The Ballad of Tom Dula: The Documented Story Behind the Murder of Laura Foster and the Trials and Execution of Tom Dula

Durham NC: Moore Publishing Company. Very Good+ in Very Good dj. [1970]. First Edition. Hardcover. [a bit of foxing/staining and light wear along the top edge, no other significant wear; the jacket is also a bit stained along the edges and at the spine, but presents well in new mylar]. (B&W photos, facsimile of map) This book, about the real-life 1868 murder case that was the basis for the popular folk ballad about "Tom Dooley," written by a North Carolina native who was "is based on evidence researched from legal documents and newspaper articles contemporary with the murder. There are a good many surprises in store for the reader who has come to accept the folk versions of the tragedy, versions which [this book] refutes for all time." (So if you've been out there singing that catchy song and promulgating those legends -- well, hang down your head in shame.) From a contemporary review: "Mr. West presents the different versions of the ballad, the contradictory and largely mythical accounts of the murder, pointing up the discrepancies in the recorded versions. He has also reproduced the transcripts of both trials, together with pertinent contemporary newspaper articles." .