The Witch of Hebron - (World Made by Hand Novels) by James Howard Kunstler (Paperback)

About the Book

Renowned social commentator and best-selling author James Howard Kunstler's sequel to "World Made by Hand," expands on his vision of post-oil society in America in this "suspenseful, darkly amusing story with touches of the fantastic in the mode of Washington Irving" ("Booklist").
In the tiny hamlet of Union Grove, New York, the electricity has flickered off, the Internet is a distant memory, and the government is little more than a rumor. Travel is horse-drawn and farming is back at the center of life, but Union Grove is no pastoral haven. Wars are fought over dwindling resources and illness is a constant presence. Bandits roam the countryside, preying on the weak and a sinister cult threatens to shatter the town's fragile stability.
In a novel that is both shocking yet eerily convincing, Kunstler seamlessly weaves hot-button issues such as the decline of oil and the perils of climate change into a compelling narrative of violence, religious hysteria, innocence lost, and love found.

Book Synopsis

The dystopian epic of World Made by Hand continues in a novel hailed as "Larry McMurty's Lonesome Dove, set in the dystopian world of The Road" (New York Journal of Books).

A new age has begun on Earth. Oil is no longer a resource. Some parts of America are nuclear wastelands. Civilization has devolved into a constant struggle for food, water, and shelter.

In the tiny hamlet of Union Grove, New York, the US government is little more than a rumor. Wars are being fought over dwindling resources and illness has a constant presence. Bandits roam the countryside, preying on the weak and a sinister cult threatens the town's fragile stability. It is up to every citizen of Union Grove to decide what they are willing to fight for, kill for, and die for . . .

This is a tale of humanity at its shining best and brutal worst woven together in a "suspenseful, darkly amusing story with touches of the fantastic in the mode of Washington Irving" (Booklist).

"Kunstler's postapocalyptic world is neither a merciless nightmare nor a starry-eyed return to some pastoral faux utopia; it's a hard existence dotted with adventure, revenge, mysticism, and those same human emotions that existed before the power went out." --Publishers Weekly

Review Quotes

"Richly imagined . . . [The Witch of Hebron] reminded me of Larry McMurty's Lonesome Dove, set in the dystopian world of The Road."--New York Journal of Books

"[A] suspenseful, darkly amusing story with touches of the fantastic in the mode of Washington Irving."--Booklist

"Kunstler's post-apocalyptic world is neither a merciless nightmare nor a starry-eyed return to some pastoral faux utopia; it's a hard existence dotted with adventure, revenge, mysticism, and those same human emotions that existed before the power went out."--Publishers Weekly

"Vividly drawn . . . [The Witch of Hebron] plays to Kunstler's strength, which is his understanding of municipal infrastructure, so he can analyze the importance of what has been taken from people, how they cope, and just what is necessary for them to survive."--Steve Goddard's History Wire (online)

About the Author

James Howard Kunstler was born in New York City in 1948. He is the author of eleven novels and three nonfiction books, The Geography of Nowhere, Home From Nowhere, and The Long Emergency. He lives in upstate New York.