Author Cecil Bothwell leads us through an evening of local history, focusing on the contributions of Appalachian activist Charlie Thomas, with this latest book Regarding Charlie.

Asheville in the 21st century cultivates the soft corruption of backroom dealing and the invasive influence of developer cash, but the community has learned to fight back. Struggles typically have leaders willing and eager to get in front of the parade and pump a baton. But others are content, often happiest, to remain in the background—organizing, advocating, teaching and encouraging legions of citizens to stand up and join in. Charlie Thomas is among the latter-his life dedicated to social and economic justice, spanning the postwar era and our nation. From the coal mines of Harlan County to the battlegrounds of anti-war, anti-racist, union and municipal politics, his journey invites our respectful attention.

Firestorm also carries Charlie Thomas' book Scrip: How the Coal Companies Impoverished Harlan County, which documents the nefarious economics of the coal companies in Harlan County, Kentucky.

Cecil Bothwell's writing has exposed evangelist Billy Graham's love of war and launched an investigation that sent Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Lee Medford to federal prison. In his twentieth book he examines Asheville's recent history as shaped by the work of a heretofore unsung paladin. A former investigative reporter, Mountain Xpress managing editor, city council member and congressional candidate, Bothwell qualifies as an expert witness in the case prosecuted in these pages.