Better Felt Than Saidis a sensitive and detailed portrait of religious men and women and their struggles in a less than ideal world. It is an important addition to the ethnographic study of Southern Appalachia, for it provides one of the few studies of the reigion combining participant observation and statistical analysis. Because of its informal, probing style, Better Felt Than Saidwill be valuable to students of Southern Appalachia and religious behavior, as well as to all anthropologists interested in the ethnographic analysis of religion.