One of my favorite writers on Open Salon is Tom Cordle. Tom is talented, brash, intelligent, opinionated, often humorous, anti-corporate, a political pundit, and usually right. Those of you who know Tom through his work here know what I’m talking about. Tom is also a historical encyclopedia of knowledge which brings me to the subject of this post.

Many of you may know Tom, but may not know that Tom is a published author (he's quite shy about some things). Last December, when I was new to blogging and Open Salon, I got to know Tom through his regular posts. I learned from him through PMail that he had written a book about an Eastern Tennessee town in the foothills of The Great Smokey Mountains. I have roots in East Tennesse so naturally that piqued my interest.

I purchased a copy for myself as a Christmas gift to moi and then got addicted to Open Salon and let the book set. Shame on me. Shame on me a lot!

The book was never far from me as I sat pecking at my keyboard and I looked at it often wondering when I would pick it up and start to read it as was my original intent. It became painfully obvious to me that procrastination had gotten the best of another good intention in my life, so last weekend I finally picked up the book and began to read. I couldn’t put the book down. It swallowed me whole for two full days, until finally, the last page was turned.

The Disappearing Cemetery begins as a small mountain town has a feud of sorts about an old family cemetery. Progress finally invades the small town and there are some serious issues that progress brings with it, but that is only one part of the story.

The author takes us back to the origins of a journey that lasted over two millennium. It explains how the mountain people of the little town became who they are and why they hold on so dearly to their past, but the book is so much more than that. It is also a lesson in history that covers so many subjects it is sometimes hard to keep up.

Some of the characters are well known historical figures while others are little more than a note on the sidebar of history. All of the characters, both great and small, are compelling in every way. It shows that the small cogs of a timepiece are no less important than the largest gears.

All of these stories are meshed and melded into a cohesive and coherent thesis of right and wrong. Mistakes and redemptions are made then broken then made again, leading one to wonder if we will ever learn from our histories. This is a unique look into our present and past in a way that only Tom Cordle can tell it.

A huge plus that I truly enjoyed are the sprinklings throughout the book of original poems by Tom on many of the different people and subjects. The poems give the feeling that they were written by an author of that particular era in history. Without giving too much of the book away, I would just like say that it is a very compelling story and that I enjoyed it very, very much. I think you would, too.

No one really knows what makes a book a bestseller. I think so much of it depends on the celebrity of the author. I’ve read best sellers that at the end I just shook my head, while far lesser known books can intrigue you from the first to last page. This is that kind of book. Most of you know this to be true if you’ve spent anytime at all on Open Salon. Some of the very best writers go relatively unnoticed.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves to read. Let it be known that I was not encouraged by Tom to write this post, but rather that I felt a need to share this gem with you. I believe that he has a few copies left and with the holidays coming up, I think this book would also make an excellent gift. I mean really, how often can you offer a first print signed by the author to family or friends?

P.S. Not only does the book have a beautiful cover, but inside the back jacket is a great photo of Tom with long hippy hair and a straw fedora. That picture alone is worth the price of admission. If your interested in the book, just get a hold of Tom. He’s easy to find.

*****