Through a shopkeeper's records and creative methodology, "Buying into the World of Goods: Early Consumers in Backcountry Virginia" sheds new light on the Virginia backcountry, especially Franklin and Bedford counties during and after the American Revolution. Based on the records of John Hook, who owned stores in the two counties between the 1760s and 1800s, this is a broad study of the world of goods and the people who purchased them. The focus is on the types of goods sold, sales strategies of the time, and the desires and culture of consumers. But the work is so much more than a study of goods.

Those who shopped at Hook's store, most of whom are not included in the standard history books, come alive. The book offers detailed descriptions of what backcountry Virginians drank, ate and wore. For example, by looking at the goods purchased by slaves, the author attempts to reconstruct slave households' clothing and religious practices.

The book reflects not only a unique mixture of methodologies, but also a broad range of research. Just a few months of Hook's account books detail more than 4,000 purchases, which the author analyzes in order to find patterns and larger cultural meaning.

Each chapter ends with an in-depth analysis of one item purchased, such as a clock or mirror, that supports the author's point.

The book also is a biography of John Hook as he progresses from a young man who sweeps floors to a local plantation owner whose loyalist tendencies and complex personality make him a difficult neighbor.

The writing is lively and easily understandable, and the mixture of methods used to study the accounts of Hook and the vast variety of topics addressed result in a book that would have broad appeal to antique and historic house enthusiasts, re-enactors and local historians.