths fighting over the ownership of a hog. But as I researched the topic, it soon became clear not only that I myself have more than one dog in this unfortunate fight but also that derision is hardly an appropriate response to a tragedy with such far-reaching consequences.