Robert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields


Robert C. Byrd

Senator Robert C. Byrd
2005
817pp
HC/J  978-1-933202-00-6
$35.00
PDF  978-1-933202-86-0
$34.99

Summary

This autobiography follows United States Senator Robert C. Byrd’s experiences from his boyhood in the early 1920s to his election in 2000, which won him an unprecedented eighth term in the Senate. Along the way, Senator Byrd offers commentary on national and international events that occurred throughout his long life in public service. Senator Byrd’s journey from the hardscrabble coalfields to the marbled halls of Congress has inspired generations of people in West Virginia and throughout the nation. From reading the stories of the Founding Fathers as a young boy by the light of a kerosene lamp to the swearing of an oath for more than a half-century to guard the United States Constitution, Senator Byrd’s life is legendary. Byrd always stands by his principles, earning the affection of the people of his home state and the respect of Americans from all walks of life. With his beloved Erma ever by his side, Robert C. Byrd has never forgotten his roots, harkening back to those early lessons that he learned as a child of the Appalachian coalfields.

Table of Contents

  1. Child of the Appalachian Coalfields
  2. The Depression Years
  3. A Political Career Begins
  4. Mr. Byrd Goes to Washington
  5. Around the World in Sixty-Six Days
  6. Excelsior!
  7. The Sapling Grows Tall
  8. Stormy Waters
  9. Climbing the Leadership Ladder
  10. A Visit to Russia
  11. Muddy Waters
  12. A Supreme Court Nomination?
  13. Building West Virginia Piece by Piece
  14. The Old Order Changeth
  15. The Top Rung—Majority Leader (1977)
  16. Second Fiddle
  17. Back in the Saddle Again
  18. Elected President Pro Tempore
  19. A Hand on the Purse Strings
  20. Building a New West Virginia
  21. West Virginia on thr Go
  22. Bits and Pieces
  23. Building a 21st Century West Virginia
  24. The Winds of Change
  25. The Tide Ebbs
  26. Full Circle
  27. The Return of the Native
  28. Dribs and Drabs
  29. Line-Item Veto Struck Down
  30. In the Heat of Battle
  31. Semper Fidelis
  32. Afterword

Reviews

"Isn't this the true American story for this century? A complete turnabout in one's life raised in Crabtree, West Virginia in an environment of racism. This story is a complete compilation of someone overcoming that old battle of nature vs. nurture."
Ryan Swanek

"For those who want a personal and in-depth account of the senator's life and career, this book is essential reading."
Goldenseal