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Carla Rising

What happens when greed rules?

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Category Archives: Media Commentary

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Origins of Anti-Semitism in Europe:
‘A New Hypothesis’

Carla Rising Posted on June 26, 2018 by Topper_SherwoodJune 26, 2018

Origins of Modern Anti-Semitism: ‘A New Hypothesis’ “(T)he great outburst of anti-Semitism in Western Europe in the High Middle Ages (1000-1300) and, carrying over into the Later Middle Ages (1300-1500) and into modern times, was due not so much to … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Fascism, Judaism, Media Commentary | Tagged Europe, Fascism, history, Judaism | Leave a reply

This says it….

Carla Rising Posted on June 13, 2018 by Topper_SherwoodJune 13, 2018
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Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

If this were 1918….

Carla Rising Posted on March 20, 2018 by Topper_SherwoodMarch 20, 2018

BERLIN Tuesday, March 20, 2018. The fall of 1918 was a point of capital crisis within the German government (a parliamentary- or civil monarchy, under the house of Hohenzollern). The commanding generals — who had been running Germany’s end within … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

German sense of humor

Carla Rising Posted on February 18, 2018 by Topper_SherwoodFebruary 18, 2018

And just the other day, I was thinking Germans don’t have a sense of humor….. Shame on me. A Rose Monday carnival parade float in Dusseldorf, commenting on the US “Russia Affair.”  (credit: Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters)

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Posted in Germany, Media Commentary | Leave a reply

Amazon: ‘We’re in Charge Here’….

Carla Rising Posted on November 3, 2017 by Topper_SherwoodNovember 4, 2017

Two remarkable stories this month about the growing grip of the Sovereign Coal Company Amazon: The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has released a report on how the tightening grip of Amazon, while making its owner the richest man in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

What I’m reading

Carla Rising Posted on September 23, 2017 by Topper_SherwoodMarch 1, 2018

Remarkable story that adds money laundering to Amazon’s crimes. Money Laundering via Author Impersonation on Amazon. ========= Bernie Sanders wants Congress to End US Support for the Yemen War. (He and his allies are up against powerful lobbyists from Saudi … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

From the Archive:
Bob Gates: Of Fish and Film

Carla Rising Posted on August 31, 2017 by Topper_SherwoodAugust 31, 2017

This is one of several profiles of West Virginia filmmakers I wrote  for a 1998 issue of Maryland-based Potomac magazine. Gates was a favorite, a popular character in my hometown. He died in February 2013. Bob Gates takes a break … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Media Commentary, West Virginia | 3 Replies

Introduction: West Virginia:
A History for Beginners

Carla Rising Posted on August 31, 2017 by Topper_SherwoodAugust 31, 2017

This is the introduction to the 1998 edition of West Virginia: A History for Beginners by John Alexander Williams. I am still proud to have been the editor and publisher of this fine book, now out-of-print.    – Topper Sherwood People … Continue reading →

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TV production: Designing ‘Eden’

Carla Rising Posted on August 31, 2017 by Topper_SherwoodSeptember 23, 2017

Yesterday, I read about “Eden: Paradise Lost,” a recent wilderness “reality” show — this one filmed in Scotland. The show’s British TV producers hoped to design a better, more cohesive community by throwing together some 25 people, many with “survival … Continue reading →

Posted in land development, Land Use, Media Commentary, Poverty, Topper Sherwood, West Virginia, Writing & Publishing | Tagged back to the land, communes, Eden: Paradise Lost, intentional communities, Survival skills | Leave a reply

‘Pulling down’ a statue
of Christopher Columbus

Carla Rising Posted on August 16, 2017 by Topper_SherwoodAugust 16, 2017

Historical facts and viewing the horizon keep us from looking stupid down the road. The current debate over 20th-century Confederate statues in US cities reminds me of 1991, when I helped convince authorities in my home town that it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History writing, Media Commentary, Monuments, Resistance, US history, West Virginia | Tagged Christopher Columbus, Civil War History, Confederate Monuments, Donald Trump, Topper Sherwood, West Virginia | Leave a reply

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Laurie Anderson on Trump

Carla Rising Posted on November 24, 2020 by Topper_SherwoodNovember 24, 2020

Some years ago, here in Berlin, I had the chance to ask a question of American performance artist Laurie Anderson. This was in March 2017, just after Donald Trump took office as the American president. Ms. Anderson had been telling … Continue reading →

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‘Carla Rising’ out-of-print

Carla Rising Posted on November 24, 2020 by Topper_SherwoodNovember 24, 2020

NOVEMBER 24, 2020 — Market conditions in the United States make it impossible for a small ‘niche’ publisher to produce books at a cost and profit that make it worth trying. Once shipping thousands of books per year — titles … Continue reading →

Posted in Carla Rising, Economics, History writing, Intellectual Labor, Media Commentary, Publishing, Topper Sherwood | Leave a reply

Trump & co. criminalizing history education

Carla Rising Posted on September 18, 2020 by Topper_SherwoodSeptember 18, 2020

Reading about events in the United States today, I’m reminded of 1998, when I was working very hard to sell John Alexander Williams’ “West Virginia: A History for Beginners” to schools in the state of West Virginia. As the book’s publisher … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Tagged history education, History writing, West Virginia: A History for Beginners | Leave a reply

Bill Moyers and Heather Cox Richardson

Carla Rising Posted on August 7, 2020 by Topper_SherwoodAugust 7, 2020

A link to Bill Moyers interviewing Heather Cox RIchardson about her new American book, “How the South Won the Civil War.”

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Posted in Media Commentary | Leave a reply

In this Age of Viral Tyranny….*

Carla Rising Posted on April 7, 2020 by Topper_SherwoodApril 7, 2020

The Revolution Will Not Be Shared I In this age of Trumpish tyrants, too many of us live and work in places where someone else — boss or client — is neither partner nor comrade, but our “king.” Where we’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary, Resistance, Sustainability, Writing & Publishing | Tagged poetry, technology and society | Leave a reply

Kudos to a Bridge-Builder

Carla Rising Posted on March 25, 2020 by Topper_SherwoodApril 17, 2020

I just received a message from a longtime Berlin pal, nonfiction filmmaker Rick Minnich, who always seems to be working on something cool and interesting. Rick has lost a friend of his own in March 2020, a 100-year-old fellow in … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Tagged World War II

Old and New Goals of Teaching History

Carla Rising Posted on February 20, 2020 by Topper_SherwoodFebruary 20, 2020

I’m currently reading Christopher Clark’s book with the whopping title: Time and Power: Visions of History in German Politics from the Thirty Years’ War to the Third Reich. In it, Clark discusses how the Nazis “changed history” first by changing … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Commentary | Tagged Fascism, Germany, History writing, Hitler

History lesson: Bush
administration’s
chickens come
home to roost

Carla Rising Posted on November 22, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodJune 5, 2020

What people might want to remember today is that the US Justice Department has convicted the sitting president’s closest associates — including his attorney and his former election campaign manager — as criminals. They are sitting in prison for financial … Continue reading →

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EU publishing: German PEN acts to protect Turkish writer

Carla Rising Posted on November 20, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodNovember 20, 2019

Press Release: 19 November 2019 Ahmet Altan becomes honorary member of the German PEN Centre The PEN Centre Germany is following with great concern the fate of the Turkish writer and journalist Ahmet Altan, arrested in July 2016 for “supporting … Continue reading →

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American Models

Carla Rising Posted on October 26, 2019 by Topper_SherwoodNovember 9, 2019

Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 — I was talking to a dear, old friend of mine some time ago. She was thinking-out-loud about her current work — for a US food processing giant — and comparing it to the work she … Continue reading →

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What People Are Saying...

"Carla Rising will lure many readers into imagining what it would have been like to have been part of the struggles (for change)....likely to engage both your thoughts about history and your emotions about this intense conflict."
— Paul Nyden, Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail

"Very strong first novel from Topper Sherwood.... Sherwood's writing gave me a real feel for the landscape of West Virginia, as well as the landscape of the times. I'll eagerly read anything else he writes."
— Catherine in L.A.

"Carla Rising left me entertained and curious — so curious, in fact, that I did a lot more research into the U.S. mine wars; the book captured the time period very well."
— Forbes writer Ken Silverstein

"I read Carla Rising twice. Enjoyed it even more the second time."
— John Alexander Williams

"...a propulsive, compelling and readable drama."
— Doug Imbrogno
Charleston Gazette-Mail

"Anyone who likes a good mystery, thriller, historical drama, or just a plain fantastic read...buy this book. ...(It) deserves to be a major motion picture."
— Paula Grgich-Warke

"I can think of five friends who should read Carla Rising."

"What an adventure!"

"I just finished reading this - couldn't put it down until I did.... It's really, really good!"
— Joan C.

"What a deeply engrossing novel, Topper! You fleshed out the characters until I could visualize each one. The plot was heart-pounding, like a thriller. ...The research was astounding and made me want to dig deeper. ...Kudos, Topper, to a novel I will gladly suggest to others."
— Lynne Sandy

"A Novel Worth Reading"
— Paul Epstein

"(Topper Sherwood) has a vast reservoir of original ideas...with very worthy motives as his aim."
— Hallene M. Dick

"A tense book, skillfully evoking the Appalachian landscape and the miners' hopes of bettering their lives."
— John Borland

"(Carla Rising) has captured my heart. I cannot wait to continue reading today. ...I love how you describe in detail the characters' feelings, senses and surroundings. I feel like I'm there. The book definitely draws me in...."
— R.M.

"Carla Rising is a DAMN FINE read."
— Fish!

“I gave Carla Rising to a good friend here. She talked to me a long time about it today. She loved it, and whizzed through it in less than 36 hours. Could not stop reading. … She gets it. All of it.”
— Hilary Chiz

"Hell of a great read! I hope everyone reads this book."
— Ren Parziale

Events/Anniversaries

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‘Carla’ unavailable….

CarlaFrontCoverClick here for details….

Author’s Statement

As a journalist in the 1990s, I enjoyed researching articles on the “West Virginia Mine Wars” of 1890-1923 – although these labor battles are not easy stories to tell.

To me, the traditional “heroes vs villains” story – even the “poor underclass vs. wealthy oppressors” – wasn’t enough. Both sides could claim “victory,” for example, following the 1921 “Battle of Blair Mountain.” And both sides clearly suffered abysmal defeats in these conflicts which continue to polarize the region a century later.

In writing Carla Rising, my first novel, I was extremely mindful of parallels/allegories for today’s audience. Most notably perhaps: the rise of oligarchs, like my Sheriff Riley Gore, in local/national politics around the world today.

The political domination of energy companies of that time reminded me of the rise of “Big Data” today — of Amazon’s and Google’s effect on publishing, and media-making, especially in the United States. In a word, I personalized the plight of coal miners whose lives and work were cheapened by their employers – much in the same way that Internet firms have cheapened conscientious and time-consuming work of research and writing for news media, for books and nonfiction broadcasts.

Another allegory: During years of studying and publishing about these events of 1921, I was struck by the collaboration between the coal company’s private police/military force and public officials. Federal and state officials did not challenge the presence of a private company’s paramilitary force playing a role in the mining conflict – similar to Blackwater’s role in Iraq or, perhaps, private prisons in today’s United States.

Carla Rising also presents the split on the Left during that time – a split that resulted in the conscious purge of leftists during and after the New Deal, including the black-listing of Socialists and Communist Party members. After the 1980-88 administrations of Ronald Reagan (who participated in black-listing in Hollywood), it was easy to see how ‘mainstream’ liberals and media (the “free press”) generally were called upon to fill the void left by yesterday’s “reds.” It has also become easy to see the evolution of anti-“liberal”, anti-democratic demonization that continues today (2017), part of what has long been moving the United States further and further to the right.

Some of Carla Rising‘s characters represent the vulnerable middle class – most notably, Mary Rising, Carla’s mother – caught in the middle and pressured to take sides in an increasingly polarized political and social environment.

So, there are plenty of modern allegories to find in Carla Rising. I hope you enjoy it.

– Topper Sherwood,
Berlin, 2017

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