"FIVE STARS! Deeply reflective, vividly detailed that traces a winding journey... on the life and death of a charismatic and controversial figure...Hinton's narrative style is warm and confessional, often humorous, and peppered with pop culture references, period music, and historical events. The book opens with a funeral, then moves back to trace the complex relationship of high school acquaintances... later bound by a web of competitive friendship, unspoken grudges, and romantic entanglements. Nether Land is one of the best books you'll read this year. It's truly fascinating."

-Carol Thompson, Readers' Favorite Reviews

"Eureka, a historian who writes like a poet. Such artful prose with honeyed metaphor, and a syntax like a conversation between old friends... a

contemporary Chaucerian morality tale. I found it hard to put down, so I didn't... captivating to the last word and period."

-Paul Harmon, international artist and author of Inner Voices and Crossing Borders

"Equal parts illuminating and mysterious, the memoir provides a splitscreen narrative of two men from the same town with the same background going on to lead vastly different lives, along with insights into the era... Fans of unsolved mysteries and personal cultural histories will enjoy Hinton's considerations of the way lives converge, diverge, and reflect each other. Nether Land is a somber, gently provocative memoir suffused with loss."

-BookLife Reviews

"Funny, tender, and insightful. Nether Land takes us on a journey of memory and discovery, revealing a classic American story of ambition, achievement, greed-and revenge. Kem Hinton combines witty memoir with gumshoe reporting to tell an extraordinary tale well worth reading."

-Elaine Weiss, author of The Woman's Hour and Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools