East Fork

About the Book

EAST FORK is both a place and a state of mind.  Buried deep within the mountains of West Virginia, EAST FORK takes the reader through a part of America that is mostly ignored and greatly misunderstood.  Riddled with poverty and ignorance is how most people view this region.  However, EAST FORK is a celebration of the finest aspects of humanity.  Jesse Logan is an extremely complex character.  While a product of the region, he is also an alien, rebelling against all the entreched forms of discrimination that are visited upon those who choose to be different.  EAST FORK also exposes the dangers of religious fundamentalism in a most dramatic fashion.  Homer Babe represents both goodness and redemption as he searches for salvation.  Ellen Barlow risks everything to be a part of Jesse's world because she sees the wisdom of his simple philosophy and, in the process, falls in love with him. EAST FORK stubbornly refuses to be classified as simply regional or Appalachain literature, as it exposes the reader to everything from humor to murder.  Here, every human emotion is played out; love, hate, lust, greed, jealously, joy, sadness, and hope.  This work bridges the gulf between shallow popular fiction and a deeper look into human interaction, using the mountains and culture of southern West Virginia as a rich, vivid backdrop.  At times both sensitive and direct, EAST FORK forces us to see things about ourselves that may make us uncomfortable but, in the end, will make us better.      

About the Author

John Cook was born and raised in the coalfields of southern West Virginia. He attended the University of Delaware and Boston University. His experiences in Vietnam are graphically captured in The Advisor: The Phoenix Program in Vietnam (Bantam; Schiffer). Other books include DUST OFF (Bantam), Armor at Fulda Gap (Avon), East Fork (Xlibris) and The Arrowhead Incident (Xlibris). John Cook spent twenty years in the Army as an Intelligence Officer and now spends his time writing, teaching and serving as a consultant to the US Army. He is an expert on weapons development and military strategy, having written military doctrine in unconventional warfare. Amos Tarr: Native Son is the latest major work from Mr. Cook. It is a work that returns him to his roots in his beloved West Virginia.