The Feud

The full, unvarnished truth of the infamous Appalachian family feud— “A masterpiece ... The last word on the daddy of American feuds” (James Donovan, bestselling author of The Blood of Heroes and A Terrible Glory).

“Fast-paced ... Scrupulously documented ... The Feud is popular history as it ought to be written.” —The Wall Street Journal

Nearly every American has heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys. The violent feud between these two families has become shorthand for fierce, unyielding, and even violent confrontation. Yet despite numerous articles, books, television shows, and feature films, until The Feud nobody has ever told the true story of this legendary clash in the heart of Appalachia.

Drawing on years of original research, including the discovery of previously lost and ignored evidence and interviews with surviving relatives of both families, Dean King has crafted a rip-roaring narrative packed with brutal murders, reckless affairs, mercenaries and detectives, and the long shadows of the Civil War. The result is an unvarnished and vastly entertaining work of history.

“Delivers up a heaping portion of popular history, larded with outsized characters, shoot-outs, manhunts, and posses on the prowl ... King’s well-researched narrative confidently separates hearsay from fact, and bulges with bloody set pieces and visceral family passions.” —Boston Globe

“With the detailed eye of a historian and the confident strokes of a veteran novelist, King takes us on a wild ride through a roaring slice of Americana.” —David Baldacci