The Feud

The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story

By: Dean King

Narrated by: Dan Woren

For more than a century, the enduring feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys has been American shorthand for passionate, unyielding, and even violent confrontation. Yet despite numerous articles, books, television shows, and feature films, nobody has ever told the in-depth true story of this legendarily fierce-and far-reaching-clash in the heart of Appalachia.

Drawing upon years of original research, including the discovery of previously lost and ignored documents and interviews with relatives of both families, best-selling author Dean King finally gives us the full, unvarnished tale, one vastly more enthralling than the myth.

Unlike previous accounts, King's begins in the mid-19th century, when the Hatfields and McCoys lived side-by-side in relative harmony. Theirs was a hardscrabble life of farming and hunting, timbering and moonshining - and raising large and boisterous families - in the rugged hollows and hills of Virginia and Kentucky. Cut off from much of the outside world, these descendants of Scots-Irish and English pioneers spoke a language many Americans would find hard to understand. Yet contrary to popular belief, the Hatfields and McCoys were established and influential landowners who had intermarried and worked together for decades.

When the Civil War came, and the outside world crashed into their lives, family members were forced to choose sides. After the war, the lines that had been drawn remained - and the violence not only lived on but became personal. By the time the fury finally subsided, a dozen family members would be in the grave. The hostilities grew to be a national spectacle, and the cycle of killing, kidnapping, stalking by bounty hunters, and skirmishing between governors spawned a legal battle that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court and still influences us today.

Filled with bitter quarrels, reckless affairs, treacherous betrayals, relentless mercenaries, and courageous detectives, The Feud is the riveting story of two frontier families struggling for survival within the narrow confines of an unforgiving land. It is a formative American tale, and in it, we see the reflection of our own family bonds and the lengths to which we might go in order to defend our honor, our loyalties, and our livelihood.

©2013 Dean King (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Excellent work!

An incredible undertaking to put this together. Great listen! Thank you for all the hard work and years bringing it together.

An Uplifting End to a Tragic Tale

As the description says, “Drawing upon years of original research, including the discovery of previously lost and ignored documents and interviews with relatives of both families, bestselling author Dean King finally gives us the full, unvarnished tale” of the feud. It was tough to listen to at times, but the book ended on an uplifting and positive note that I couldn’t possibly have expected.

best history book

kept my interest from start to finish. soared beyond my expectations. one of the best examples of book was far better than the movie. writer has done awesome research.

Loved the speaker's Casey Casem-esqe voice.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book...except for a few spots that began to go off on a tangent, such as going into details other feuds. The book on the whole was very satisfying.

Informative but Disturbing

Riveting - these were some seriously dysfunctional families. It is a sad, sad, and depressing tale.

great feeling/perfect accent

fascinating story and detail you almost need a family tree in front of you while listening to the story to be able to follow all the connections

Get out the pad and pencil .....

Way way way too many names to even come close to remembering. Back in the 1860s, the national past time in the Ozarks appears to have been baby making as it was not uncommon for families to have 12 or more children. Just going back two generations on both the Hatfield and McCoy sides, Id guess close to 150 family members get mentioned. This does not include all the close friends and business associates and their families. Then all the politicians and such and their families. On second thought, better get 2 pads of paper.

It helped greatly that before listening to this audiobook, I had watched the History channel 2012 miniseries and knew the major players already. Without watching the minieries, I would have been totally lost. The miniseries varies somewhat with this book as the miniseries seems to favor the McCoy side and the book definately favors the Hatfield side

This book seems to downplay Johnsey Hatfield's relationships with the two McCoy cousins, Roseanne and Nancy. The book barely goes into the lives of these two gals.

This book is chock full of facts and tries to dispel the many myths concerning the feud. Where it falls short is that the listener sometimes has no idea who the author is talking about.

See the miniseries first, then you can give this book a try.

Very hard to follow. Many characters to know.

I enjoyed the history of the story. I appreciate the amount of research that went into telling this story.

The Feud Two thumbs up

The Feud is a good factual account.It is only part 1. Part 2 is being written today.The performance by the narrator brought the stories to life. Creating visual scenes in the mind. Many stories. Wonderful.

Best Hatfield’s and McCoys book

This famous feud between these two families as peeked my interest for years. I love the history behind it and how they settled scores back then, and it wasn’t until now that I found this book. I was instantly hooked and only two days later was I finished and I defiantly want to go back and listen again. It is very different to the series on Netflix (not the best comparison but was the reason I got so into this story) and the facts this book presents are amazing. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this feud, the time period, and the ways of life back in the 1800s and early 1900s