Explains the origins and legacy of the famous feud. Includes a timeline of the feud. Includes a bibliography for further reading. Includes a table of contents.

"They were men, who matched the mountains, they were Hatfields and McCoys. They were men, who matched the mountains. They were men, when they were boys." (Jimmy Wolford)

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.

The feud between the Hatfields and McCoys is the stuff of American legend and has become synonymous with vendettas. In fact it has become its own term for any large-scale disagreement and has made its way into everything from music to television and movies. Though the fighting took place over a century ago, Americans remain so fascinated by it that The History Channel's 2012 miniseries about the feuding families set records for cable television ratings.

These days the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys is a celebrated piece of American folklore, but for two families living along the West Virginia-Kentucky border during the last half of the 19th century, the feud was literally a matter of life and death. Twenty-first century America might celebrate this relic of the country's rural past, but modern society would also likely scoff at the idea of a couple of rural families taking potshots at each other through the woods over slights as insignificant as a stolen pig.