Toward the end of 1931, the black dust was settling in the Harlan County, Kentucky, coal fields after one of the most bitterly fought labor struggles in our nation's history. The miners were beaten, their rank-and-file organization crushed. The epithet "Bloody Harlan" survived the day and remained a symbol for that battle and those that periodically erupted for the next half century. But the proper legacy of the Harlan wars, as the veteran Hobart Grills tells us, is not the chaotic violence but the spirit of steady resistance that smolders until the changing times fan the sparks into a new flame. During the long Depression era, the winds of change blew all across the South — from the coal fields of Appalachia to the tenant farms of Arkansas, from the cotton mills of Gastonia to the automobile factories of Atlanta. It was a period rich in the South's peculiar blend of semi-organized rebellion, individual courage, and rank-and-file militancy; but its lessons were omitted from the history books. To rectify that insult, Southern Exposure published a special book-length issue on the Depression, based largely on the oral testimonies of those who were the sparks for that era's struggles. Entitled "No More Moanin'," the collection — now near the end of its second printing — has been a popular source book in union halls, university classrooms, and informal study groups.

Throughout the country, and even this region, people view the South through myth and stereotype. It's not surprising. If they turn to newspapers, to television and radio, to popular films and literature, to most history books and folklore, they encounter these distortions. They find insulting portraits of Southerners, whitewashed presentations of southern economics and politics, selective visions of history, misunderstandings of relationships between people, and between people and their land and work. Many trivial qualities are romanticized; other important ones are totally ignored. Blacks are presented only as victims of racism, and labor struggles are completely forgotten. This view is inevitable when people simply treat the South as an aberration of mainstream America, or a remnant of some past culture. We at Southern Exposure look at the South from another perspective. This is our home, we are of it and examine it that we may know more of ourselves and our neighbors. These are the politics and culture that surround us and affect us daily, that we must analyze, praise and attack so our lives can grow and prosper. And this is the ground from which we must view the larger world. By listening to local tobacco farmers discuss the pressures on them to expand or die, we can better understand Earl Butz's plan for US agribusiness. By hearing a bluesman's story, we come to appreciate how a particular culture evolves from material hardship and inspires immense creativity.

"Wipeout!: when a big-wave rider vanishes under a liquid mountain at Waimea Bay on O'ahu and his life insurance company refuses to pay, Kai Cooke is hired by the surfer's pregnant wife, Summer McDahl, to prove he's dead."--P. [4] of cover.

When Boston heiress Adrienne Ridgely strides into his Honolulu office, Surfing Detective Kai Cooke likes what he sees, but doubts what he hears. Adrienne's sister, environmental activist Sara Ridgely-Parke, plunged to her death from a mule on Moloka'i - the first fatal incident on the soaring cliffs above Kalaupapa's fabled leper colony. Murder, cries Adrienne, perpetrated by Sara's ex-husband, developer J. Gregory Parke. Cooke flies to Moloka'i, tracking tantalizing leads to an unlikely murder that, despite himself, he starts to believe in. Was the mule prodded or spooked or drugged? Did Parke do it for vengeance, or Adrienne for an inheritance, as Parke alleges? Soon Kai uncovers a motive more noxious than either of these - entangling him in the shady dealings of big-time developers, corrupt politicians, and underworld thugs. As he hops from island to island seeking a pivotal clue, the clock ticks down on more than the P.I.'s case or even his own life. The future of Moloka'i itself is at stake. This new edition of the classic Hawaiian mystery concludes with "The Making of MURDER ON MOLOKA'I"-fifty-five pages of previously unpublished excerpts and explanatory notes by the author. These bonus materials give readers a rare glimpse into Chip Hughes' creative process and expand our conception of the Surfing Detective and his Hawai'i. A must for fans of the wave-riding gumshoe!

"Everyone's favorite surfing detective, Kai Cooke, is back . . ." Waterman's Library. Surfing Detective Double Feature, Vol. 2, contains two popular Hawai'i mysteries in one volume: In WIPEOUT! when a big-wave rider vanishes under a liquid mountain at Waimea Bay and his life insurance company refuses to pay, Kai is hired by the surfer's pregnant wife, Summer McDahl, to prove he's dead. Did Corky McDalh expire in the boiling soup or pull off the most daring skip-trace ever? Finding the answer leads the PI on a twisted treasure hunt involving the islands' big-wave riding and drug trafficking scenes, plus the competing claims of Summer and another woman who also says she's Corky's wife. In MURDER AT VOLCANO HOUSE Kai is hired to protect the CEO of a geothermal venture from the wrath of Pele, legendary goddess of volcanoes. Rex Ransom comes Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park to attend the funeral for his second employee to die mysteriously in Pele's domain. Ransom's wife sees a pattern and fears that her husband, having offended Pele by drilling in her sacred rainforest, is next. Kai is not so sure. Until Ransom turns up dead in a steam vent. Kai investigates and finds others besides Pele who might want Ransom dead. Did the goddess herself strike down Ransom? Or is the answer closer to home?

"Everyone's favorite surfing detective, Kai Cooke, is back . . ." Waterman's Library. Surfing Detective Double Feature, Vol. 1, contains two popular Hawai'i mysteries in one volume: In MURDER ON MOLOKA'I Kai investigates a fatal plunge from the soaring cliffs above Kalaupapa's fabled leper colony. Boston heiress Adrienne Ridgely claims her sister Sara's fall from a mule on Moloka'i was no accident but murder, perpetrated by Sara's ex, developer J. Gregory Parke. Kai tracks tantalizing leads on Moloka'i to an unlikely murder that, despite himself, he starts to believe in. Did Parke do it for vengeance, or Adrienne herself for an inheritance, as Parke alleges? Soon Kai uncovers a motive more noxious than either of these - entangling him in the shady dealings of big-time developers, corrupt politicians, and underworld thugs. As he seeks a pivotal clue, the clock ticks down on more than the PI's case or even his own threatened life. The future of Moloka'i itself is at stake. In KULA Kai reluctantly traces the missing golden retriever of radio pitchman Barry Buckingham. Despite his qualms, Kai would seem a natural for the case, since the pooch named Kula is a famous surfing dog. With the help of Maile Barnes, ex-K9 cop and kindred spirit, he ventures into the dark underworld of animal theft in the islands. Then a questionable tip takes him to a late-night rendezvous, his tipster winds up dead, and the detective himself becomes a suspect. The PI tracks the illusive retriever from O'ahu to the Big Island to Maui, but the killer is one step ahead. Can Kai clear his name and find the murderer before he strikes again?

Tracking serial killers isn't Kai Cooke's kuleana-or thing. So when the mother of a rape and murder victim abducted near Barking Sands Beach begs him to find the brute, Kai reluctantly declines. The twenty-year-old case of three slain women is on Kaua'i and the local force isn't likely to cooperate with an O'ahu PI. Then another woman fitting the victims' profiles goes missing and the cold case appears to turn warm. Is the Barking Sands Strangler back? Kai still begs off. Until his girlfriend who's just discovered she's pregnant backs the grieving mother and he hops a plane to Kaua'i. But can he pull off what two decades of police work couldn't? Or wrap his mind around the prospect of parenthood?

Summoned to the Honolulu hilltop mansion of radio pitchman Barry Buckingham, presumably to trace his missing wife, the Surfing Detective is in for the letdown of his career. Kai Cook is hired to track another lost family member. A dog. Despite his qualms, Kai would seem a natural for the case, since the golden retriever named Kula is a famous surfing dog. Yet the PI knows nothing about finding missing pets. But he does know where to find help—Maile Barnes, an ex-K9 cop and kindred spirit with the keys to unlock the dark underworld of animal theft in the islands. Then a questionable tip takes Kai to a late-night rendezvous, his tipster winds up dead, and the detective himself becomes a suspect. Can he clear his name and find the murderer before he strikes again? The PI tracks the illusive retriever from O‘ahu to the Big Island to Maui, but the killer is one step ahead—other players linked to the dog’s disappearance keep turning up dead. Is a ghost from Barry Buckingham’s past behind the murders? Or is Kai’s client just a misunderstood man with a lost pet? To solve this third case in the Surfing Detective series, Kai Cooke must do what he never does—take on a partner. Teaming up with the headstrong K9 cop is his only shot to liberate the famous surfing dog, who is somehow always at the center of this mystery.