Almost heaven : travels through the backwoods of America

Most foreigners think of America as a land of awesome cities, manmade wonders and spectacular national parks.

What few realise is that there is an entirely different America that co-exists on the same continent, but rarely overlaps. This second America is a vast and primitive land usually found far from the great coasts and metropolises - an extraordinarily insular place, whose inhabitants consider New York and LA as foreign as London and Paris. They rarely travel outside their state, and hardly ever encounter outsiders. Few tourists visit this land, but it is here that the Puritanism, fierce independence and intense distrust of government has truly shaped the national character. Travelling through 'hidden' America, Martin Fletcher encounters snake-handlers, cockfighters and moonshiners in the Appalachians, lost tribes, creationists and outlaws in the south, polygamists, white supremacists and communities preparing for Armageddon in the west. A unique portrait of America and of the last truly pristine culture left in the world.