[Scott Reynolds Nelson] takes his readers on his journey of discovery as he retraces his drives through the Appalachian mountains, his meanderings through railroad tunnels, his patient archival visits and his online "Eureka!" moment when the pieces of his puzzle came together while staring at a century-old picture of a postcard. Like countless tourists, folklore fans and railroad buffs before him, Nelson paid homage to John Henry at the Big Bend (formerly Great Bend) Tunnel in West Virginia, where most accounts set the ballad. Wandering about unsuccessfully in search of the remnants of work camps or other material culture clues, Nelson confirmed visually what engineering reports he had uncovered had already suggested: hand drills, not steam drills, cut through Big Bend Mountain. John Henry, if he had indeed lived, died "somewhere else."