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Copy/paste the text below into your blog. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128592.Salvation_on_Sand_Mountain_Snake_Handling_and_Redemption_in_Southern_Appalachia?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake-Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1171959508m/128592.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128592.Salvation_on_Sand_Mountain_Snake_Handling_and_Redemption_in_Southern_Appalachia?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake-Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/73861.Dennis_Covington">Dennis Covington</a><br/><br/> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17303937?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a> rating: 2 of 5 stars<br/>Snake handling! The bible says Jesus's followers will take up serpents. So some people in the southeast U.S., starting early in the 20th century, started picking up rattlesnakes and copperheads during their church services. They also drink strychnine. The idea is the usual one, that god and their faith will keep them safe, but if they get bit, or they die of strychnine poisoning, it's because they didn't properly have the spirit. Pretty interesting to think about why they do it and the ways in which their behavior and the behavior of more conventional people isn't so different psychologically. Also interesting in that the author pretty completely becomes part of their religious community. They call him Brother Dennis. <br/> <br/>One criticism I have is that the writing is sparse and solemn to the point of being distracting. <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/697297?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>